Michigan in the Olympics
1904 - St. Louis
In the 1904 games many U.S. track and field athletes competed as representatives of municipal athletic clubs rather than universities. The U of M's Archie Hahn, for example, competed for his hometown Milwaukee Athletic Club, hence his nickname, "The Milwaukee Meteor." Still, 1904 was the "Michigan Olympics," as four current, one future and one former Wolverine came home with
10 medals: six gold, two silver, and two bronze.
Ralph Rose dominated the weight events in the first of his three Olympic appearances, winning a gold in the shot put, silver in the discus, and bronze in the hammer throw. He had tied American Martin Sheridan for first in the discus, but lost the gold medal in a throw off. Charles Dvorak won the pole vault gold medal in his second Olympics and Fred Schule won a gold in 110 meter hurdles. Archie Hahn capped the Michigan effort with three gold medals in the sprints.
Ralph Rose, winner of 6 medals in 4 events in 3 Olympics
Michigan did not begin intercollegiate competition in swimming until 1922, but 18 year old Henry Jamison "Jam" Handy became the first Wolverine to win a swimming medal, taking a bronze in the 440 yard breaststroke in the 1904 games. Handy, 4 ft. 11 in. and 86 pounds, enrolled at Michigan in 1902 determined to become a football star and "a world champion in all sports." When Handy presented himself to coach Yost, he was offered a position as mascot. Handy's academic career was not much longer than his football one.
As a freshman he worked as a correspondent for the Chicago Tribune and published an article reporting
an "innovation in educational methods" in Professor Trueblood's literature class. In having students act out
certain literary passages with the proper "vito-emotive sentiments,"
Handy reported with some exaggeration,
Trueblood was actually teaching male students how to win a young lady's hand. When the story received
national coverage neither Trueblood nor President Angell were amused. Handy was suspended and returned
to Chicago to work for the
Tribune and begin a rigorous swimming regimen. He is credited with introducing a number
of strokes to American swimming, including the Australian crawl, and held the national record in many of
them for a short time.
Handy competed with the Illinois Athletic Club and won titles in the half-mile (1906), mile (1906 and 1907) and the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard breaststroke in1907. He was the winner of the great 10-mile race down the Mississippi River in 1906, 1907 and 1908. He was also an outstanding water polo player and won a bronze medal in the 1924
Olympic games. Handy never returned to college. He eventually entered the advertising business and his
Jam Handy Organization, based in Detroit, became a pioneer in the use of film in marketing and training, most notably in the auto industry.
Archie Hahn winning 60-meter race, 1904
Fred Schule (at left) running for Milwaukee AC, 110-meter hurdles, 1904
Charles Dvorak, competing for Chicago AC, 1904
The U-M Results-1904
| Archie Hahn | ||
| 60 meters | 1st, 7.2 sec., world record | |
| 100 meters | 1st, 11.2 sec. into strong wind won by nearly 2 yards | |
| 200 meters | 1st, 21.6 sec. Olympic Record until broken by Eddie Tolan in 1932 | |
| Charles Dvorak | ||
| pole vault | 1st, 11 ft. 5.75 in. | |
| Ralph Rose | ||
| shot put | 1st, 48 ft. 7 in., world record | |
| Discus throw | 2nd, tied for first at 128 ft. 10.5 in., lost a throw-off | |
| Hammer throw | 3rd, 150 ft. | |
| 56 lb. weight throw | 6th | |
| Fred Schule | ||
| 110 meter hurdles | 1st, 16.0 sec. | |
| William Coe | ||
| Shot put | 2nd, 47 ft. 3 in. | |
| Henry Jamison "Jam" Handy | ||
| 440 yd. breaststroke | 3rd | |
left: Charles Dvorak clinching the gold medal,
center: Fred Schule, gold medalist in hurdles
right: William Coe, silver medalist in shot put
Photo Credits
- Archie Hahn, print in Ath. Dept. Box 41, 1900-1919, BHL, from Rentschler Studio negative.
- Ralph Rose, 2 prints, both in Wilfred Shaw, Box 8, BHL
- Henry J. "Jam" Handy, Handy Family Collection, William L. Clements Library.
- Archie Hahn winning 60-meter race, IOC Olympic Museum Collection
- Fred Schule 110-meter hurdles, Official Report of the1904 Olympics [from LA84 Foundation]
- Charles Dvorak, pole vault, Official Report of the 1904 Olympics [from LA84 Foundation]
- Charles Dvorak image scanned from Dick Schaap, An Illustrated History of the Olympics, p. 71.
- Fred Schule, Wilfred Shaw, Box 8, BHL.
- William Wesley Coe, Michiganensian, 1906.
Table of Contents | 1900 - Paris | 1906 - Athens | Name Index