The American team almost missed the first Olympics. The Americans claimed it was the Greek’s antiquated reliance on the Julian calendar, yet some have argued that the near-miss was intentions.
While it seems unthinkable now, the revival of the Olympics that began in the late 19th century was met with skepticism and dismissal from many in the United States. It turns out much of the reason the Olympics exist as they do today is to the credit of one man, a Princetonian professor who rallied the first American team to cross the Atlantic and helped establish the International Olympic Committee (IOC). While the many Princeton athletes have made the University's mark on the game, without Professor William M. Sloane that history may have never existed at all.
The Ancient Olympic Games originated in ancient Greece nearly 3,000 years ago to honor Zeus. Participation was limited to free Greek men, who competed nude in events ranging from discus throwing to chariot racing before tens of thousands of spectators. But by the year 393, due to invasions, natural disasters, and Roman influence, the Games had ceased.
The revival began with Baron Pierre de Coubertin, a French educational reformer passionate about sports, envisioned an international festival dedicated to sports as he saw more of the world become interested in competitive play. His ideas were endorsed in an 1894 gathering in Paris that became known as the first Olympic Congress. There, the IOC was established.
The Olympic Games struggled to pick up steam because the original proposal for competition were not considered formal nor professional, even to the less established 1890s athletics scene. An article from the Daily Princetonian in 1895 called the revival an effort to “further the cause of international amateur sport.” The first games struggled to attract international interest, with only 241 athletes participating in 43 events, and just 14 athletes representing the United States. Today, over 10,000 athletes will complete in the 2024 Paris Games from over 200 Olympic Committees, of which nearly 600 are from the American delegation alone.
Despite broad reluctance, when news of this international sports festival reached the United States, Sloane signed-up to gather U.S. involvement. A professor of Latin and History at the University, Sloane was interested in intercollegiate athletics serving as a member of the University’s athletics advisory committee.
When Coubertin and Sloane met, Coubertin was visiting campus and became impressed by Princeton's atmosphere, while Sloane was intrigued by Coubertin’s vision of reviving the Olympics Games, receiving Coubertin’s idea with wild enthusiasm. The two would become great friends — Coubertin dedicated his book, “Souvenirs d’Amérique et de Grèce” to Sloane, and Sloane wrote a kind tribute to Coubertin in his article “The Olympic Idea, Its Origin, Foundation, and Progress” in Century Magazine.
Although Coubertin’s project was met with lukewarm support from other organizations of amateur athletics and intercollegiate sports, Sloane and a few other key supporters remained faithful to his vision. At the Paris Congress of 1894, Sloane was one of three committee members in charge of preparation for the Games. With this influence, Sloane would make a lasting impact on American Olympic history, serving as the founder and chairman of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Initially, Sloane struggled to convince U.S. athletic clubs and universities to participate in the games because they had little interest in international competition. However, he soon found interest among the group of athletes he oversaw, recruiting four Princeton Track and Field athletes: Robert Garrett Jr., Albert C. Tyler, Herbert B. Jamison, and Francis A. Lane, all members of the Class of 1897. These four made up a significant chunk of the country’s first 14-man Olympic delegation.
“The announcement that Princeton is to be represented in the Olympic games was a great surprise to the majority of the undergraduates, and has been the cause of much comment,” the Alumni Princetonian, a special edition of the ‘Prince,’ reported. “It is undoubtedly somewhat of an experiment.”
Due to Princeton’s lack of financial resources at the time, Garrett’s family, a wealthy dynasty of Baltimore bankers, funded the students’ transportation to Athens. On March 21, 1896, they boarded the S.S. Fulda from New York with members of the Boston Athletic Club. At their send-off, the Princeton team reportedly received passionate renditions of “Old Nassau” and “The Orange and Black.”
While on board the Fulda, the Princeton athletes regularly trained by practicing starts, hurdles, high jumps, and lifting dumbbells up to two times per day.
The competition included only nine sports: athletics (track), cycling road, cycling track, fencing, shooting, swimming, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling. Although the Princeton athletes had little time to acclimate and train before competition, they excelled in their events. Garrett placed first in discus and shot put, Tyler placed second in pole vault, Jamison placed second in the 400m, and Lane placed fourth in the 100m.
First-place winners were awarded with olive wreaths, while second-place winners were given laurel wreaths. The Alumni Princetonian reported that upon the Princeton athletes’ return to campus, the athletes “receive[d] a warm reception by the students, for their victories are considered to be the greatest achievements Princeton has made in track athletics.” Quite a reversal in tone from the frigid skepticism the Games once faced.
Since 1896, over 150 Princetonians have competed in the Olympics, and they have earned nearly a hundred medals. This summer, there will be 25 Princeton students past and present competing in Paris. Across all sports, 13 of them are athletes representing Team USA and 12 athletes represent eight other countries.
“The Olympics are a huge thing for Princeton and a huge source of pride for Princeton athletics,” Jerry Price, the Senior Writer and Historian for Princeton University Athletics, told the ‘Prince.’ “There is something extraordinarily special about saying that you are an Olympian.”
On the centennial of the first Olympic games, Sloane’s grandson and namesake, William Milligan Sloane, commemorated his leadership in the first modern Olympics by carrying the Olympic torch to Sloane’s grave in New Jersey on its way to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
“Princeton has this great Olympic history. Obviously, the United States has this unbelievable Olympic history,” Price added.
“They both started with those four guys and Professor Sloane, and that's a pretty amazing thing.”
This piece was inspired by Sir Michael Llewellyn Smith's chapter on the Olympic Games within “The Princeton University Library Chronicle.” You can read more about this history here.
Coco Gong is a staff Features writer and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Synai Ferrell is a staff Features writer and staff Podcast writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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