Irish Whales John Flanagan Martin Sheridan James Mitchel

John Joseph Flanagan (sometimes spelled ''Flannigan''; January 28, 1868 – June 3, 1938) was an Irish-American three-time

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

ist in the

hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...

, winning in 1900, 1904, and 1908.

Biography

John Flanagan was born in the townland of Kilbreedy East, near Martinstown in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He emigrated to the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in 1896. At that time he already held the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for the hammer throw. He competed for both the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

and the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

, and was part of a group of Irish-American athletes known as the

Irish Whales The Irish Whales or "The Whales" was a nickname given to a group of Irish people, Irish, Irish-American and Irish-Canadian athletes who dominated weight-throwing events in the first two decades of the 20th century. "This group dominated the field ...

. In 1900 Flanagan represented his new country at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. Flanagan, the only non-college man to medal for the Americans, outdistanced American athlete

Truxtun Hare Thomas Truxtun Hare (October 12, 1878 – February 2, 1956) was an American Olympic medalist who competed in track and field and the hammer throw. He also played football with the University of Pennsylvania and was selected first-team All- ...

by 4.75 meters in the hammer throw. Hare and

Josiah McCracken Josiah Calvin McCracken (March 30, 1874 – February 15, 1962) was an American football player and track and field athlete. Early life: football and track achievements McCracken, nicknamed Joe, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee. His earlies ...

, both college football players from

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, took

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. Flanagan also competed in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...

, finishing seventh. Flanagan joined the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

(NYPD) in 1903, and his first assignment was to the Bureau of Licenses, where he had a lot of time on his hands, which was mostly used to train at the Irish American Athletic Club in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. It was during that time that he became one of the masters of the three-turn technique. In the

1904 Olympic Games The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended s ...

, sporting the Winged Fist of the Irish American Athletic Club, Flanagan set a new world record of 168 feet, 1 inch. He placed second to the Canadian,

Étienne Desmarteau Joseph-Étienne Desmarteau (4 February 1873 – 29 October 1905) was a Canadian athlete, winner of the weight throwing event at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Boucherville, Quebec, Desmarteau was member of the Montréal Athle ...

, in the 56-pound throw event. In 1905, while attached to the 37th Precinct, Flanagan competed in the Police Athletic Association games held at Celtic Park in New York. "Not only did he win four of weight-throwing events, but, as if to show that he could do a little sprinting as readily as he can outclass his competitors with the 16 and 56 pound weights, he not only had the temerity to enter the fat men's race, but actually won it," giving him a total of five first place victories, "a most commendable showing, for there were many mighty policemen arrayed against him." In the

1908 Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

in London, Flanagan broke his own record with a hammer throw of 170 feet, 4.5 inches. The silver that year went to another New York City police officer, the former record holder

Matt McGrath Matthew John "Matt" McGrath (December 28, 1875 – January 29, 1941) was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, the New York Athletic Club, and the New York City Police Department. At the time of his death at age 64, he attained the ran ...

. John Flanagan competed in the

tug-of-war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

as well. On July 24, 1909, at the age of 41, Flanagan set his last world record in the hammer, with a throw of 56.18 meters. Flanagan quit the police force in 1910, after his public office squad was abolished and he was transferred to the West 68th Street Station and forced to walk a beat along

Central Park West Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...

, giving him no time to train and compete. He returned home to Limerick in 1911 and took over the family farm following the death of his father in 1912. He continued to compete in Ireland and won his final international event when competing against Scotland in 1911. He also won the Irish Hammer Championships of 1911 and 1912. Following his retirement, he coached a number of athletes, including

Patrick O'Callaghan Patrick "Pat" O'Callaghan (28 January 1906 – 1 December 1991) was an Irish athlete and Olympic gold medallist. He was the first athlete from Ireland to win an Olympic medal under the Irish flag rather than the British flag. In sport he the ...

, who went on to win two Olympic gold medals in the hammer throw at the

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

and

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

games. He died at home in Limerick, aged 70, on 3 June 1938.Obituary in ''New York Times'', June 5, 1938. A statue of Flanagan was erected beside Martinstown Church in Limerick in 2001.

References

* * *

External links

*
Irish America Archives - NYUWinged Fist Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, John 1873 births 1938 deaths American male hammer throwers Irish male hammer throwers Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Tug of war competitors at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic tug of war competitors of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Sportspeople from County Limerick New York City Police Department officers Male weight throwers Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic weight throwers Track and field athletes from New York City