Ralph Waldo Rose (March 17, 1885 – October 16, 1913) was an American track and field athlete. He was born in

Healdsburg, California Healdsburg is a city located in Sonoma County, in California's Wine Country. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 11,254. Owing to its three most important wine-producing regions (the Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander Valley ...

Biography

Standing 6 ft 5.5 in (197 cm) and weighing 250 pounds (115 kg), Rose was the first

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

ter to break 50 feet (15 m). His world record of 51 ft 0 in (15.5 m), set in 1909, lasted for 16 years. In 1904, while at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, he won both the shot put and discus at the Big Ten championships. He subsequently competed for the

Olympic Club The Olympic Club is an sports club, athletic club and private social club in San Francisco, San Francisco, California. First named the "San Francisco Olympic Club", it is the oldest sports club, athletic club in the United States. Established o ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and won seven National AAU titles in the shot, discus, and javelin. A competitor in three Olympic Games, Rose compiled a medal total of three golds, two silver, and one bronze. At the

1904 Summer Olympics 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 ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, he won the shot, was second in the discus, third in the hammer throw, and sixth in the 56-pound (25 kg) weight throw. Four years later at the

1908 Summer 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 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he repeated as the shot put champion. At the opening ceremony Rose, the U.S. flag bearer, refused (supported by a majority of his mostly

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

teammates) to dip the flag towards the royal box, as athletes from other countries did. Fellow athlete

Martin Sheridan Martin John Sheridan (March 28, 1881 – March 27, 1918) was a three time Olympic Games gold medallist. He was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ireland, and died in St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan, New York, the day before his 37th birthda ...

supposedly explained Rose's action with the terse statement, "This flag dips to no earthly king." According to legend, this caused acrimony between the United States and Great Britain. Several decisions by British judges went against American athletes during the games, and U.S. spokesmen felt they stemmed from bias, caused in part by the flag incident. However, there is no reliable evidence that the British spectators objected to Rose's action, nor that Sheridan ever uttered his famous quote, which did not appear in print until 1952. At the

Rose 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 ...

but was not successful. Pat McDonald, Lawrence Whitney, Ralph Rose 1912

In the 1912 Olympics in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, he won the two-handed shot put (throwing a total of 27.70 m (90 ft 10.5 in) with his right and left hands), took second in the regular shot, ninth in the hammer and 11th in the discus. At the age of 28 he died of

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

, in San Francisco.

References

External links

Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Ralph 1885 births 1913 deaths People from Healdsburg, California Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area Track and field athletes from California American male shot putters American male discus throwers American male javelin throwers Olympic tug of war competitors of the United States Tug of war competitors at the 1908 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field World record setters in athletics (track and field) Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes Infectious disease deaths in California Deaths from typhoid fever Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Olympic weight throwers