Sidney Herbert Hatch (August 18, 1883 – October 17, 1966) was an American athlete who competed for the United States in 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 ...

held in

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

United States 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 territorie ...

, in the 4 mile team where he won the silver medal with his teammates

James Lightbody James Davies Lightbody (March 16, 1882 – March 2, 1953) was an American middle distance runner, winner of six Olympic medals (two of which are no longer recognized by the International Olympic Committee following its downgrading o ...

Frank Verner William Franklyn Verner (June 24, 1883 – July 1, 1966) was an American athlete and middle-distance runner who competed in the early twentieth century. Verner was born in Grundy County, Illinois. He competed in Athletics at the 1 ...

Lacey Hearn Lacey Earnest Hearn (March 23, 1881 – October 19, 1969 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) was an American athlete and middle distance runner who competed in the early twentieth century. Individually he specialized in the 1500 Metres, and he won a ...

and Frenchman

Albert Corey Albert Louis Corey (16 April 1878 – 3 August 1926) was a French athlete who competed at the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. He won a silver medal in the marathon race and also won a silver medal as a member of th ...

Biography

Sidney Hatch was also a well-known marathon runner in his time. From 1904 through 1922 he ran more than 45 marathons with a score of victories including the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

in 1909 and the

Yonkers Marathon The Yonkers Marathon, is a marathon race held annually in Yonkers, New York. Founded in 1907, it is the second oldest marathon in the United States, after the Boston Marathon. It is held on the third Sunday in October. In addition to the mar ...

in 1911, competing as a member of the Illinois State Gaelic A.A In 1910, he finished in 5th place in the

, competing as a member of the Chicago

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", ...

. He never failed to finish a marathon. He was a six-time (1906, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1914, and 1915) winner of the

Missouri Athletic Club The Missouri Athletic Club (often referred to as the MAC), founded in 1903, is a private city and athletic club with two locations. The Downtown Clubhouse is in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA and the West Clubhouse is located in the St. L ...

's All Western Marathon in St Louis including the 1908 marathon that qualified him for the 1908 Olympics. He competed in the marathon in two Olympics, placing 8th in 1904 at St Louis and 14th in 1908 in London. He won a silver medal in the 1904 Olympics Four Mile team event. On January 8, 1909, Hatch finished third behind Matthew Maloney and James Crowley in an indoor marathon before 5,000 "wildly cheering" spectators held within the second

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

(3:03:29.4). Maloney was reported to have set a new indoor record for the event (2:54:45.4). On November 27, 1909, Hatch finished sixth in the third edition of the

(3:00:24). In July of the same year, he won a 100-mile race in Chicago. In March, 1912, Hatch was one of "twenty of the best distance runners in the middle west" scheduled to participate in a 20-mile indoor marathon at Riverview Rink in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He also qualified for the 1912 Olympics but did not compete. He placed in the top 10 in the Boston Marathon several times with third-place finishes in 1915 and 1916. He finished second in the Boston Marathon in 1917. In October 1916 he set a record in the 96 mile, Milwaukee to Chicago Run, completing the race in 14 hours, 50 minutes and 30 seconds. He served as a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

messenger in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was decorated for "extraordinary heroism" under fire at near Brieulles, France, 11 October 1918. He was awarded the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

and

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

as well as the French

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

. After World War I he returned to run two more Boston marathons before retiring from marathon running. He was a letter carrier in River Forest, Illinois from 1923 to 1953, retiring at age 70. He and Gertrude Morris were married in 1921 and had three children; Herbert, and twin girls June and Jane. He was born in

River Forest, Illinois River Forest is a suburban village adjacent to Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, U.S. Per the 2020 census, the population was 11,717. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The v ...

and died in

Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 United States Census. Histor ...

. Sidney is buried at the Chapel Hills Gardens West Cemetery, Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois.

References

External links

profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hatch, Sidney 1880s births 1966 deaths American male long-distance runners American male marathon runners Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) United States Army soldiers Burials in Illinois Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics People from River Forest, Illinois