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 ...

, a

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 ...

tournament was contested. Each team consisted of 8 athletes. Nations could enter up to 3 teams.Official Report, p. 32. The host Great Britain was the only one to enter more than one (entering the maximum of 3 teams). Germany, Greece, Sweden, and the United States each entered one team apiece, though Germany and Greece withdrew. This left 5 teams (40 athletes) from 3 nations to compete.

Medal table

Medal summary

Team rosters

Great Britain

City of London Police

* Edward Barrett * Frederick Goodfellow * Frederick Humphreys * William Hirons * Albert Ireton * Frederick Merriman * Edwin Mills *

John James Shepherd John James Shepherd (2 June 1884 – 9 July 1954) was an English tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics, in the 1912 Summer Olympics, and in the 1920 Summer Olympics for Great Britain. He was part of the Briti ...

Liverpool Police

Charles Foden Charles Foden (1868 – 14 October 1908) was a British tug of war competitor. At the 1908 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the tug of war event as the captain of the British team, ''Liverpool Police'', for whom he worked as a superi ...

''(captain)'' * James Clarke * Thomas Butler * William Greggan *

Alexander Kidd Alexander Kidd was a British tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1908 he won the silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silve ...

Daniel McDonald Lowey At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a tug of war tournament was contested. Each team consisted of 8 athletes. Nations could enter up to 3 teams.Official Report, p. 32. The host Great Britain was the only one to enter more than one (entering the maximum ...

* Patrick Philbin * George Smith *

Thomas Swindlehurst Thomas Swindlehurst (21 May 1874 – 15 March 1959) was a British tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1908 he won the silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a ...

Metropolitan Police "K" Division

Walter Chaffe Walter Chaffe (2 April 1870 – 22 April 1918) was a British tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics. In 1908 he won the bronze medal as member of the British team ''Metropolitan ...

Joseph Dowler Joseph Dowler (1 February 1879 – 13 February 1931) was a British tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and in the 1912 Summer Olympics. In 1908 he won the bronze medal as member of the British team ''Metropo ...

Ernest Ebbage Ernest Walter Ebbage (1 August 1873 – 2 September 1943) was a British tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1908 he won the bronze medal as member of the British team ''Metropolitan Police The Metro ...

Thomas Homewood Thomas Homewood (25 September 18811 February 1945) was a British tug of war competitor who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1908 he won the bronze medal as member of the British team ''Metropolitan Police "K" Division''. He was killed ...

* Alexander Munro *

William Slade William Slade may refer to: * William Slade (politician) (1786–1859), American politician, governor of Vermont * William Slade (valet), employee of President Lincoln * Will Slade Will Slade (born 24 October 1983) is a former Australian rule ...

* Walter Tammas * James Woodget

Sweden

Albrekt Almqwist At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a tug of war tournament was contested. Each team consisted of 8 athletes. Nations could enter up to 3 teams.Official Report, p. 32. The host Great Britain was the only one to enter more than one (entering the maximu ...

* Frans Fast *

Carl-Emil Johansson At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a tug of war tournament was contested. Each team consisted of 8 athletes. Nations could enter up to 3 teams.Official Report, p. 32. The host Great Britain was the only one to enter more than one (entering the maximum ...

* Emil Johansson * Knut Johansson *

Karl Krook At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a tug of war tournament was contested. Each team consisted of 8 athletes. Nations could enter up to 3 teams.Official Report, p. 32. The host Great Britain was the only one to enter more than one (entering the maximu ...

Karl-Gustaf Nilsson At the 1908 Summer Olympics, a tug of war tournament was contested. Each team consisted of 8 athletes. Nations could enter up to 3 teams.Official Report, p. 32. The host Great Britain was the only one to enter more than one (entering the maximu ...

* Anders Wollgarth

United States

Wilbur Burroughs Wilbur Gordon Burroughs Sr. (June 13, 1884 – August 6, 1960) was an American track and field athlete who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics. He finished eighth in the Greek discus throw event and tenth in the traditional discus throw; ...

Wesley Coe Wesley William Coe Jr. (May 8, 1879 – December 24, 1926), sometimes listed as William Wesley Coe Jr., was an American track and field athlete who competed principally in the shot put and also in the hammer throw, discus throw, and tug of war. ...

Arthur Dearborn Arthur Kent "Ding" Dearborn (May 27, 1886 – August 28, 1941) was an American Track and field, track and field athlete who competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics. He finished fourth in the Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's Greek discu ...

John Flanagan John Flanagan or Jack Flanagan may refer to: Sportspeople * Jack Flanagan (footballer) (1902–1989), English footballer * John Flanagan (hammer thrower) (1868–1938), Irish-American three-time Olympic champion in athletics * John Flanagan (Limeri ...

Bill Horr Marquis Franklin "Bill" Horr (May 2, 1880 – July 1, 1955) was an American football player, coach, and Olympic track and field athlete. He played college football as a tackle at Syracuse University and was selected as an All-American in 1908. ...

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 ...

Ralph Rose Ralph Waldo Rose (March 17, 1885 – October 16, 1913) was an American track and field athlete. He was born in Healdsburg, California. Biography Standing 6 ft 5.5 in (197 cm) and weighing 250 pounds (115 kg), Rose was the first shot putter ...

Lee Talbott Leander James 'Lee' Talbott (July 12, 1887 – September 16, 1954) was an American track and field athlete, tug of war competitor, and wrestler from Kansas City, Missouri. He attended the Mercersburg Academy and was a weight thrower first at ...

Results

Quarterfinals

The

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

teams withdrew, narrowing the seven-team field to five. Thus, the Swedish team and two of the British squads had byes in the quarterfinals. The only match held was between the Liverpool team and the Americans. Liverpool won the first pull easily, after which the United States delegation protested against the footwear worn by the Liverpool police, who competed in their service boots. The protest was dismissed, and the Americans withdrew in disgust.Cook, p. 91City of London Police
/ref>

Semifinals

Liverpool again faced a foreign opponent, and again prevailed. The two London services squared off in the other semifinal, with the City police beating the Metropolitan men in a lengthy first pull. The second pull was not as tight a contest.

Final

The Londoners defeated Liverpool in the final, winning the first two pulls.

Bronze medal match

The Swedish team did not appear for the bronze medal match.

Notes

Sources

* *

External links

* {{Tug of war at the Summer Olympics 1908 Summer Olympics events

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

1908 in tug of war History of the Metropolitan Police History of the City of London Police