Circa 1904 Chapter I: Hell Race

ObscureBall

On August 30, 1904 32 runners set off to compete in the Olympic Marathon in St. Louis. Only 13 would finish. This poorly planned event would be one of the worst sporting events of all time. Cramps, dehydration, wild dogs, hallucinatios, stomach hemorrrages, car wrekcs and scandal all took place that afternoon.

In fact, it was just one of several sporting events in 1904 marked by scandal and trechary. And in this three part serires we'll explore three of those events.

In this episode Dr. Peter Kastor, Author and Professor of History and American Cultural Studies discusses how the legacy 1904 World's Fair, how white supremecy influenced the event and the legacy it's left. David Gunn shares his epxerience running in marathons juxtaposed with the 1904 race.

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Sources:

Sports-Reference

https://web.archive.org/web/20200417171704/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1904/ATH/mens-marathon.html

Jon Bois Video Essay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4AhABManTw

Abott Kahler (Karen Abbot) Smithsonian Article

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-1904-olympic-marathon-may-have-been-the-strangest-ever-14910747/

The 1904 Anthropology Days and Olympic Games

edited by Susan Brownnell