The U.S. Navy at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium

“We swear that we will take part in the Olympic Games in a spirit of chivalry, for the honour of our country and for the glory of sport.” The Navy at the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium

The scheduled 1916 Olympic Games had been cancelled after World War I broke out in 1914. The 1920 Olympics, the first official games to be held since the conflict had ended, symbolized strength, peace, and unity amid the recovery from this destructive and traumatic period.

In the two years since the armistice of November 1918, the world had been gripped by another crisis, an influenza epidemic that had ended the lives of almost one third of the global population, approximately 50 million people. The planning committee for the 1920 Olympic Games faced a tremendous amount of uncertainty even as they selected Antwerp, Belgium, as the host city, on 5 April 1919.

In November 1919, the newly elected president of the American Olympic Committee (AOC), Gustavus “Gus” Kirby, was overwhelmed by the prospect of sending a team to Belgium with the abbreviated timetable—seven months until the athletes had to be shipped off to Europe—and lack of funding. He sought help from the U.S. government, quickly naming President Woodrow Wilson as honorary president of the American Olympic Committee. Secretary of War Newton Baker and Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels were both among those selected honorary vice-presidents.[1] Both secretaries named representatives from their departments to serve on the committee. Both men selected from the Department of the Navy came from the Bureau of Navigation: Commander Claude B. Mayo and Captain Harris Laning.[2] Laning had previously attended the games as a member of the rifle team in 1912. His selection offered the benefit of previous experience. As the head of the morale division at the Bureau of Navigation, Commander Mayo was the lead in this effort. It was Mayo who testified multiple times before Congress in the next year in support of the use of army transports to get the athletes to the games.

With fewer ocean liners crossing the Atlantic during the epidemic, the AOC appealed to the U.S. Army and the Navy to transport the team to Belgium. The problem was that it was not legal for civilian athletes and officials to travel on Army or Navy ships. In a series of congressional hearings between March and June 1920, the representatives of the AOC sought to resolve this technicality, allowing Army transports to convey civilian athletes, coaches, and additional personnel.[3] The Army transports were recognized as being larger and faster than USS Hancock or USS Henderson, the only two Navy transports available at the time. The President signed the resolution on 2 June 1920.[4] This authorization was intended as a one-time affair, acknowledging the continuing effects of the war.

By the time that Congress approved the transport of the American athletes, the games had already begun in Belgium. The ice hockey competition was held in late April 1920, more than three months prior to the official opening of the games in August.

In July 1920, the Navy offered USS Frederick (CA-8) to take the athletes from the Naval Academy and other official Navy personnel to the Olympic Games in Antwerp. At least 20 athletes were current students or graduates of the Naval Academy.[5]

Not all the athletes representing the Navy traveled aboard Frederick. Others chose to travel with their respective teams aboard Army transports. There were two Navy officers on the U.S. rifle team:  Lieutenant Commander Willis A. Lee, and Commander Carl T. Osburn. They traveled abroad an army transport, SS Antigone.[6] This would be Osburn’s second Olympic Games since he participated in 1912.

Frederick sailed on 26 July from Newport, Rhode Island. This vessel carried 56 athletes from the U.S. Navy and other officials. During the trip, the rowing team practiced on deck for a half an hour each morning and afternoon on rowing machines.[7] The Navy athletes had the unique experience of having no other duties while onboard except training.[8] Once they arrived in Antwerp, the ship remained in dock. The athletes who had traveled on Frederick continued to live on the ship during their participation in the games.

The civilian athletes had a much more challenging journey to the games. As recently approved by Congress and the President, they traveled aboard Army transports. SS Northern Pacific, a fast-moving passenger liner commandeered by the U.S. government during World War I, was originally selected to transport 254 athletes.[9] However, days before the intended departure on 20 July, it lost a hull plate and a replacement ship had to be found. SS Princess Matoika, which had recently returned from Europe carrying the remains of Americans who had died in World War I, was selected at the last minute. This vessel was a slow, ill-smelling, and rat-infested substitute for Northern Pacific. Those who traveled aboard this Army transport later reported terrible conditions during the 13-day journey.[10] Their complaints were collectively referred to as the “Mutiny of the Matoika.”

Once they arrived in Antwerp, the civilian athletes were assigned housing in an old schoolhouse. The accommodations were sparse and food shortages frustrated the American athletes. Walker Smith, a American track and field athlete, later recalled that “the facilities in Antwerp for living were almost as bad as the Matoika.” Many of them slept on “cots without mattresses.” Breakfast on their first day was “one roll and a cup coffee.” The second day is “one little sardine on the plate, in addition to the rolls.” Smith was surprised by the accommodations.[11]

Some of the athletes had to understand the reasons behind the austere circumstances under which these games were held, but some may have been too focused on their own challenges. The tight timetable for organizing these games was only one of the challenges faced by the war-torn city of Antwerp preparing to host athletes from around the world.[12] The organizing committee went bankrupt in their efforts to host these events.[13] The AOC cooperated with the crews of the American military transports in port (including Frederick) to change the menu. Although the city authorities were administering rations for sugar and white flour, the AOC did its best to address the complaints of its athletes. [14]
Despite the heavy media coverage of the passage on Princess Matoika, there were other civilian vessels used to transport the 406 athletes from the United States to Antwerp between April and August 1920.[15]

Twenty-nine participating nations were represented by 2,626 athletes during the Olympic Games at Antwerp in 1920. Midshipmen from USS Frederick marched alongside the Naval Academy rowing team at the Parade of Nations,[16] which was held on 14 August 1920.

The crew of Frederick not only participated in the opening ceremonies, but they provided support during the races for the rowing team. The rowing competition was held in the Brussels–Scheldt Maritime Canal, a 165-foot-wide waterway between Antwerp and Brussels. The captain’s gig was temporarily used as a referee’s boat until its propeller became choked with grass from the banks of the canal.[17]

This year marked the first year in which a Naval Academy crew participated in the Olympic Games, and the eight-member team also brought home a gold medal. The team included nine midshipmen—Virgil Jacomini, Edwin Graves, William Jordan, Edward Moore, Alden Sanborn, Donald Johnston, Vince Gallagher, Clyde King—and the coxswain, Sherman Clark.

The eight men from the Naval Academy were not the only American sailors who brought home a gold medal. The U.S. rifle team won seven medals in 1920, including five gold medals, one of which was won by Commander Osburn.


U.S. Navy personnel also competed in other events: fencing, boxing, and track and field.

The sailors on the U.S. fencing team included Ensigns Edwin G. Fullenweider, Frederick J. Cunningham, Claiborne J. Walker, and Roscue J. Bowman. This team crossed the Atlantic on Princess Matoika rather than Frederick despite their military affiliation.[18]

Three enlisted seamen were among those who qualified for the boxing team: Georgie Etcell of USS Arkansas (BB-33), Bob Grant of USS New Mexico (BB-40), and Freddie Burrows of USS Idaho (BB-42). The regulations on amateur status were still enforced in these games, so Burrows was disqualified when it was discovered that he had participated in professional matches.[19] This was Etcell’s second trip to Belgium. Prior to serving in the Navy, he had served with the Army during World War I. [20]

Among those in track and field events were Midshipmen V. C. Clapp (discus throw), Edward Curtis (1,500-meter run), Dennis Shea (800-meter run), Frank Shea (sprints), and Walter Downey (sprints).

The year 1920 was not the first time that active-duty Navy personnel had participated in the Olympic Games. However, it was the first time that the services promoted organized participation in this amateur competition.[21] Many of the participants who had served in the U.S. Navy continued to serve after 1920. Their participation did not inspire them to embrace careers as professional athletes. Many of them had served in World War I; some would serve in World War II. For them, these games were a moment in time, an opportunity to represent the country that they served.

The 1920 Olympic Games marked an opportunity for the participating nations to demonstrate their resilience and their strength after a horrendous four-year global conflict. That opportunity was not wasted, but there were lessons learned. The American Olympic Committee disbanded in 1921 and formally reorganized as the American Olympic Association. Active-duty servicemembers continued to participate in later Olympic Games, often with the sponsored support of their service. The military services continued to have representatives on the committee for the new association. However, they opted to charter a commercial steamship for transportation of American athletes to the next Olympic Games in Paris in 1924.

— Kati A. Engel, NHHC Communication and Outreach Division, August 2024
 
 
Further Reading:
Osburn and the Olympic Tradition, NHHC.
International Olympic Committee (IOC), “Willis Lee,” accessed 1 August 204.
Saint Sing, Susan. The Wonder Crew: The Untold Story of a Coach, Navy Rowing, and Olympic Immortality. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2008.
Shenk, Robert, “To the 1920 Olympics by Cruiser.” Naval History, August 2008.
Swartz, Raymond H. “Navy Men in the Olympic Games.” Proceedings, August 1960.