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Abstract
In spite of Baron Pierre de Coubertin's efforts, the Olympic Movement did not rapidly win over a substantial number of Latin American hearts. During the first 30 years of modern Olympic life, Latin American athletes and officials played a negligible role in the Olympic Movement. However, that pattern changed in the early 1920s. Suddenly, Latin Americans entered Olympic arenas en masse. The dramatic change during the 1920s from the negligible role that Latin Americans had played so far in the Olympic Movement can be described as an ‘Olympic explosion’. This article explores the causes underlying the burst of Latin American activity in Olympic matters during this period and its multifaceted consequences. By studying such causes and consequences, this article reveals that the Latin American incorporation into the Olympic Movement was shaped by a complicated network of intertwined responses to international pressures and domestic conflicts over control and demand for access to modern sport.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the IOC Olympic Studies Centre, located in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, for the postgraduate research grant that has allowed him to investigate this area of Olympic history. The author also wishes to thank the Kautz Family Young Men's Christian Association Archives of the University of Minnesota Libraries and the Argentine sport magazine El Gráfico for allowing him access to important material for this project. Finally, the author would like to express gratitude to Prof. Mark Dyreson for his valuable advice, and Doug Collier, Pablo Galarza, Beatriz Hambeck and Paulina Suárez Pérez for their unsparing assistance.
Notes
[1] For the information in this paragraph and the next see de Coubertin, Olympic Memoirs; Lyberg, Fabulous 100 Years; Mallon, The Olympic Record Book; Torres, ‘Mass Sport Through Education or Elite Olympic Sport?’, ‘Tribulations and Achievements’, ‘Like Father, Like Son’; and Wallechinsky, The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics.
[2] See Boulongne, ‘Pierre de Coubertin (1896–1925)’, 285–6; DaCosta, ‘Olympic Globalization’, 91–105; Guttmann, The Olympics, 41, 52; Guttmann, Games and Empires, 128, 130; Guttmann, Sports. The First Five Millennia, 263–4, 266–7; Kraemer-Mandeau, ‘National and International Olympic Movements in Latin America’; Mayer, A Travers les Anneaux Olympiques; McGehee, ‘The Origins of Olympism in Mexico’; and Müller and Tuttas, ‘The Role of the YMCA’.
[3] Guttmann, Sports. The First Five Millennia, 266.
[4] Arbena, ‘Sports’, Vol. 5, 171.
[5] See Torres, ‘Ideas encontradas’.
[6] P.P. Phillips, Annual Report Letter, 30 Sept. 1918, ‘Argentina. Buenos Aires. Annual Reports. 1902–18’; and Jess T. Hopkins, Visitation Report, 11 Dec. 1918, ‘Mexico. Correspondence. 1889–1921’, Kautz Family Young Men's Christian Association Archives, (hereafter YMCA Archives), University of Minnesota Libraries.
[7] Arbena ‘Sport, Development, and Mexican Nationalism’, 352.
[8]See various letters from Dick Grant to Pierre de Coubertin for the period 1915–16 in ‘JO Ete 1920. Correspondance Generale. 1914–17’, Le Comite International Olympique Archives (hereafter IOC Archives), Lausanne, Switzerland. See also Allison V. Armour, Memorandum, ‘Armour, Allison Vincent. Correspondence. 1909–1918', IOC Archives and La Lucha (Havana), 22 Dec. 1916, n.p.
[9] Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 3 Feb. 1919, ‘Young Men's Christian Associations. 1909–27’ (hereafter ‘YMCA, 1909–27’), IOC Archives. For the role of the United States military and the YMCA in the ‘Military Olympics’ see Wakefield, Playing to Win; and Pope, Patriotic Games.
[10] Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 3 Feb. 1919, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[11] See Elwood S. Brown, Memorandum on Trip to South America. March–April–May 1920, ‘South America. General. 1893–1970s. South American Federation. Reports and budgets. 1914–87’ (hereafter ‘South America, 1893–1970s’), YMCA Archives; and Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 23 Jan. 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[12] Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 23 Jan. 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[13] Ibid.; and William M. Sloane to Pierre de Coubertin, 10 March 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[14] Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 23 Jan. 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[15] Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 22 May 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives. See also Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 7 May 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[16] Elwood S. Brown, Notes on Trip to South America. March, April and May 1920, 2, ‘South America, 1893–1970s’, YMCA Archives.
[17] See Latourette, World Service, 201–44; Federación Sudamericana de Asociaciones Cristianas de Jóvenes, Quince Años de Educación FÃsica, 3–4; Elwood S. Brown to the International Olympic Committee, c. Aug. 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives. Brown and the American press usually referred to the Far Eastern Games as the Far Eastern ‘Olympics’.
[18] See Procès-Verbaux du 19ème Session du Comité International Olympique, Anvers, 1920, IOC Archives.
[19] See Ascoli, Projeto de Commemoração, 59–60; and Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 23 Jan. 1920 and 2 March 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[20] Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 22 May 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives. See also Jess T. Hopkins to Elwood S. Brown, 5 Feb. 1921, ‘South American Federation. Correspondence and reports. 1900–50s. Conferences. 1914–50s. Printed material’ (hereafter ‘South American Federation’), YMCA Archives.
[21] de Franceschi Neto, ‘A Participação no Brasil’, 35.
[22] Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 20 Dec. 1920, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[23] Jess T. Hopkins to Pierre de Coubertin, 27 May 1921, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[24] See Elwood S. Brown to Jess T. Hopkins, 13 May 1921, ‘South American Federation’, YMCA Archives; and Procès-Verbaux du 20ème Session du Comité International Olympique, Lausanne, 1921, IOC Archives.
[25] For a brief account of the centennial celebrations see Gregory, ‘Rio de Janeiro 1922–23’. See also Jess T. Hopkins to Pierre de Coubertin, 28 Sept. 1921; Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 18 Nov. 1922, ‘South American Federation’, YMCA Archives; and Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 18 Nov. 1921; Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 13 Jan. 1922, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives.
[26] See Jess T. Hopkins to Confederação Brasileira de Desportos, 17 Jan. 1922; Jess T. Hopkins to Pierre de Coubertin, 24 Feb. 1922; and Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 16 Feb. 1922, ‘(World Alliance of) Young Men's Christian Associations. (YMCA). 1922–67’ (hereafter ‘World Alliance of YMCA, 1922–67’), IOC Archives. See also Jess T. Hopkins to Elwood S. Brown, 2 Jan. 1922; Henri J. Sims to Armando Burlamaqui, 30 Jan. 1922; and Arturo Azevedo to Henri J. Sims, 31 Jan. 1922, ‘South American Federation’, YMCA Archives.
[27] Henri J. Sims to Carlos Sampaio, 16 March 1922, ‘South American Federation’, YMCA Archives.
[28] Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 3 May 1922, ‘World Alliance of YMCA, 1922–67’, IOC Archives.
[29] Ibid; and Elwood S. Brown to Pierre de Coubertin, 2 May 1922, ‘World Alliance of YMCA, 1922–67’, IOC Archives.
[30] See Procès-Verbaux du 21ème Session du Comité International Olympique, Paris, 1922, IOC Archives.
[31] El DÃa (Montevideo) (hereafter El DÃa), 14 Sept. 1922, 6; El Mercurio (Santiago) (hereafter El Mercurio), 14 Sept. 1922, 21; O Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo), 14 Sept. 1922, 2; and Jornal do Commercio (Rio de Janeiro), 14 Sept. 1922, 10. Jess T. Hopkins, First Latin-American Games. Rio de Janeiro – Aug. 27th, to Oct. 15th, 1923 [sic]; and Jogos Athleticos Latino-Americanos. Resumo dos Resultados Officiales. Commissão Organizadora dos Festejos Desportivos do Centenario, ‘Jeux Régionaux. Correspondance, conférences et documents. 1924–28’ (hereafter ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’), IOC Archives. According to the organizing commission's report, the Latin American Games included competition in basketball, boxing, diving, equestrian, fencing, football, rowing, shooting, swimming, tennis, track and field and water polo. This leaves the International Sports Championships empty. Lamartine P. DaCosta has argued that the football competition was not associated with the Latin American Games. This corresponds with Uruguay Sport, the official publication of Uruguay's National Commission for Physical Education, which did not include football among the results of the Latin American Games. See DaCosta, ‘Olympic Globalization’, 96; and Uruguay Sport (Montevideo), n.d. (c. Oct. 1922), 4017–25.
[32] Jess T. Hopkins, First Latin-American Games. Rio de Janeiro – Aug. 27th, to Oct. 15th, 1923 [sic], ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives. For an account of the incidents, see El Mercurio, 30 Sept. 1922, 1; El Gráfico (Buenos Aires), 30 Sept. 1922, 23, and 14 Oct. 1922, 15; and La Nación (Buenos Aires) (hereafter La Nación), 2 May 1924, 6.
[33] See El Universal (Mexico City) (hereafter El Universal), 11 Oct. 1922, Sect. 2, 8.
[34] El Mercurio, 21 Sept. 1922, 14.
[35] Ibid; and El DÃa, 19 Sept. 1922, 6; 22 Sept. 1922, 6. See also Rafael Cullen to Henri de Baillet Latour, 11 Aug. 1923, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives.
[36] See El Mercurio, 25 Sept. 1922, 11; El DÃa, 26 Sept. 1922, 8; and La Nación, 3 Oct. 1922, n.p.
[37] Jess T. Hopkins to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 5 Jan. 1923, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives. See also Excélsior (Mexico City) (hereafter Excélsior), 9 Feb. 1923, Sect. 2, 6; 10 Feb. 1923, Sect. 2, 6; 12 Feb. 1923, 5; 14 Feb. 1923, Sect. 2, 6; Revista de Revistas (Mexico City) (hereafter Revista de Revistas), 18 Feb. 1923, 93; and The Havana Post (Havana), 15 Jan. 1923, 5, 16 Jan. 1923, 5, 21 Jan. 1923, 5 and 22 Jan. 1923, 5. Baillet-Latour's ambassadorial trip finished in the United States but there he was not in an official capacity.
[38] Excélsior, 14 Feb. 1923, Sect. 2, 6.
[39] See Jess T. Hopkins to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 27 Nov. 1922; 5 Jan. 1923; and 31 May 1923, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives. The speech can be found in ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives; and also in Excélsior, 14 Feb. 1923, Sect. 2, 6; El Demócrata (Mexico City), 4 Feb. 1923, Suplemento Dominical, 2; and El Universal, 13 Feb. 1923, 5.
[40] Henri de Baillet-Latour to Godefroy de Blonay, 18 Dec. 1923, ‘Blonay, Godefroy de. Correspondance. 1915–31’, IOC Archives. Baillet-Latour seemed to have followed the tradition that uses ‘América’ to designate the whole continent rather than a single country.
[41] Associated Press, 17 March 1923, 21. Baillet-Latour's comments can also be found in the New York Times, 18 March 1923, Sect. 1, Part 2, 1; and El Universal, 17 March 1923, n.p.
[42] See Procès-Verbaux du 22ème Session du Comité International Olympique, 1923 Rome, IOC Archives; and Rapport Fait par le Comte de Baillet-Latour sur la Mission qu'il a remplie pour le CIO dans l' Amérique du Sud, l'Amérique Centrale et l'Amérique du Nord, ‘22 E Session Rome 1923. Rapports. Rap. De mission en Amérique, 1923. 1923–23’ (hereafter ‘22 E Session’), IOC Archives.
[43] Elwood S. Brown to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 23 Oct. 1923, ‘Baillet-Latour, Henri de. Correspondance. 1915–25’ (hereafter ‘Baillet-Latour’), IOC Archives.
[44] The following references to Argentina and Uruguay are based on Torres, ‘Tribulations and Achievements’ and ‘“If We Had Had Our Argentine Team Here!â€â€™
[45] See Miguel de Beistegui to Pierre de Coubertin, 10 Nov. 1921, ‘Beistegui, Miguel de. Correspondance. 1901–31’, IOC Archives; and Frantz Reichel to Pierre de Coubertin, 3 Oct. 1923, ‘Baillet-Latour’, IOC Archives. Apparently, the rival association was also known as Comité Nacional OlÃmpico Mexicano (Mexican National Olympic Committee): see Revista de Revistas, 9 Sept. 1923, 50.
[46] Elwood S. Brown to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 21 Nov. 1923, ‘Baillet-Latour’, IOC Archives. ‘Insurrecto’ means rebel or insurgent in Spanish. This effort at ‘Spanglish’ by the YMCA captures very well its attitude towards the dissidents.
[47] See Enrique C. Aguirre to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 6 Oct. 1923, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives; and Pedro Mier, ‘¿Cómo estuvo eso de la Olimpiada?’El Mundo (Mexico City), 21 Dec. 1923, n.p.
[48] Enrique C. Aguirre to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 1 March 1924; Alfonso Rojo de la Vega to Henri de Baillet-Latour, c. March 1924; and Anon. to Enrique C. Aguirre, 24 March 1924, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives. Some reports mentioned the institution as Confederación Deportiva Nacional (National Sporting Confederation). This period of Mexican Olympic history has been explored by the Academia OlÃmpica Mexicana (Mexican Olympic Academy) in an unpublished 2003 manuscript entitled ‘Inicios del Movimiento OlÃmpico en México’.
[49] El Mercurio, 16 Nov. 1922, 7, 6 Dec. 1922, 9, 10 Dec. 1922, 13, 25 Dec. 1922, 14, 28 Dec. 1922, 9 and 31 Dec. 1922, 15; and La Nación, 5 June 1924, 2.
[50] O Estado de São Paulo, 13 Sept. 1922, 5, 2 Oct. 1922, 3, 5 Oct. 1922, 7, 14 Oct. 1922, 6 and 20 Oct. 1922, 7.
[51] O Estado de São Paulo, 12 Nov. 1922, 6.
[52] See de Franceschi Neto, ‘A Participação no Brasil’, 35–7; and de Castro Filho, Jogos OlÃmpicos, 56–7. For an account of the Brazilian Comité Olympico Nacional see the former, 25–30.
[53] La Prensa (Havana), 27 May 1923, Deportes, 6, and Suplemento de Sports, n.p. See also Comité Olympique Français, Les Jeux de la VIII Olympiade.
[54] Jess T. Hopkins to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 11 Oct. 1923, ‘Baillet-Latour’, IOC Archives.
[55] Anon. to Pierre de Coubertin, 26 Dec. 1924, ‘Amateurisme/General. 1924–26’, IOC Archives.
[56] Minutes of the Latin American Congress, 3 July 1924, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives. See also La Vanguardia (Buenos Aires) (hereafter La Vanguardia), 5 July 1924, 8. A handful of Ecuadorian and Haitian athletes also competed in Paris. See Comité Olympique Français, Les Jeux de la VIII Olympiade.
[57] Minutes of the Second Session of the Central American Congress, 4 July 1924, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives. See also La Vanguardia, 5 July 1924, 8. The remaining information in this paragraph comes from these documents.
[58] Enrique C. Aguirre to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 4 Aug. 1925, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives; José MartÃnez Ceballos and Jesús E. Monjaráz to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 12 Aug. 1925; and Enrique C. Aguirre, Report of the First Central American Games Held in Mexico City from Oct. 12 to Nov. 2, 1926, ‘Jeux de l'Amerique Centrale’ (hereafter ‘Amerique Centrale’), IOC Archives.
[59] Arbena, ‘Sport, Development, and Mexican Nationalism’, 354. See also McGehee, ‘The Origins of Olympism in Mexico’ and ‘Sports and Recreational Activities’.
[60] Enrique C. Aguirre to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 7 Jan. 1927, ‘Amerique Centrale’, IOC Archives.
[61] Luis Harnecker to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 8 June 1926; Alfredo Benavides to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 20 May 1928, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives; and Torres, ‘“If We Had Had Our Argentine Team Here!â€â€™, 15 and 23. Some authors cite economic or technical reasons for Brazil's absence from Amsterdam (see de Castro Filho, Jogos OlÃmpicos, 58; and Brazilian Olympic Committee, Dream and Conquest, 48); however, that does not seem to have been the case (see Arnaldo Guinle to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 27 July 1924; Raul do Rio Branco to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 25 Jan. 1926, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives; and Arnaldo Guinle to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 22 Jan. 1926, ‘Guinle, Arnaldo. Correspondance. 1925–61’, IOC Archives). A couple of Haitian and Panamanian athletes also competed in Amsterdam. See Van Rossem, The Ninth Olympiad.
[62] Conference des Jeux Sud-Americains; and Conference Amerique Centrale, ‘Jeux Régionaux, 1924–28’, IOC Archives. See also Official Bulletin of the International Olympic Committee 3, 11 (Oct. 1928); and Alberto Barreras to Henri de Baillet-Latour, 28 Sept. 1928, ‘Amerique Centrale’, IOC Archives.
[63] Elwood S. Brown, Report, 1 Jan. 1921, ‘World Alliance’, YMCA Archives.
[64] Henry J. Sims to Jess T. Hopkins, 27 April 1922, ‘South American Federation’, YMCA Archives.
[65] Jess T. Hopkins to Pierre de Coubertin, 4 June 1923, ‘YMCA, 1909–27’, IOC Archives. For the ‘big stick methods’ quotation see Jess T. Hopkins to Elwood S. Brown, 9 July 1921, ‘World Alliance’, YMCA Archives.
[66] See Henri de Baillet-Latour, Rapport sur la Mission qu'il a remplie pour le CIO dans l'Amérique du Sud, l'Amérique Centrale et l'Amérique du Nord, ‘22 E Session’, IOC Archives.
[67] De Coubertin, Olympic Memoirs, 171, 203.