The Inter-Allied Games, Paris, 22Nd June to 6Th July, 1919;

THE INTER-ALLIED GAMES 1919 ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY Library Cornell university GV 721.16 Theinter-a.HedM-Si^:?l.ia.fir Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014114353 (Design of bronze badge described on page 151). THE i INTER-ALLIED GAMES pARI5 ZzWuNE TO 6™JujLy pUDLJSjiED By THE GAA\BS COAVM^TTEE ^^^^HOS % Compiled under the direction of MAJOR GEORGE WYTHE Infantry Edited by CAPTAIN JOSEPH MILLS HANSON Field Artillery Art Editor CAPTAIN CARL V. BURGER Infantry The Games Committee. Top ?c/<—Lieut. Col. D. M. Goodrich, G. S., Chief Liaison Section. Top center—Col. Wait C. Johnson, G. S., Chief Athletic Officer A. B. F. and Chairman of Games Committee. Top righi—W. A. Reynolds, Associate Director Dept. of Athletics, Section. Bottom y. M. C. A. Bottom left—Ueut. Col.T. C. Lonergan, G. S., Chief Technical General of right—Elwood S. Brown, Director Dept. of Athletics, Y. M. C. A. and Director the Games. ORIGIN OF THE INTER-ALLIED GAMES o result was ever yet achieved without a cause; no end ever accomplished without a beginning. The present volume records the history of the Inter-Allied Games ; impor- tant in themselves because of their magnitude, unparal- leled in the annals of sport by reason of the circumstances under which they were held, and memorable for the good feeling, the pre- cision of execution and the close adherence to pre-arranged plans which marked their progress. These Games signalized to a vast number of soldiers of the various -Armies of the Allies the end of the Great War and the beginning, in this unique love feast of divers races and nationalities, of a greater and more hopeful peace than the world had yet known. But how, at the first, was conceived that ultimate objective so clearly that it could be kept in constant focus throughout a long period of preparation ? How was devised, and through what previous experiences was there an agency capable of devising, the mechanism by which, from millions of men, strong but weary from war- fare, were sifted out the few hundred physically elite who finally stood, clean-limbed and lithe, upon the oval of the Pershing Stadium and con- tended before tens of thousands of the Allied peoples for the highest athletic honors of the armed hosts of civihzation ? If the Inter-Allied Games are to be seen in that sort of perspective from which alone events can be truly understood, it is necessary that these questions be answered. In a sense by no means fanciful the Inter-Allied Games of 1919 may be said to have originated with a volleyball and an indoor baseball lying in a trunk whieh arrived in the harbor of Manila, Philippine Islands, one day in 1910. This trunk, together with the volleyball and the baseball, belonged to Elwood S. Brown who at that time went to the Philippines as Physical Director of the American Y.M.C.A. at Manila to see what could be done in the way of building up sports among, the American civilian population in the Philippines and later among the natives. Naturally, baseball was much in vogue with American civihans and soldiers stationed in the Islands. This rather highly specialized 12 THE INTER-ALLIED GAMES — 1919 game, however, did not reach the great majority of the Filipinos, to whom mass sports of any sort were an unknown quantity. That " " Philippines, summer at Baguio, the mountain summer capital of the where the American officials took refuge from the intense heat in ^Manila, the Filipino clerks and other attaches of the government were, as usual, very discontented and uncomfortable, the cool weather of the place being as disagreeable to them as it was refreshing to the Americans. They knew nothing of occupying their idle time in vigor- ous physical exercises, but, bringing out his volleyball and indoor baseball, Mr. Brown induced a group to begin playing with them. The sport interested them; very soon it enthused them. Every day more and more Filipinos, not only men but women, came out to play and more and more wanted to take part. Games between different groups representing different departments were very soon in popular vogue. More volley balls and indoor baseballs were imported from the United States but the supply could hardly keep up with the demand. The games were carried back to Manila and, encouraged by Governor General Forbes, Mr. Brown introduced them and gradually other sports into the Government departments and into the public schools and their popularity spread rapidly throughout the archipelago. The Filipinos, ignorant of general play, became enthusiastic participants as soon as they discovered that skill was not a prerequisite to enjoyment of such games. During the seventh year of mass play development, one dealer alone in Manila sold 11,000 volleyballs, practically all of them to natives, and manufacturers in the Philippines were making them in quantity in the cheaper grades. Taking advantage of the newly aroused spirit, Mr. Brown organized during 1911 and 1912, competitive games between Americans and Fihpinos in which the natives performed very creditably. In 1912, at the invitation of the Manila Tennis Club, Kumagae, the Japanese tennis champion, came to the Philippines and played against resident Americans and the few Filipinos who had developed some skill in the game. It was a thing unprecedented for no Japanese athlete, as such, had ever visited the Phihppines before. In 1913, through efforts made in various trips to China and Japan, both nations were induced to send small groups of athletes to take part in a series of Far Eastern Games, staged at Manila, the Chinese delegation being accompanied by Wu Ting Fang, the distinguished former Chinese minister to the United States. The distrust and dislike between the three races was a matter of tradition; it had never seemed possible that a Filipino, a PERSHING STADIUM — PARIS 13 Chinese and a Japanese could come together except to transact necessary business. But on the field of sport they found that not only could they meet amicably but, each learning that the other was not such a bad fellow after all, a new and mutual respect each for the other was engendered. The first Far Eastern Games consisted of track and field events, baseball, volleyball, basketball, swimming and tennis. They were so successful that a permanent organization was formed and largely through the agency of the Y.M.C.A. and other associations having to do with athletics, more extensive activities were begun in each country which had participated. The games were made permanent biannual events, the second meet occurring at Shanghai in 1915, the third at Tokio, Japan, in 1917, and the fourth at Manila in 1919. At the Shanghai Games from 15,000 to 20,000 spectators daily attended the events, which roused such widespread interest that when Mr. Brown and the delegation of athletes from the Phihppines arrived at Peking for the purpose of giving some exhibition games, they were summoned to an audience by Yuan Shi Kai, the President of China. Escorted through a maze of circuitous passages into the center of the Presidential palace and surrounded by burly Manchu guards whose presence made the visitors anything but at their ease, the interview was, nevertheless, highly interesting and the Chinese President learned the truth of the report, which previously he had been unable to credit, that the medium of athletics had induced Chinese from such politically hostile districts as Canton, Shanghai and Peking, to stand shoulder to shoulder as the champions of a common China. Thenceforward the Far Eastern Games have commanded the hearty support of the Chinese Government. In Japan they have aroused great popular interest and enthusiasm and in consequence modern athletics have made much headway despite the fact that at first they had to combat the powerful counter-influence upon the people of the school of Judo, the semi-religious combination of philosophy, art and individual physical development whose expression, in the last named phase, is more or less understood in foreign countries as Jiu-Jitsu. Through the men and the agencies working with him and through Mr. Brown's own efforts during the latter part of his time in the Far East, modern athletics were also introduced and started on the road to healthy development in Siam and through the Malay Archipelago. In April, 1918, America being in the World War and having a rapidly expanding army in Europe, Mr. Brown requested war service 14 THE INTER-ALLIED GAMES — 1919 and was brought to France as one of the Y.M.C.A. athletic directors. of organizing athletic At that time little had been done in the way waiting to go relaxation among the troops resting near the front or pressing in the line, chiefly because of demands which seemed more director from the for work in other lines. But with this physical Philippines came wide experience in organizing, full knowledge of the psychology of sport and a vision, founded upon practical demon- strations, of the possibilities of bringing divers peoples together in friendship upon the field of sport. Becoming a Field Secretary the new man began urging in influential quarters more widespread and systematic athletic activity in the army. There being no difficulty in arousing the interest of General Pershing and securing full cooperation from the Army and the Y.M.C.A. headquarters, in a com- paratively short time the American Expeditionary Forces themselves were being fairly well equipped and directed for the enjoyment of the sports in which Americans will always indulge if they are given the opportunity.

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