Mutiny of the Matoika
Mutiny of the Matoika is the common name for the events in July 1920 involving a large portion of the
The conditions on the Princess Matoika were terrible, as the hold reeked of formaldehyde from the dead bodies of the recently deceased American World War I soldiers, and there was no place to train. Furthermore, the athletes were dissatisfied with the quality of food and huge numbers of rats present on the ship.[2] Near the end of the voyage, the athletes published a list of grievances and demands and distributed copies of the document to the United States Secretary of War, the American Olympic Committee members, and the press. Among these were the demands for better accommodations in Antwerp, cabin passage home, and railroad fare from New York to their home cities.[3] The incident received wide coverage in American newspapers at the time.[4]
Background
In 1920, the number of
The Matoika had been in the service of the U.S. Army as a transport ship since September 1919, and, until the time of her selection, had been returning American soldiers from Europe and repatriating the remains of Americans killed during the war.
Voyage
On the afternoon of July 26, the athletes attended a farewell reception at the
When female team members,
Training conditions aboard the ship were less than ideal throughout the voyage. Rough seas for parts of the journey hampered training and contributed to widespread seasickness.
Despite the problems encountered by some of the team, others were able to work out adequately. Fencers, wrestlers, and boxers were all able to work out in close-to-usual routines.[12] But perhaps the most impressive training feat was a high jump by Richmond W. Landon who cleared a 5-foot-10-inch (1.78 m) high jump on the rolling deck. He later achieved a gold-medal-winning (and Olympic record) jump[clarification needed] of 6 feet 4.2 inches (1.935 m).[22][23]
The "mutiny"
By the time the ship neared Antwerp, the team members had had enough of the "rusty old troop carrier".[1] The team initially threatened to boycott the games if the conditions in the host city were not better than those aboard the Matoika, but quickly rescinded that.[24] The group, with McDonald and Norman Ross serving as ringleaders, drafted a resolution in which they condemned the AOC and outlined their grievances and demands:[3]
- the quarters aboard the ship were unlivable[3]
- the food on board was terrible[1]
- they requested better accommodation in Antwerp
- they requested cabin passage on the way home
- and they requested train fare to their homes from New York after returning.[3]
They were careful to give credit to the crew of Princess Matoika who, in the athletes' assessment, did "everything possible to improve conditions".
Aftermath
After the Olympics were over, fencer Joseph B. B. Parker summarized the situation by saying that all who made the trip would want to compete for the United States in future Olympics, but "never again … under the management of the Executive Committee of the Olympic team of 1920".[12] In 1922, author Newton Fuessle brought up the specter of the 1920 Olympic passage on the Matoika when discussing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and his hopes that the NCAA would take over the functions of the Amateur Athletic Union in controlling American Olympic teams in the future.[25]
By the mid-1930s, the events on board were known as the "Mutiny of the Matoika". Sportswriter John Kieran, in his 1936 book The Story of the Olympic Games: 776 B.C. to 1936 A.D., related the story of the mutiny by that name.[26]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Findling and Pelle, p. 56.
- ^ Josh Barr. "100 years later, looking back at Team USA's success at Antwerp 1920". United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Officials blamed by U.S. athletes" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 August 1920. p. 23.
- ^ "Colleges to fight A.A.U., says Fuessle" (PDF). The New York Times. 17 April 1922. p. 19.
- ^ Immigration Information Bureau. See figures for 1913, the last full year before the war (pp. 165–174) vs. the figures for 1920 (pp. 198–202).
- ^ a b "Olympic stars work on water". Los Angeles Times. 1920-07-29. p. III-1.
- ^ "Matoika to carry American athletes" (PDF). The New York Times. 1920-07-10. p. 12. Retrieved 2008-04-16. This article in The New York Times and one in The Washington Post ("Uncle Sam causes delay in American Olympic invasion", July 10, 1920, p. 6) both identify the ship as the Northern Pacific. Findling and Pelle mistakenly identify the ship as Northern Pacific's sister ship USAT Great Northern (p. 56).
- ^ For returning troops, see, for example: "General say Reds killed 82 Yankees in Russia". Chicago Daily Tribune. 1919-10-16. p. 7. For repatriated remains, see: "Army transport brings both joy and sorrow home". The Atlanta Constitution. 1920-05-24. p. 10.
- ^ "Princess Matoika". DANFS.
- ^ a b "U. S. athletic stars numbering 230 sail for Olympic Games". Chicago Daily Tribune. 1920-07-27. p. 10.
- ^ Crowell and Wilson, p. 609, 610–11
- ^ a b c d e f g Parker, p. 15.
- ^ "Olympic team sets sail". Los Angeles Times. 1920-07-27. p. III-1.
- ^ a b c "Athletes start training grind on ship decks". Chicago Daily Tribune. Associated Press. 1920-07-29. p. 10.
- ^ "American athletes are now satisfied". The Washington Post. 1920-07-31. p. 8.
- ^ a b "U. S. runners workout on board ship". The Atlanta Constitution. 1920-07-29. p. 12.
- ^ Rivera, p. 29.
- ^ Rivera, p. 19
- ^ "Marathoners work out". The Christian Science Monitor. 1920-08-05. p. 10.
- ^ "Athletes anxious to reach Antwerp". The Washington Post. 1920-08-06. p. 9.
- ^ "Yankee athletes finish hard work". The Washington Post. 1920-08-05. p. 8.
- ^ "United States stars train aboard ship". The Christian Science Monitor. 1920-07-31. p. 10.
- ^ "Landon close to high jump record" (PDF). The New York Times. 1921-06-05. p. 94. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ "Officials criticized by Yankee athletes". The Washington Post. 1920-08-07. p. 8.
- ^ "Colleges to fight A.A.U., says Fuessle" (PDF). The New York Times. 1922-04-17. p. 19. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ Kieran, p. 124.
References
- OCLC 287391.
- Findling, John E.; Kimberly D. Pelle (1996). "Antwerp 1920". Historical Dictionary of the Modern Olympic Movement. OCLC 32665209.
- Immigration Information Bureau (1987) [1931]. Morton Allan directory of European passenger steamship arrivals for the years 1890 to 1930 at the Port of New York and for the years 1904 to 1926 at the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore. OCLC 16464579.
- OCLC 5778279.
- Naval Historical Center. "Princess Matoika". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
- Parker, Joseph Brooks Bloodgood (October 1920). "The Olympic Games". U.S. Air Service. 4 (3). Army and Navy Air Service Association..
- Rivera, Carmen E., ed. (July 2000). "An Olympian's Oral History: Aileen Riggin" (PDF). Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
External links
- Photo of the water tank used by 1920 Olympians on the deck of USAT Princess Matoika