W.W. Alexander’s reflections on Britain at the Olympic Games, 1908–1912

ABSTRACT

William Whiteway (W.W.) Alexander (b.1852) was a prominent figure in Midlands athletics from the 1890s to the 1930s. Primarily, he is remembered for his impact upon Birmingham’s Birchfield Harriers Athletic Club, whose stadium in Perry Barr bears his name. Alexander’s involvement went far beyond the club, as he served as a prominent administrator of the sport and wrote a weekly column in the Birmingham sporting newspaper The Sporting Mail. This article will examine Alexander’s comments regarding the Olympic Games of London (1908) and Stockholm (1912), where he provides an alternative perspective on the British attitude at these Games and offers possible reasons as to why the British performance declined.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. The IOC had been formed in 1894, with the inaugural Olympic Games taking place in Athens (1896). Further Games took place in Paris (1900) and St. Louis (1904).

2. W.O. Alexander and Wilfred Morgan, The History of Birchfield Harriers 1877-1988 (Birmingham: Renault, 1988), 12.

3. ‘The Observatory: Mr W.W. Alezander’, Sport and Play and Wheel Life, May 31, 1913, 7.

4. Erkki Vettenniemi, ‘Notes on Nordic Nostalgia: Stockholm 1912 and Helsinki 1952 revisited’, cited in Christian Widholm, ‘Introduction: The Summer Olympics of 1912’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 31, no. 5 (2014): 510.

5. Matthew P. Llewellyn, ‘A British Olympics’, The International journal of the History of Sport 28, no. 5 (2011); Matthew P. Llewellyn, ‘The Battle of Shepherd’s Bush’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 28, no. 5 (2011); Matthew P. Llewellyn, ‘A Tale of National Disaster’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 28, no. 5 (2011); Matthew P. Llewellyn, ‘A Nation Divided: Great Britain and the Pursuit of Olympic Excellent 1912-1914’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 28, no. 5 (2011); Dave Day, ‘Massaging the Amateur Ethos: Professional Coaches at Stockholm in 1912’, Sport in History 32, no. 2 (2012).

6. Martin Johnes, ‘Archives and Historians of Sport’, The International Journals of the History of Sport 32, no. 15 (2015): 1785.

7. Samantha Oldfield, ‘Narrative Methods in Sport History Research: Biography, Collective Biography, and Prosopography’. The International Journal of the History of Sport 32, no. 15 (2016): 1860.

8. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, June 20, 1908, 1.

9. Ibid.

10. Strephon, ‘Athletics: The Marathon Race’, The Athletic News, July 27, 1908, 1.

11. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, Ibid. July 18, 1908, 1.

12. Deborah Marie Pitchford, ‘Turning Professional: Reggie Walker 1908 Olympic Champion’, in Pedestrianism, ed. Dave Day (Crewe: Manchester Metropolitan University, 2014), 215.

13. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, 18 July 1908, 1.

14. ‘The Olympic Games: The Marathon Race’, The Times, July 25, 1908, 8.

15. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, 18 July 1908, 1.

16. ‘The Olympic Games’, The Birmingham Daily Mail, July 25, 1908, 2.

17. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, July 25, 1908, 1.

18. ‘London Olympic Games’, Football and Sports Special, July 14, 1908, 6.

19. Ibid, 6.

20. Ibid. August 1, 1908, 1.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. ‘The Marathon failure’, The Athletic News, July 27, 1908, 5.

24. ‘Editorial Comment’, Western Mail, July 27, 1908, 4.

25. This is a comment found widely within the press reports, for example: ‘Sensation at the Stadium: Halswelle fouled in the 400 final’, 24 July 1908, 4 and ‘The Olympic Games’, The Times, July 24, 1908, 6.

26. Luke J. Harris, Britain and the Olympic Games, 1908-1920: Perspectives on Participation and Identity (London: Palgrave, 2015), 10.

27. ‘The Olympic Games’, 6.

28. ‘British Ignored Sullivan: A.A.U’s President, says George Brown’, The Boston Post, August 6, 1908, 10.

29. Ibid.

30. Sports Argus, July 25, 1908, 1.

31. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, August 1, 1908, 1.

32. For example: C.B. Fry, ‘The Olympic Games: were they a success’, C.B. Fry’s Magazine, October 1908, 67.

33. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, 1 August 1908, 1.

34. Ibid.

35. Vanity Fair, July 20, 1908.

36. Charger, ‘London Olympic Games’, Sports Gazette, August 8, 1908, 4.

37. Ibid.

38. Dave Day, ‘Massaging the Amateur ethos: British professional trainers at the 1912 Olympic Games’, Sport in History 32, no. 2 (2012): 159.

39. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, 1 August 1908, 1.

40. David Davis, Showdown at Shepherd’s Bush: The 1908 Olympic Marathon and the Three Runners Who Launched a Sporting Craze (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2012).

41. W. W. Alexander ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, July 30, 1910, 1.

42. Ibid. April 24, 1911, 1.

43. Ibid.

44. W. W. Alexander ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, July 1, 1911, 1.

45. WLS, ‘The AAA Championships, a Black Day for England’, The Athletic News, July 3, 1911, 2.

46. The Sporting Life July 3, 1911, 6, cited in Matthew Llewellyn ‘The Best Distance Runner the World has Ever Produced: Hannes Kolehmainen and the Modernization of British Athletics’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 29, no. 7.

47. ‘The Encouragement of Field Events, Formation of British Amateur association’, The Sporting Life, May 9, 1910, 2.

48. Dave Day and Luke Harris, ‘Who in England Cares About the Champion Spear Tosser?: Field Events and the British Athletic Psyche Before the First World War’, Journal of Sport History no. 2 (2018): 170.

49. Charles Otway, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Life, July 20, 1910, 2.

50. W. W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, June 24, 1911, 1.

51. Emil Voigt, ‘England’s Need, Where the Olympic Scheme Fails’, Athletic News, July 13, 1914, 2 cited in Day and Harris, ‘Who in England Cares About the Champion Spear Tosser’, 176.

52. Ibid. April 20, 1912, 1.

53. Ibid.

54. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, April 20, 1912, 1.

55. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, April 27, 1912, 1.

56. W.O. Alexander and Wilfred Morgan, eds., The History of Birchfield Harriers 1877-1988 (Birmingham: Renault, 1988), 33.

57. The Villa News and Record, August 8, 1914, 667. Cited in Simon Inglis, Villa Park 100 Years (Smethwick: Sports Projects, 1997), 107; A.E. Machin, ‘Athletic Notes’, Sport and Play and Wheel Life, August 30, 1913.

58. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, 1.

59. Ibid. May 25, 191, 1.

60. Ibid.

61. ‘The Olympic Games: British Trials’, The Times, May 20, 1912, 13.

62. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Life, June 1, 1912, 1.

63. Ibid.

64. Ibid. June 8, 1912, 1.

65. Ibid.

66. Ibid.

67. Ibid. June 22, 1912, 1.

68. Llewellyn, ‘A Tale of National Disaster’, 713.

69. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, 1.

70. Ibid.

71. Ibid.

72. Ibid.

73. ‘English Trials: Many Fine Contests for Olympic Places’, The Sporting Life, May 20, 1912, 7.

74. Ibid. July 6, 1912, 1.

75. Llewellyn, ‘A Tale of National Disaster’.

76. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, July 13, 1912, 1.

77. Ibid.

78. Old Blue, ‘Rowing’, The Sporting Life, April 13, 1912, 7. Sidney Brookes, ‘British Olympic Failures: Are We Decadent at Sport?’, The Observer, July 14, 1912, 4. Editorial, ‘Why we Lose at Sport’, The Daily Mail, July 10, 1912, 6.

79. Lord Desborough, ‘The Stockholm Olympic Games’, The Field, September 1912, 45.

80. Editorial, ‘The Moral of the Olympic Games’, The Times, July 29, 1912, 7.

81. Ibid. July 13, 1912, 1.

82. ‘Qualification of an Amateur’, Western Mail, July 13, 1912, 8.

83. Ibid, 1.

84. ‘Olympic Games, Should England Retire?’ Mr Lehmann’s views, The Observer, August 4, 1912, 6.

85. Matt Llewellyn: ‘A Tale of National Disaster’, The International Journal of the History of Sport 28, no. 5 (2011): 722.

86. Editorial, The Scotsman, July 19, 1912, 6.

87. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Mail, August 3, 1912, 1.

88. Ibid.

89. Ibid. July 13, 1912, 1.

90. Editorial, ‘The Nation and the Olympic Games’, The Times, August 27, 1913, 13.

91. ‘International Athletics’, Morning Post’, August 12, 1912, 5. Cited in Matthew P. Llewellyn, ‘A Tale of National Disaster’, 725.

92. E.W. Cox, ‘Note and Anecdote’, The Sporting Mail, August 10, 1912, 1.

93. Arthur Conan Doyle, ‘To the Editor of The Times’, The Times, July 18, 1912, 12.

94. W.W. Alexander, ‘Athletic Notes’, The Sporting Life, July 27, 1912, 1.

95. ‘Editorial: The Next Olympic Games’, The Daily Mail, August 2, 1912, 4.

96. Nideden Morning Record. September 22, 1913.

97. Peter Lovesey: The Official Centenary History of the AAA (Amateur Athletic Association) (Derby: Guinness, 1980), 119, 120.

98. Gareth Rogers, Fleet and Free: A History of Birchfield Harriers Athletic Club (Stroud: Tempus, 2005), 40.