IV. Olympiad London 1908 Football Tournament
Introduction | Tournament Set-Up | Venue and Attendances | Match Details | Final Ranking | Topscorers | Squad Lists | Referees | About this document
The 1908 Olympics featured the first ever official Olympic football tournament.
As the United Kingdom was allowed to enter four sides (England, who were the only
British F.I.F.A. members, having joined the international federation in 1905,
Scotland, Ireland (still comprising the entire island) and Wales), the other
eleven F.I.F.A. member federations (as
of 1907: Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy,
the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland) were also entitled to enter up to four
teams. Spain, who had been represented at the 1904 foundation of F.I.F.A. by
Madrid F.C., did not yet have a national football federation (the only condition for
entering a team; F.I.F.A. membership was not: France had in fact left the F.I.F.A.
by the time of the Olympic football tournament) and therefore could not participate.
A similar rule (allowing countries to enter multiple teams because the United Kingdom
was entitled to do so) applied for the 1908 Olympic tournaments in golf (but eventually
no Olympic golf tournament took place) and rugby union (for which only Australia and
United Kingdom registered a team, Cornwall representing the hosts); in (grass) hockey
the United Kingdom did avail itself of the opportunity to enter four sides, England
defeating Ireland 8-1 in the final; in the preliminary rounds, England had eliminated
France (10-1) and Scotland (6-1) while Ireland had ousted Wales (3-1).
By October 1907, Ireland, Switzerland and Wales had already officially renounced
on entering the football tournament, while Austria and the Netherlands had
confirmed their intention to send one side (i.e. their official national team).
Eventually, days before the close of registration, Austria decided not to enter,
and neither did Belgium, Germany and Italy, apparently all mostly for financial
reasons. Also Scotland, who (like Ireland and the English amateur
federation A.F.A.) had been denied F.I.F.A. membership at the Vienna congress
in June 1908 at which Bohemia had been refused an extension of
its provisional membership (since 1906), declined to send a team south.
Unlike the foursome of A.F.A., Bohemia, Ireland and Scotland, both Finland and
Norway had been admitted to F.I.F.A. at the Vienna congress, and the Finns seriously
considered entering the Olympic football tournament, even started fundraising,
but eventually the (financial) difficulties proved insurmountable.
France, who had left the F.I.F.A. immediately after that 1908 congress to found
the U.I.A.F.A. together with
the A.F.A. and the Bohemian federation, was the only country to avail itself
of the possibility to send more than one side (in their case, two), perhaps
out of a misplaced sense of grandeur; neither team would cover itself
in any gloire. (However, the margin of their semi-final loss
(sixteen) is a record that will stand for eternity.)
At the close of registration, on 1 September 1908, they had even entered three
sides, but ten days later the U.S.F.S.A. had decided to send only two, discarding
all players suggested by the catholic rival federation F.G.S.P.F.
The United Kingdom only entered one side, usually referred to as Great Britain
but in fact an all-English (amateur) team.
Thus, seven countries fielding eight sides entered the draw on 22 September 1908
(note that together with boxing, (grass) hockey, lacrosse, rugby and figure skating,
football was part of the so-called "Winter Olympics" held in October; the Olympic events
in all other sports had been contested between the end of April and mid-August).
However, one week before their first round match against the Netherlands, Hungary
withdrew for financial reasons ("infolge ungenügender Mittel", as reported
in the Neues Wiener Abendblatt of 14 October), and two days later Bohemia, considered
favourites for the silver medals in Dutch press previews, also decided not to travel due
to lack of either funds ("da hiefür die nötigen Mittel nicht aufgebracht
werden konnten", as communicated by the same paper on 16 October) or available
players (the morning edition of the Prager Tagblatt of the same day stated the withdrawal
was caused by "Mangel an Spielern"), leaving only six sides in the tournament.
The official report stated (p. 173) that
Hungary and Bohemia had to scratch "owing to political trouble in the Balkans",
ostensibly referring to the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the Habsburg
empire at the beginning of October 1908, but that appears to have been nothing
more than a pretext (neither Budapest, which would have provided all Hungarian
players, nor Prague, from where the entire Bohemian squad would have come, are
anywhere near the Balkans, and it would seem unlikely, if perhaps not quite
impossible, that even a British geographical ignoramus would have confused
Bohemia with Bosnia and Hungary with Herzegovina);
that Bohemia and Hungary were forced out of the Olympic football tournament
because of political pressure from the government in Vienna, as often stated,
e.g. [IFF 00 (Band 1)] (pp. 18-19), is not
substantiated by any contemporary sources the author is aware of – and, in the
case of Hungary, an utterly absurd suggestion; in fact, Hungary was represented
at the Olympics by far more athletes (153 according to the official report, Appendix B;
only the hosts, France, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States registered
more entrants) than Austria (34), with Bohemia not far behind (31).
Likewise, it was due to financial constraints that the two French sides did not stay
overnight in London but only crossed the Channel on the morning of their matches against
Denmark and returned home immediately afterwards; it is not surprising they were not
prepared to repeat that stunt for the consolation tournament.
In the original announcement of the Olympic football tournament, the only prizes
mentioned were gold medals for the winners. It is therefore sometimes claimed
(cf. [Klu 97], p. 286, note 174) that no silver
and bronze medals were awarded, but that is incorrect (although it should be mentioned
that the silver and bronze medals were offered by the British rather than the
International Olympic Committee). The official report of the Games published by
the B.O.C. [Coo 09] (which mystifyingly gave the
result of the match between the Netherlands and Sweden as two goals to one, a baffling
error in view of the numerous contemporary press reports on the encounter) described
the ceremony (p. 179) at which the Rt. Hon. J. Bell, the Lord Mayor of London,
gave the bronze, silver and gold medals to, respectively, the Netherlands, Denmark
and the United Kingdom, in the presence of, among others, Lady Bell, the Sheriffs,
the Sword and Mace-Bearers, Lord Kinnaird, the Rt. Hon. A.J. Balfour (former
prime minister, at the time Leader of the Opposition, and author of the 1917
letter containing the "Balfour Declaration"), Lord and Lady Desborough,
Baron and Baroness de Tuyll, Count Brunetta d'Usseaux, Lord Roberts, and
"many more".
Those bronze medals were not contested by the two semi-final losers only, but by all
teams eliminated before the final, in a separate tournament for the "consolation prize",
which was followed closely by the Dutch press after the outcome of the draw, which
had ensured the Netherlands could not reach the final without first beating the hosts,
meaning that winning this "consolation tournament" was the best the Dutch side could
hope for. It is therefore not the case, as often claimed, that Sweden were "chosen"
to replace the humiliated French as opponents for the Netherlands in the bronze
medal match. All information on the "consolation tournament" as
given below was taken from contemporary Dutch newspapers.
Contrary to how it is usually presented, the 1908 Olympic football tournament consisted
of two parts. (Buschmann and Lennarts [BuL (Band 1)]
suspected as much (p. 178), but either failed to find or did not look for corroborating evidence.)
The gold medals were decided by a straight knock-out tournament, starting with the
quarter-finals as eight teams had registered for the event. Since travelling to the
Olympics for a single match only hardly was an attractive prospect (but one awaiting
half the entrants), all teams eliminated before the final of the tournament were to
enter a "consolation tournament", initiated by the Dutch football association N.V.B.,
as reported in the morning edition of De Telegraaf on 23 September (cf. the article to
the right), the day after the draw, nearly four weeks before the start of the tournament.
The set-up of this "consolatie-competitie", as published two weeks before the start of
the tournament in an article in Het Vaderland on 5 October (see to the left), was as
follows: the four first round losers (on 19 and 20 October) were to meet in two matches
on 21 October; the winners of those matches were to play the two semi-final losers two
days later, one day after the semi-finals and one day before the final; the winners of
those two matches on 23 October were then to play for the bronze medals ahead of the
gold medal match; this way, twelve matches would have been played, a double-header at
each of the six match days. For all of them, referees and linesmen were appointed
in the first week of October.
The withdrawals of Bohemia and Hungary meant only two teams present in London
were eliminated in the quarter-finals, rendering the first round of the
consolation tournament superfluous: France B and Sweden both qualified
for its second round by default. There, they were to meet the two semi-final losers,
France A and the Netherlands respectively; Dutch press reports after the semi-final
loss against the hosts explicitly mentioned that defeating Sweden would qualify the
team for the bronze medal match against one of the French sides, considered a certain
win in either case.
However, both French sides had rushed home immediately after their devastating
defeats to Denmark, with no intention of returning to the slaughterhouse, thus reducing
the consolation "tournament" to a single match whose winners were guaranteed to win
the bronze medals offered by the British Olympic Committee (B.O.C.).
The two countries who contested that match,
in their first ever meeting, would meet again only two days later in a
friendly in The Hague, which had already been arranged before
the start of the Olympic tournament; the goal sequence and the order of the Dutch
scorers in that second meeting are given incorrectly in all modern sources.
All matches were played at the Stadium of the British Olympic Association, later
known (after a reconstruction in the early 1920s,
although the IFFHS used the name, anachronistically, in
its publication on the early Olympic football tournaments)
as the White City Stadium (as such, it hosted one group match at
the 1966 World Cup, in which Uruguay defeated France 2-1).
It was located in the West London district of Shepherd's Bush, another name by
which the single 1908 Olympic football venue is occasionally referred to.
According to the official report (p. 21) it had
a capacity of 70,000, although nearly 100,000 awaited the finish of the marathon
there (p. 78), meaning there was little to no atmosphere at the football matches, which
averaged an attendance of less than three thousand; not even the final attracted enough
spectators to fill much more than one tenth of the oval.
Venue Capacity Matches Total Att. Average Paying Att. Average
Stadium 70,000 6 16,000 2,700 n/a n/a
total 6 16,000 2,700 n/a n/a
NB: capacity refers to capacity at the time of the tournament;
estimated total attendance rounded to thousands, corresponding average to hundreds.
Olympic Football Tournament | Consolation Tournament | Friendlies
OLYMPIC FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT
Quarter-Finals
NB: fixtures were drawn on 22 September 1908 (the date of 2 October mentioned by
[BuL (Band 1)] (p. 167) and [IFF 00 (Band 1)] (pp. 18-19) is incorrect, given
that the result of the draw was published in the Dutch press on 23 September;
in fact, 2 October was the day referees were appointed for all 12 matches).
19 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London
Ref: Wagstaffe Simmons (Eng) - Lin: T.A. Deacock (Eng), E.C. Jarvis (Eng)
NETHERLANDS won by walk-over.
HUNGARY withdrew on 12 October.
19 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London - Att: 2,000
Ref: Thomas Kyle (Eng) - Lin: E.C. Jarvis (Eng), L.F. Morrison (Eng)
DENMARK 9 (N. Middelboe 10, 50, Wolfhagen 14, 17, 67, 72, Bohr 25, 46, S. Nielsen 78)
FRANCE B 0
HT: 4-0
Denmark: Drescher - Buchwald, H. Hansen - Bohr, K. Middelboe (cap), N. Middelboe -
O. Nielsen, Lindgren, S. Nielsen, Wolfhagen, Andersen.
France B: Desrousseaux - Verlet (cap), Bilot - Dastarac, Gressier, Vialaret -
Six, Jenicot, Holgard, Mathaux, Filez.
NB: attendance usually listed as 2,000; estimates in Dutch press reports ranged from
"a few hundred" to "not quite two thousand"; E.C. Jarvis replaced W. Walker, who
had originally been appointed linesman.
20 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London
Ref: George Muir (Eng) - Lin: W.H. Bellamy (Eng), F.J. Wall (Eng)
FRANCE A won by walk-over.
BOHEMIA withdrew on 14 October.
20 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London - Att: 2,000
Ref: Jack Ibbotson (Eng) - Lin: M.C. Frowde (Eng), capt. W.C. Clover (Eng)
UNITED KINGDOM 12 (Stapley 11, 76, Woodward 14, 30, Berry 18, Chapman 21,
Purnell 25, 31, 64, 82, Hawkes 71, 79)
SWEDEN 1 (G. Bergström 62)
HT: 7-0
United Kingdom: Bailey - Corbett, Smith - Hunt, Chapman, Hawkes - Berry,
Woodward (cap), Stapley, Purnell, Hardman.
Sweden: Bengtsson - Fjästad, Malm - S. Olsson, Lindman (cap), O. Ohlsson -
Almkvist, G. Bergström, Gustafsson, S. Ohlsson, Ansén.
NB: attendance usually listed as 2,000; Dutch press reports had it as "a few
hundred more" than the previous day; W.C. Clover (whose rank was given as
lieutenant in [Coo 09] but as captain in contemporary newspapers) replaced
J.R. Benson, who had originally been appointed linesman.
Semi-Finals
22 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London - Att: 1,000
Ref: Tom Campbell (Eng) - Lin: F. Lockwood (Eng), A.G. Hines (Eng)
DENMARK 17 (S. Nielsen 3, 4, 6, 39, 46, 48, 52, 64, 66, 76,
Lindgren 18, 37, Wolfhagen 60, 72, 82, 89, N. Middelboe 68)
FRANCE A 1 (Sartorius 16)
HT: 6-1
Denmark: Drescher - Buchwald, H. Hansen - Bohr, K. Middelboe (cap), N. Middelboe -
Gandil, Lindgren, S. Nielsen, Wolfhagen, Rasmussen.
France: Tilliette - Wibaut, J. Dubly - Bayrou, Renaux, Schubart -
Sartorius, Albert, François (cap), Cyprès, Fenouillère.
NB: after the withdrawals of Hungary and Bohemia this match was rescheduled to
21 October (to replace the two matches of the consolation round), but as the
French team had arranged to arrive in London on the morning of the original
match date (22 October) it eventually was played as planned, as the first
match of a double-header with the other semi-final; attendance given as
"a few hundred" in Dutch press reports; the official report incorrectly
listed the second linesman as A.C. Hines (he was called Arthur George).
22 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London - Att: 3,000
Ref: Jack Howcroft (Eng) - Lin: H. Gray (Eng), W.E. Roberts (Eng)
UNITED KINGDOM 4 (Stapley 37, 63, 65, 75)
NETHERLANDS 0
HT: 1-0
United Kingdom: Bailey - Corbett, Smith - Hunt, Chapman, Hawkes -
Berry, Woodward (cap), Stapley, Purnell, Hardman.
Netherlands: Beeuwkes - Heijting, Otten - Sol, De Korver, Mundt (cap) -
Welcker, Snethlage, Reeman, Thomée, De Bruyn Kops.
NB: most reports in Dutch newspapers credited the first goal to Purnell; attendance
usually listed as 6,000 but Dutch press reports estimated it as "between 2,000
and 3,000" and also stated that prior to the final no match was attended by more
than 3,000 spectators.
Final
24 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London - Att: 8,000
Ref: Johnny Lewis (Eng) - Lin: F. Styles (Eng), H. Woollett (Eng)
UNITED KINGDOM 2 (Chapman 7, Woodward 67)
DENMARK 0
HT: 1-0
United Kingdom: Bailey - Corbett, Smith - Hunt, Chapman, Hawkes -
Berry, Woodward (cap), Stapley, Purnell, Hardman.
Denmark: Drescher - Buchwald, H. Hansen - Bohr, K. Middelboe (cap), N. Middelboe -
O. Nielsen, Lindgren, S. Nielsen, Wolfhagen, Rasmussen.
NB: attendance often listed as 10,000 but the official report (which did not give
numbers for any other football matches) had it as "some 8,000 spectators"; in
Dutch press reports one finds estimates between 6,000 and 10,000.
CONSOLATION TOURNAMENT (TOURNAMENT FOR THIRD PLACE AND BRONZE MEDALS)
All teams eliminated before the final were to enter the separate tournament for
the "consolation prize", whose winners were handed the bronze medals after the
final of the tournament proper; as France withdrew both its teams after their
embarrassing losses against Denmark (both travelled home directly after their
matches with no intention of returning to London), only one match was played.
Consolation Tournament First Round
NB: two matches were to be played on 21 October between the four first round
losers; the pairings were drawn prior to 7 October (when they appeared
in Sporting Life – as "Hungary or Holland v. France (B Team) or Denmark"
and "Bohemia or France (A Team) v. United Kingdom or Sweden") but both
were cancelled on 15 October because Hungary and Bohemia had withdrawn,
leaving only two first round losers, France B and Sweden, who qualified
by default for the semi-finals of the consolation tournament.
21 October - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London
Ref: Dicky Schumacher (Eng) - Lin: H.A. Hants (Eng), C.W. Gillett (Eng)
FRANCE B won by walk-over.
HUNGARY withdrew on 12 October.
21 October - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London
Ref: capt. Walter Clover (Eng) - Lin: H.C. Platt (Eng), A. Briggs (Eng)
SWEDEN won by walk-over.
BOHEMIA withdrew on 14 October.
Consolation Tournament Semi-Finals
23 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London
Ref: Wagstaffe Simmons (Eng) - Lin: F.J. Wall (Eng), C.D. Crisp (Eng)
FRANCE A withdrew.
FRANCE B withdrew.
23 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London - Att: 300
Ref: Jacky Pearson (Eng) - Lin: J.T. Hornby (Eng), J. Dickerson (Eng)
NETHERLANDS 2 (Reeman 6, Snethlage 48)
SWEDEN 0
HT: 1-0; missed penalty: Bergström (Swe, at 1-0 in first half)
Netherlands: Beeuwkes - Heijting, Otten - Sol, De Korver (cap), Kok -
Welcker, Snethlage, Reeman, Thomée, De Bruyn Kops.
Sweden: Bengtsson - Fjästad, Andersson - S. Olsson, Lindman (cap), Lidén -
G. Bergström, O. Ohlsson, Gustafsson, Fagrell, Ansén.
NB: attendance often listed as 1,000 but given as "two to three hundred" in
Dutch press reports;
as France had withdrawn, this match effectively settled third place and
the bronze medals, although technically it only qualified its winners
for the final match of the consolation tournament, originally intended
as the first match of a double-header with the gold medal match.
Consolation Tournament Final (Match for Third Place)
24 October 1908 - Stadium of the British Olympic Association, London
Ref: capt. Henry Lovett (Eng) - Lin: W. Burgess (Eng), J.R. Benson (Eng)
NETHERLANDS won by walk-over.
FRANCE withdrew.
NB: this match was to have been played ahead of the final, but cancelled
as both French sides had taken French leave (or, as the French would
put it: "les deux équipes françaises se furent filées à l'anglaise").
FRIENDLIES
Before the start of the Olympic football tournament, Sweden had arranged to
play two friendlies in the Low Countries on their way home.
25 October 1908 - H.V.V.-terrein "De Diepput", Den Haag - Att: 4,000
Ref: Joseph Brauburger (Bel) - Lin: Kees van Hasselt (Net), Bep Willing (Net)
NETHERLANDS 5 (Francken 20, Snethlage 45+2, 51, Thomée 70, Welcker 76)
SWEDEN 3 (Gustafsson 13, 45+3, O. Ohlson 24)
HT: 2-3
Netherlands: Beeuwkes - Heijting, Kuneman - Bekker, De Korver, Mundt (cap) -
Welcker, Snethlage, M. Francken, Thomée, Groskamp.
Sweden: Bengtsson - Fjästad, Andersson - S. Olsson, Lindman (cap), Lidén -
Almkvist, G. Bergström, O. Ohlsson, Gustafsson, Ansén.
NB: the attendance is usually given as eight thousand but contemporary
newspaper estimates ranged from three to four thousand;
moreover, goalscorers are usually but incorrectly given as:
NETHERLANDS 5 (Snethlage 6, 51, Welcker 41, Francken 49, Thomée 73)
SWEDEN 3 (Gustafsson 8, 28, O. Ohlsson 21)
which is in flat contradiction with all contemporary newspaper reports
as well as the match description published in "Het sportblad" (official
publication of the N.V.B.) of 29 October 1908, which unanimously stated
the scoring went 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3, 5-3, and listed the
Dutch goalscorers as: Francken 1-1, Snethlage 2-2 and 3-3, Thomée 4-3,
Welcker 5-3; the goal minutes as indicated above are taken from a report
which appeared in the "Nieuwe Tilburgsche courant" of 26 October 1908,
which gave exact times for the start and end of both halves and for all
the goals; the additional time at the end of the first half was not due
to injuries but the fact that the first few minutes of the match were
officiated by veteran referee Herman Tromp, secretary of hosts H.V.V.,
before Brauburger took over.
26 October 1908 - stade du Vivier d'Oie, Uccle - Att: 800
Ref: Charles Barette (Bel)
BELGIUM 2 (Kevorkian 30, Goossens 31)
SWEDEN 1 (Gustafsson 39)
HT: 2-1
Belgium: Leroy - Joux, Hubin - Van Den Eynde, Cambier, Van Hoorden (cap) -
Meulders, Goossens, Kevorkian, Paternoster, Van Boxtaele.
Sweden: Bengtsson - Fjästad, Andersson - S. Olsson, Lindman (cap), Malm -
Almkvist, G. Bergström, S. Ohlsson, Gustafsson, Ansén.
Records Tournament Proper
Rk Country P W T L F A Pts GAvg
1 UNITED KINGDOM 3 3 0 0 18- 1 6 18.00 [*]
2 Denmark 3 2 0 1 26- 3 4 8.67
3 France (A) 1 0 0 1 1-17 0 0.06
Netherlands 1 0 0 1 0- 4 0 0.00
5 Sweden 1 0 0 1 1-12 0 0.08
France (B) 1 0 0 1 0- 9 0 0.00
- Bohemia withdrew
Hungary withdrew
[*] like all participating countries, the United Kingdom was entitled to enter
four teams, in their case specifically to allow each of the home nations to
be represented; only England availed itself of this opportunity (whereas all
four entered the (grass) hockey tournament), and thus the United Kingdom (or
Great Britain) team was in fact the England Amateur side.
NB: records do not include the consolation tournament; after the medalists, teams
are only ranked by the round in which they were eliminated.
Records Consolation Tournament
Rk Country P W T L F A Pts GAvg
3 Netherlands 1 1 0 0 2- 0 2 inf.
4 Sweden 1 0 0 1 0- 2 0 0.00
- France (A) withdrew
France (B) withdrew
11 S. Nielsen (Den)
8 Wolfhagen (Den)
6 Stapley (UK)
4 Purnell (UK)
3 Woodward (UK), N. Middelboe (Den)
Denmark | France A | France B | France C | Netherlands | Sweden | United Kingdom (England)
NB: countries could name 33 players for each team, to be registered by 1 September; these appeared in
the official report, at times erratically spelled (e.g. C.F. (Frans) de Bruyn Kops is listed as
E.F. de Bruyn Hoyels), presumably caused by handwritten and occasionally barely legible originals;
the final squads (in all cases reduced to 18 players or less) were announced around 7 October;
both Bohemia and Hungary registered at the last moment (possibly even shortly after 1 September)
and it is not known whether either ever submitted a squad list before withdrawing again;
Pos = Position (GK = Goalkeeper; DF = Defender; MF = Midfielder; FW = Forward); tr. = Trainer;
the part of the Full Name used in the Match Details section is given in bold face;
DoB = Date of Birth; DoD = Date of Death;
Club refers to that at which player was active in September 1908;
Caps and Goals refer to full international matches in entire career (does not include matches for
the England Amateur side);
additions and corrections are welcome.
Denmark
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Ludvig Drescher 21- 7-1881 14- 7-1917 K.B. 4 0
DF Charles von Buchwald [*] 22-10-1880 19-11-1951 A.B. 7 0
DF Harald Hansen 14- 3-1884 10- 5-1927 B. 93 7 0
DF Knud Hansen 5- 1-1885 Olympia 0 0
MF Ødbert Bjarnholt 24-12-1885 3- 1-1946 Frem 2 0
MF Harald Bohr 22- 4-1887 22- 1-1951 A.B. 4 2
MF Einar Middelboe 25- 9-1883 31-12-1968 K.B. 0 0
MF Kristian Middelboe 24- 3-1881 20- 5-1965 K.B. 4 0
MF Nils Middelboe 5-10-1887 21- 9-1976 K.B. 15 7
FW Peter Marius Andersen 25- 4-1885 20- 3-1972 Frem 1 0
FW Magnus Bech 8-12-1889 4-10-1940 B. 93 0 0
FW Johannes Gandil 21- 5-1873 7- 3-1956 B. 93 1 0
FW August Lindgren 1- 8-1883 1- 6-1945 B. 93 4 3
FW Oskar Nielsen 4-10-1882 18- 5-1941 K.B. 14 0
FW Sophus "Krølben" Nielsen 15- 3-1888 6- 8-1963 Frem 20 16
FW Bjørn Rasmussen 19- 5-1885 24- 9-1962 K.B. 2 0
FW Vilhelm Wolfhagen 11-11-1889 5- 7-1958 K.B. 18 14
tr.: Charlie Williams (England) 19-11-1873 29- 7-1952
NB: whereas the above 17 players travelled to London, the following 9 players are listed in the official report
of the Olympic Games but did not travel to London:
GK Sophus Hansen 16-11-1889 19- 2-1962 Frem 31 0
DF Hans Hvilsted Ø.B. 0 0
DF Peder Mikkelsen Frem 0 0
MF Robert Jensen Frem 0 0
MF Oscar (Sørensen) Windinge 8- 7-1882 B. 93 0 0
FW Kristian Gyldenstein 16- 7-1886 11- 1-1954 A.B. 3 3
FW Carl Frederik Pedersen 9-12-1883 11- 1-1967 A.B. 0 0
FW Axel Petersen 10-12-1887 20-12-1968 Frem 2 0
FW Henry Rambusch 16-10-1881 20- 5-1954 B. 93 0 0
[*] Buchwald himself refrained from using the nobiliary "von".
France A
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Maurice Tiliette 29-12-1884 26- 8-1973 US Boulonnaise 2 0
GK Jules Signoret Racing Club de France 0 0
DF Jean Dubly 9- 8-1886 21-11-1953 RC de Roubaix 1 0
DF Ulysse Wibaut 18- 6-1887 17- 6-1968 Olympique Lillois 1 0
MF Georges Bayrou 21-12-1883 5-12-1953 Gallia Club 1 0
MF Charles Renaux 31-12-1884 17-10-1971 RC de Roubaix 1 0
MF Louis Schubart 8- 4-1885 23-11-1954 Olympique Lillois 3 0
FW Emile Sartorius 1- 4-1885 11-1933 RC de Roubaix 5 2
FW Georges Albert 1885 CA de Paris 1 0
FW Gaston Cyprès 19-11-1884 18- 8-1925 CA de Paris 6 2
FW Albert Dubly RC de Roubaix 0 0
FW René Fenouillère 22-10-1882 4-11-1916 Red Star AC 1 0
FW André François 13- 1-1886 17- 3-1915 RC de Roubaix 6 3
NB: whereas the above 13 players travelled to London, the following 4 players were listed as squad members
on 9 October (for the match against Bohemia) but not anymore on 16 October:
DF Oscar Desaulty AS Française 0 0
MF Julien Du Rhéart 30-11-1880 28- 2-1963 Club Français 3 0
MF Jean Zimmermann AS Française 0 0
FW Gabriel Hanot 6-11-1889 10- 8-1968 US Tourquennoise 12 3
NB: the following 4 players were chosen as reserves, but did not travel:
MF H. Pouillet CA XIVe 0 0
MF Marius Royet 19- 6-1880 8-11-1918 US Parisienne 9 2
FW André Puget 12- 1-1882 9- 5-1915 Racing Club de France 1 0
FW André Saint-Ignan Club Français 0 0
NB: the following 4 players were originally chosen for France A but were unavailable due to military service:
DF Emile Fontaine Olympique Lillois 0 0
DF Henri Moigneu 9- 3-1887 14- 3-1937 US Tourquennoise 8 0
DF Victor Bentall-Sergent 8- 8-1886 28-12-1925 Racing Club de France 5 0
FW Louis Mesnier 15-12-1884 10-10-1921 CA de Paris 14 6
France B
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Fernand Desrousseaux 23-10-1879 26- 8-1956 US Tourquennoise 1 0
DF Charles Bilot 11- 3-1883 17- 9-1912 CA de Paris 6 0
DF Joseph Verlet 16- 8-1883 22- 7-1924 CA de Paris 7 1
MF Sadi Dastarac 14- 6-1888 2- 2-1911 Gallia Club 1 0
MF Raoul Gressier 19-11-1885 6-10-1915 RC de Calais 1 0
MF Justin Vialaret 12-11-1883 30- 9-1916 CA XIVe 1 0
FW Adrien Filez 27- 8-1885 15-10-1965 US Tourquennoise 5 0
FW Henri Holgard 17-12-1884 21- 8-1927 Amiens AC 1 0
FW Albert Jenicot 15- 2-1885 22- 2-1916 RC de Roubaix 3 0
FW Paul Mathaux 19- 2-1888 18- 9-1966 US Boulonnaise 5 0
FW Georges Prouvost US Tourquennoise 0 0
FW Pierre Six 18- 1-1888 7- 7-1916 Olympique Lillois 1 0
NB: whereas the above 12 players travelled to London, the following 2 players were also chosen for the match but
withdrew at the last moment:
DF Etienne Morillon Red Star AC 0 0
FW Albert Schaff 8- 4-1885 21- 4-1968 CA XIVe 1 0
NB: the following 2 players were listed as squad members on 9 October but not anymore on 16 October:
MF Victor Denis 12- 1-1889 3- 3-1972 US Tourquennoise 1 0
FW Robert Eucher 14- 6-1884 23- 5-1940 AS Française 1 0
NB: the following 7 players were chosen as reserves, but did not travel:
DF G. Goût CA XIVe 0 0
MF Julien Denis 20- 3-1886 15- 8-1914 US de Calais 2 0
MF L. Schalbart Stade Français 0 0
FW M. Deleglise RC de Calais 0 0
FW Raymond Gigot 11- 5-1885 25- 9-1915 Club Français 1 0
FW Ernest Guéguen 30- 5-1885 25- 9-1915 Gallia Club 1 0
FW Raymond Jouve 10- 2-1886 Gallia Club 1 0
NB: the following 2 players were originally chosen for France B but were unavailable:
GK Zacharie Bâton 20- 9-1886 21- 2-1925 Olympique Lillois 4 0
DF Fernand Canelle 2- 1-1882 11- 9-1951 Club Français 6 0
France C
NB: the following 29 players are listed in the official report of the Olympic Games, but did not travel
due to the fact that the U.S.F.S.A. decided to send only two instead of three teams:
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
MF Pierre Allemane 19- 1-1882 24- 5-1956 Racing Club de France 7 0
DF G. Artault AS Française 0 0
DF J. Bastien Patronage Olier [!] 0 0
FW Henri Bellocq 16-12-1884 5- 9-1959 Etoile des Deux-Lacs [!] 6 1
FW A. Bienvenu Patronage Olier [!] 0 0
FW Georges Bon 14- 7-1886 18-12-1949 US Boulonnaise 1 0
FW René Camard 8- 2-1887 16- 3-1915 AS Française 1 0
FW J. Carlier Patronage Olier [!] 0 0
Albert Cochelin Club Athlétique Français 0 0
FW G. Darbonville Club Français 0 0
MF Jacques Davy 26- 9-1883 12-10-1944 US Parisienne 1 0
A. Grain [*1] 0 0
MF Henri Guerre 23- 2-1885 29- 2-1924 Patronage Olier [!] 1 0
FW Félix Julien 7-12-1884 1- 3-1915 AS Bon Conseil [!] 2 0
FW Eugène Laplace Patronage Olier [!] 0 0
GK G. Laplace Patronage Olier [!] 0 0
FW Eugène Maës 15- 9-1890 30- 3-1945 Patronage Olier [!] 11 15
MF J. Maillard Patronage Olier [!] 0 0
FW Henri "Léon" Mouton 20- 4-1881 10- 3-1962 Etoile des Deux-Lacs [!] 5 1
MF Eugène Nicolaï 26- 6-1885 18- 2-1958 United SC (?) 2 0
Pierre Roze 14- 1-1887 ES Bienfaisance [!] 0 0
P. Têtard Olympique Lillois 0 0
DF Ernest Tossier 20- 6-1888 19-12-1948 Patronage Olier [!] 1 0
R. Verbrugge [*2] 0 0
GK Arthur Vinche Club Français 0 0
MF E. Vuillemot Patronage Olier [!] 0 0
MF Charles Wilkes 2- 6-1879 27- 8-1939 Havre Sports 4 0
FW E. Wurslin Patronage Olier [!] 0 0
MF Paul Zeiger 8- 9-1881 18- 2-1959 US Parisienne 1 0
[*1] listed as A. Grain in the official report but possibly:
MF Raymond Gouin 23-10-1888 28-10-1954 Jeanne d'Arc de Levallois [!] 2 0
[*2] listed as R. Verbrugge in the official report but possibly:
FW Julien Verbrugghe 26-12-1889 21- 8-1916 AS Française 4 0
[!] AS Bon Conseil, ES Bienfaisance, Etoile des Deux-Lacs, Jeanne d'Arc de Levallois and Patronage Olier
were members of the F.G.S.P.F. (Fédération Gymnastique Sportive des Patronages de France); eventually
only players from U.S.F.S.A. (Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques) member clubs were
selected for the two teams sent to London.
Netherlands
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Reinier Beeuwkes 17- 2-1884 1- 4-1963 D.F.C. 19 0
GK Lo la Chapelle 22- 6-1888 23- 7-1966 H.V.V. 1 0
DF Karel Heijting 1- 5-1883 8-1951 H.V.V. 17 0
DF Lou Otten 5-11-1883 7-11-1946 Quick (Den Haag) 12 0
MF Kees Bekker [*1] 26- 1-1883 28-12-1964 H.B.S. 6 0
MF Vic. Gonsalves [*2] 20-10-1887 29- 8-1922 H.B.S. 3 0
MF Jan Kok [*3] 9- 7-1889 2-12-1958 U.D. 1 0
MF Bok de Korver 27- 1-1883 22-10-1957 Sparta 31 2
MF Miel Mundt 30- 5-1880 17- 7-1949 H.V.V. 4 0
MF Eetje Sol 10- 6-1881 21-10-1965 H.V.V. 3 0
FW Jan van den Berg 22- 8-1879 21-12-1951 Haarlem 0 0
FW Frans de Bruyn Kops 28-10-1886 22-11-1979 H.B.S. 3 0
FW Wim Groskamp 8-10-1886 13- 1-1974 Quick (Den Haag) 1 0
FW Jops Reeman 9- 8-1886 16- 3-1959 Quick (Den Haag) 2 1
FW Edu Snethlage 9- 5-1886 12- 1-1941 Quick (Den Haag) 11 10
FW Jan Thomée 4-12-1886 1- 4-1954 Concordia (Delft) [-] 16 16
FW Caius Welcker 9- 7-1885 13- 2-1939 Quick (Den Haag) 17 5
tr.: Edgar Chadwick (England) 14- 6-1869 14- 2-1942
NB: whereas the above 17 players travelled to London, the following 13 players are listed in the official report
of the Olympic Games (implying they were registered at the beginning of September) but did not travel to London:
GK Hendrik Linthout 11- 1-1887 3- 6-1960 D.V.S. (Rotterdam) [-] 0 0
DF John Heijning [*2] 12-12-1884 19- 5-1947 H.V.V. 8 0
DF E. Jacobi Haarlem 0 0
DF Henny Visman [*4] Achilles (Rotterdam) [-] 0 0
MF Willem Boerdam 2-11-1883 9-12-1966 Sparta 2 0
MF Jan Brutel de la Rivière [*5] 16- 4-1885 30- 9-1972 Ajax (Leiden) 0 0
MF Noud Stempels 4- 4-1882 12-10-1970 Quick (Den Haag) 3 0
MF Sim Veen Haarlem 0 0
FW Jan Akkersdijk 8- 1-1887 31- 3-1953 Velocitas (Breda) 2 1
FW Tok Begeer Hercules (Utrecht) 0 0
FW Albert Haak Haarlem 0 0
FW F.G. Pluim U.D. 0 0
FW Toine van Renterghem 17- 4-1885 1- 3-1967 H.B.S. 3 0
[*1] Bekker, who was to have started the first match, was indisposed and replaced by Sol.
[*2] Heijning, who apparently was based in London at the time, was to be a (reserve) member of the squad
but withdrew on 19 October and was replaced by Gonsalves.
[*3] Kok also used the nom de plume "Davo".
[*4] Visman was listed as H.L. Visser in the official report.
[*5] Brutel de la Rivière was to have replaced De Korver, whose availability was in doubt at the beginning
of October, but as De Korver eventually travelled, Brutel de la Rivière did not.
[-] Achilles, Concordia and D.V.S. all played at the second domestic level.
Sweden
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Oscar Bengtsson 14- 1-1885 13-10-1972 Örgryte IS 9 0
DF Nils Andersson 10- 3-1887 15- 8-1947 IFK Göteborg 5 0
DF Åke Fjästad 16-12-1887 10- 3-1956 IFK Stockholm 5 0
DF Theodor Malm 23-10-1889 2-10-1950 AIK 26 0
MF Walter Lidén 10- 3-1887 13- 1-1969 IFK Göteborg 2 0
MF Hans Lindman 6- 9-1884 24- 1-1957 IFK Uppsala 7 0
MF Olof Ohlsson 4-10-1888 21- 7-1962 IFK Eskilstuna 4 1
MF Helge Olsson IFK Stockholm 0 0
MF Sven Olsson 3-10-1889 19- 5-1919 Örgryte IS 7 0
FW Sune Almkvist 4- 2-1886 8- 8-1975 IFK Uppsala 4 0
FW Karl Ansén 26- 7-1887 20- 7-1959 AIK 17 0
FW Gustaf Bergström 4- 7-1884 9- 2-1938 Örgryte IS 6 1
FW Arvid Fagrell 10- 8-1888 6-12-1932 IFK Göteborg 2 0
FW Karl Gustafsson 16- 9-1888 20- 2-1960 IFK Köping 32 22
FW Sven Ohlsson 14- 2-1888 27-12-1947 Mariebergs IK 2 0
NB: whereas the above 15 players travelled to London, the following 5 players are listed in the official report of
the Olympic Games (implying they were registered at the beginning of September) but did not travel to London:
GK Arvid Mellin 16-11-1890 13- 3-1984 IFK Stockholm 0 0
MF Thor Ericsson 9-10-1885 20- 4-1975 Örgryte IS 4 0
FW Erik Bergström 6- 1-1886 30- 1-1966 Örgryte IS 7 6
FW Erik Börjesson 1-12-1886 17- 7-1983 IFK Göteborg 17 14
FW Tore Lindbom IFK Gävle 0 0
United Kingdom (England)
Pos Full Name DoB DoD Club Caps Goals
GK Horace Bailey 3- 7-1881 1- 8-1960 Leicester Fosse 5 0
DF Watty Corbett 26-11-1880 23-11-1960 Birmingham City 3 0
DF Herbert Smith 22-11-1877 6- 1-1951 Oxford City 4 0
MF Frederick Chapman 10- 5-1883 7- 9-1951 South Nottinghamshire 0 0
MF Bob Hawkes 18-10-1880 12- 9-1945 Luton Town 5 0
MF Kenneth Hunt 24- 2-1884 28- 4-1949 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 0
FW Arthur Berry 3- 1-1888 15- 3-1953 Oxford University 1 0
FW Harold Hardman 4- 4-1882 9- 6-1965 Northern Nomads 4 1
FW Clyde Purnell 14- 5-1877 14- 8-1934 Clapton 0 0
FW Harry Stapley 29- 4-1883 29- 4-1937 Glossop 0 0
FW Vivian Woodward 3- 6-1879 31- 1-1954 Tottenham Hotspur 23 29
NB: the above 11 players contested all matches; the following 7 players were registered as reserves:
GK Ron Brebner 23- 9-1881 11-11-1914 Stockton 0 0
DF Albert Bell Woking 0 0
DF Albert Scothern 12- 9-1882 20- 3-1970 Oxford City 0 0
MF corp. William Daffern 1882 21-11-1953 Depot Batt. Royal Engineers 0 0
FW George Barlow 19- 9-1885 3- 3-1921 Wigan Grammar School Old Boys 0 0
FW Wilfrid Crabtree 2-1885 17- 2-1957 Blackburn Crosshill 0 0
FW Chris Porter 25-10-1885 4- 6-1915 Northern Nomads 0 0
NB: the following 14 players are listed in the official report of the Olympic Games (implying they were
registered at the beginning of September) but were not part of the final squad:
GK Ernest Proud 6-12-1880 15- 6-1967 Bishop Auckland 0 0
DF Bill Bayley 1882 Clapton 0 0
DF John Charnley 18- 1-1883 16- 2-1959 Blackburn Crosshill 0 0
DF Paul Hayden Chorlton-cum-Hardy 0 0
MF Charles Pearce Ilford 0 0
MF Arthur Prest 28- 2-1880 1950 South Bank 0 0
MF John Prosser 1887 25- 5-1917 Stockton 0 0
FW Arthur Bell 11-1882 22- 4-1923 Burnley 0 0
FW Lionel Louch 4- 7-1888 1- 2-1967 Portsmouth 0 0
FW Eversley Mansfield 1886 18-10-1954 Northern Nomads 0 0
FW James Raine 3- 3-1886 4- 9-1928 Sunderland 0 0
FW Harold Uren 23- 8-1885 7- 4-1955 Liverpool 0 0
FW Ernest Williams 24- 8-1882 5- 8-1943 Ryde 0 0
FW Gordon Wright 3-10-1884 5- 6-1947 Hull City 0 0
All referees and linesmen were English; this did not cause any problems or complaints,
perhaps partially due to the lopsidedness of most matches (in the only two matches in
which the losers managed to score at all, the winners reached double figures). It also
may have helped that Bohemia
did not enter after all.
Full Name Country DoB DoD Matches Fin SF
John "Johnny" Lewis England 30- 3-1855 13- 1-1926 1 1
John Thomas "Jack" Howcroft England 23-10-1874 27-12-1962 1 1
Thomas Pickup "Tom" Campbell England 1865 12- 3-1938 1 1
James Tweed "Jack" Ibbotson England 12-10-1869 10- 5-1950 1
Thomas Kyle England 10-10-1858 7- 3-1932 1
John Hargreaves "Jacky" Pearson England 25- 1-1868 22- 6-1931 1
NB: Johnny Lewis also refereed two matches (a semi-final and the final) in 1920;
Wagstaffe Simmons, who was appointed referee for two matches that eventually did not take place,
refereed one match in 1912.
overview file 1908
olympic games 1912 match details |
olympic games 1916 match details |
olympic games 1920 match details |
olympic games 1924 match details |
olympic games 1928 match details |
olympic games 1936 match details
Sources included:
[BuL (Band 1)],
[CCO 98],
[Coo 09],
[IFF 00 (Band 1)],
[Jør 02],
[Klu 97],
[SPL 57],
[Ver 01],
Olympedia,
Linguasport
(archived by the Wayback Machine),
wikipedia,
eu-football.info,
Chroniques bleues,
various contemporary French newspapers (available through
Gallica),
various contemporary Austrian newspapers (available through
ANNO),
various contemporary Dutch newspapers (available
through Delpher),
various contemporary Swedish newspapers (available
through Svenska tidningar)
as well as contemporary English papers (in particular Sporting Life and Athletic News).
Thanks to Macario Reyes for an earlier version of this file and to Cris Freddi and
Eduardo Mendoza for additions and corrections.
Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans
for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Karel Stokkermans
(karel.rsssf@gmail.com)
Last updated: 8 Sep 2024
(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 1999/2024
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement
is given to the author. All rights reserved.