Mutiny of the Matoika
Encyclopedia
1920 Summer Olympics
The 1920 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event in 1920 in Antwerp, Belgium....
. Princess Matoika was a last-minute substitute for another ship and, according to the athletes, did not have adequate accommodations or training facilities on board. 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
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
, the American Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
(AOC) members, and the press. The incident received wide coverage in American newspapers at the time and was still being discussed in the popular press years later. The event was not a mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
in the traditional sense, but has been called that since the mid 1930s.
Background
In 1920, the number of ocean linerOcean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
s carrying passengers on the North Atlantic gradually increased, but was still far below the pre-war years; arrivals at Atlantic ports in the United States were still down some 60% from pre-war numbers. With the fewer ships and sailings available, the AOC made arrangements with both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy to transport the United States Olympic team to Antwerp. The Navy agreed to carry team members who were affiliated with their branch of the service, and the Army, to carry civilian and Army-affiliated competitors. The Olympic trip got off to a bad start when the Army's scheduled ship, , was declared unseaworthy, requiring a last-minute substitution. The last-minute selection of the Matoika meant the original planned departure date, July 20, had to be pushed back by six days to ready the liner to sail.
The ship chosen, , 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. Before World War I, the Matoika had been a passenger liner for North German Lloyd by the name of Princess Alice. After the United States joined the conflict in 1917, the liner had been pressed into service for the U.S. Navy carrying American troops to Europe; she was renamed Princess Matoika, after one of the given names for Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
, as part of an order to replace Germanic names of seized ships with American names.
Voyage
On the afternoon of July 26, the athletes attended a farewell reception at the Manhattan Opera House presided over by Gustavus T. Kirby, chairman of the American Olympic CommitteeUnited States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
(AOC), who read congratulatory telegrams to the team from the governors of eleven states. At the end of the reception, the 230 civilian and U.S. Army-affiliated team members marched from the Opera House to the Hudson Pier and ferried to Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and the waiting Matoika. (The 101 U.S. Navy-affiliated athletes and coaches were carried on cruiser , a frequent convoy escort of Princess Matoika during World War I.)
Joie Ray (athlete)
Joie W. Ray was an American track and field athlete and member of the United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame. He held world records for the and distances. He represented the United States in the three Olympic Games held the 1920s, earning a bronze medal for the 3000 m team race in...
, a competitor in the 1500 meters
1500 metres
The 1,500-metre run is the premier middle distance track event.Aerobic endurance is the biggest factor contributing to success in the 1500 metres but the athlete also requires significant sprint speed.In modern times, the 1,500-metre run has been run at a pace faster than the average person could...
in 1920, complained about the conditions declaring that "if those in charge had deliberately tried to create a psychology of depression and resentment among the members of the team, they couldn't have done anything more effective". Two days after sailing, some of the first place winners at the Olympic tryouts were moved to the sick bay to escape the sweltering heat on the lower decks, but the majority remained below. Fencer Joseph B. B. Parker—who, as an Army athlete, was bunked in a cabin—commented that the troop accommodations were all right for troops but "not conducive to bringing men to the games in the pink of condition."
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. Although the long distance runners were able to practice by making multiple circuits of the ship, the sprinter
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
s and hurdler
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
s were provided only a 70 yards (64 m) cork track—two-thirds the length of the shortest track event at the games—on which to practice. Javelins were tethered by rope and aimed by their throwers at the sea, and, when thrown, would often come down in unexpected locations. The only facility for swimmers was a canvas saltwater tank set up on the lower deck; the tank split when filled for the first time. Even after it was repaired, the best the swimmers could do was to practice strokes while tied to the corner of the tank with a rope, and divers, with no other facilities available, were allocated just a few minutes a day in the tank. Conditions on the ship contributed to several injuries to athletes. During foggy weather, American decathlete
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word decathlon is of Greek origin . Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not...
Everett Ellis fell on the slippery deck, suffering a bad sprain, and shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
ter Pat McDonald sprained his thumb while tossing a medicine ball
Medicine ball
A medicine ball is a weighted ball roughly the diameter of the shoulders . Often used for rehabilitation and strength training, it serves an important role in the field of sports medicine...
on the pitching deck.
Despite the problems encountered by some of the team, others were able to work out adequately. Fencer
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
s, wrestler
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
s, and boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
s were all able to work out in close-to-usual routines. But perhaps the most impressive training feat was a high jump
High jump
The high jump is a track and field athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of certain devices in its modern most practiced format; auxiliary weights and mounds have been used for assistance; rules have changed over the years....
by Richmond W. Landon
Richmond Landon
Richmond Wilcox Landon was an American athlete who competed mainly in the high jump.He competed for the United States in the 1920 Summer Olympics held in Antwerp, Belgium in the high jump where he won the gold medal.He was born in Salisbury, Connecticut and died in Lynbrook, New York.-External...
who cleared a 5 in 10 in (1.78 m) high jump on the rolling deck, a jump not far off of his eventual gold-medal-winning (and Olympic record) jump of 6 foot.
The "mutiny"
By the time the ship neared Antwerp, the team members had had enough of the "rusty old troop carrier". 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. The group, with McDonald and Norman RossNorman Ross
Norman Ross was a swimmer from the United States notable for winning five events at the Inter-Allied Games in June, 1919, held at Joinville-Le-Pont near Paris and three gold medals at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. He set thirteen world records and held eighteen U.S...
serving as ringleaders, drafted a resolution in which they condemned the AOC and outlined their grievances and demands:
- the quarters aboard the ship were unlivable
- the food on board was terrible.
- 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.
They were careful to give credit to the crew of Princess Matoika who, in the athletes' assessment, did "everything possible to improve conditions". The document was signed by 150 of the athletes; some of the U.S. Army athletes agreed with the resolution but could not sign it. They had 200 copies of the resolution printed and addressed copies to Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Newton Diehl Baker, the members of the AOC, and members of the press.
Aftermath
After the Olympics were over, fencer ParkerJoseph Parker (fencer)
Joseph Parker was an American fencer. He competed at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics.-References:...
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". In 1922, author Newton Fuessle brought up the specter of the 1920 Olympic passage on the Matoika when discussing the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) and his hopes that the NCAA would take over the functions of the Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
in controlling American Olympic teams in the future.
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 1960 A.D., related the story of the mutiny by that name.
External links
- Photo of the water tank used by 1920 Olympians on the deck of USAT Princess Matoika