Irish Whales John Flanagan Martin Sheridan James Mitchel

Martin John Sheridan (March 28, 1881 – March 27, 1918) was a three time

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

gold medallist. He was born in Bohola,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, and died in St. Vincent's Hospital in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, the day before his 37th birthday, a very early casualty of the

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

. He is buried in

Calvary Cemetery, Queens Calvary Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery in Maspeth and Woodside, Queens, in New York City, New York, United States. With about three million burials, it has the largest number of interments of any cemetery in the United States. Established ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was part of a group of

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

athletes known as the "

Irish Whales The Irish Whales or "The Whales" was a nickname given to a group of Irish, Irish-American and Irish-Canadian athletes who dominated weight-throwing events in the first two decades of the 20th century. "This group dominated the field events, par ...

Career

At 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) and 194 lbs (88 kg), Sheridan was the best all-around athlete of the Irish American Athletic Club, and like many of his team mates, served with the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act i ...

(from 1906 until his death in 1918). Sheridan was so well respected in the NYPD, that he served as the Governor's personal bodyguard when the governor was in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. A five-time Olympic

gold medalist A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

, with a total of nine Olympic medals, Sheridan was called "one of the greatest figures that ever represented this country in international sport, as well as being one of the most popular who ever attained the championship honor." He won the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

event at the 1904, 1906, and 1908

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

as well as the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's c ...

at the 1906 Olympics and the Greek discus in 1908. At the

1906 Intercalated Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Gam ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

he also won silver medals in the standing high jump, standing long jump and the stone throw. In 1907, Sheridan won the National

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based 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. It h ...

discus championship and the Canadian championship, and in 1908 he won the Metropolitan, National and Canadian championships as well as two gold medals in the discus throw and bronze in the standing long jump at the 1908 Olympic Games. Two of Martin Sheridan's

gold medals A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

from the

1904 Olympic Games The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 29 August to 3 September 1904, as part of an extended ...

in St. Louis, Missouri and one of his medals from the

1906 Olympic Games The 1906 Intercalated Games or 1906 Olympic Games was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated in Athens, Greece. They were at the time considered to be Olympic Games and were referred to as the "Second International Olympic Games ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, are currently located in the

USA Track & Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 a ...

's Hall of Fame History Gallery, in

Washington Heights, Manhattan Washington Heights is a neighborhood in the uppermost part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest natural point on Manhattan by Continental Army troops to defen ...

Legacy

It is often claimed that Sheridan fueled a controversy in London in 1908, when flagbearer Ralph Rose refused to dip the flag to

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

. Sheridan is supposed to have supported Rose by explaining "This flag dips to no earthly king," and it is claimed that his statement exemplified both Irish and

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

defiance of the British monarchy. However, careful research has shown that this was first reported in 1952. Sheridan himself made no mention of it in his published reports on the Games and neither did his obituary.Mallon & Buchanan, Journal of Olympic History, Sept 1999 The inscription on the granite Celtic Cross monument marking Martin Sheridan's grave in

says in part: "Devoted to the Institutions of his Country, and the Ideals and Aspirations of his Race. Athlete. Patriot." According to his obituary in the New York Times, Sheridan was "one of the greatest athletes the United States has ever known".New York Times, March 28, 1918.

Notes

References

* * * * http://www.wingedfist.com/assets/Sheridan_from_Sprin_3100.pdf Police Athletes of the Past: Martin Sheridan - '' Spring 3100''

External links

*
New York Times obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheridan, Martin 1881 births 1918 deaths Sportspeople from County Mayo American Roman Catholics American male shot putters American male discus throwers American male high jumpers American male long jumpers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1906 Intercalated Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) New York City Police Department officers Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Queens) Deaths from the Spanish flu pandemic in New York (state) Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1906 Intercalated Games Track and field athletes from New York City