Irish Whales John Flanagan Martin Sheridan James Mitchel

John Joseph Flanagan (sometimes spelled ''Flannigan''; January 28, 1868 – June 3, 1938) was an Irish-American three-time Olympic

gold medal 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 b ...

ist in the

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

, winning in 1900, 1904, and 1908.

Biography

John Flanagan was born in the townland of Ballinvreena and raised in Kilbreedy East, near Martinstown in

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, Ireland. John was the first son of Ellen Kinkead and Michael Flanagan (married Feb 1867), then a farm steward for the Gabbett's of Kilmallock. As was often the case in those times his mother Ellen went home to her birth family, the Kinkeads of Ballinvreena, to have her first child. He became the British hammer throw champion after winning the

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

title at the 1896 AAA Championships. He emigrated to the United States of America in 1896. At that time he already held the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for the hammer throw. He competed for both the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a Gentlemen's club, private social club and athletic club in New York (state), New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Pa ...

and the

Irish American Athletic Club The Irish American Athletic Club was an amateur athletic organization, based in Queens, New York, at the beginning of the 20th century. Early years Established on January 30, 1898, originally as the "Greater New York Irish Athletic Association", ...

, and was part of a group of Irish-American athletes known as the Irish Whales. Flanagan returned to London (this time as an American) to win a second AAA Championships title at the 1900 AAA Championships. Shortly afterwards Flanagan represented his new country at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

. Flanagan, the only non-college man to medal for the Americans, outdistanced American athlete Truxtun Hare by 4.75 meters in the hammer throw. Hare and Josiah McCracken, both college football players from

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, took

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

. Flanagan also competed in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

, finishing seventh. Flanagan joined the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

(NYPD) in 1903, and his first assignment was to the Bureau of Licenses, where he had a lot of time on his hands, which was mostly used to train at the Irish American Athletic Club in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. It was during that time that he became one of the masters of the three-turn technique. In the 1904 Olympic Games, sporting the Winged Fist of the Irish American Athletic Club, Flanagan set a new world record of 168 feet, 1 inch. He placed second to the Canadian,

Étienne Desmarteau Joseph-Étienne Desmarteau (4 February 1873 – 29 October 1905) was a Canadian Athletics (sport), athlete, winner of the Weight throw, weight throwing event at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Biography Born in Boucherville, Quebec, Desmarteau wa ...

, in the 56-pound throw event. In 1905, while attached to the 37th Precinct, Flanagan competed in the Police Athletic Association games held at Celtic Park in New York. "Not only did he win four of weight-throwing events, but, as if to show that he could do a little sprinting as readily as he can outclass his competitors with the 16 and 56 pound weights, he not only had the temerity to enter the fat men's race, but actually won it," giving him a total of five first place victories, "a most commendable showing, for there were many mighty policemen arrayed against him." In the

1908 Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

in London, Flanagan broke his own record with a hammer throw of 170 feet, 4.5 inches. The silver that year went to another New York City police officer, the former record holder Matt McGrath. John Flanagan competed in the

tug-of-war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport in which two teams compete by pulling on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal of bringing the rope a certain distance in one direction against ...

as well. On July 24, 1909, at the age of 41 years, 196 days, Flanagan set his last world record in the hammer, with a throw of 56.18 meters. This constituted the oldest person in the sport of athletics to break a world record (pre IAAF jurisdiction). Flanagan quit the police force in 1910, after his public office squad was abolished and he was transferred to the West 68th Street Station and forced to walk a beat along

Central Park West Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...

, giving him no time to train and compete. He returned home to Limerick in 1911 and took over the family farm following the death of his father in 1912. He continued to compete in Ireland and won his final international event when competing against Scotland in 1911. He also won the Irish Hammer Championships of 1911 and 1912. Following his retirement, he coached a number of athletes, including Patrick O'Callaghan, who went on to win two Olympic gold medals in the hammer throw at the

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

and

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

games. He died at home in Limerick, aged 70, on 3 June 1938.Obituary in ''New York Times'', June 5, 1938. A statue of Flanagan was erected beside Martinstown Church in Limerick in 2001.

References

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External links

*
Irish America Archives - NYUWinged Fist Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanagan, John 1868 births 1938 deaths American male hammer throwers Irish male hammer throwers Irish emigrants to the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1900 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Tug of war competitors at the 1908 Summer Olympics Olympic tug of war competitors for the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field Athletes from County Limerick New York City Police Department officers Male weight throwers Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1900 Summer Olympics Olympic weight throwers Track and field athletes from New York City Police officers from County Limerick 19th-century American sportsmen 20th-century American sportsmen