1959 Pan American Games

3rd edition of the Pan American Games

III Pan American Games

Poster of the 1959 Pan American Games

Host| Chicago, United States
Nations| 25
Athletes| 2,263
Events| 166 in 18 sports
Opening| August 27
Closing| September 7
Opened by| Milton S. Eisenhower[1]
Main venue| Soldier Field

<- 1955 Mexico City

1963 São Paulo ->

The 1959 Pan American Games, officially known as the III Pan American Games and commonly known as Chicago 1959, were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959.

## Host city selection

[edit]

Main article: Bids for the 1959 Pan American Games

One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), along with three cities that had submitted bids, then later withdrew their bids. On March 11, 1955, at the IV Pan American Congress in Mexico City, PASO selected Cleveland, Ohio unanimously to host the III Pan American Games.[2][3][4]

On April 15, 1957, Cleveland asked PASO to be relieved of its assignment as the host city as the city believed it was not properly prepared to host the Games. Subsequently, both Guatemala City and Rio de Janeiro informed PASO that they would not be able to host the Games either. Two cities came forward as candidates to host the games, Chicago and São Paulo. On August 3, 1957, Chicago was selected to host the Games over São Paulo by a vote of 13 to 6.[2][5]

## Organization

[edit]

Once Chicago took over as host city following Cleveland's withdrawal, there were 18 months left to organize the games. The games were held on-schedule nonetheless. The games were the first Pan American Games to be held during the Northern Hemisphere's summer. The previous two editions were held in March.[5]

In the months following the awarding of the Games to Chicago, PASO leadership became seriously concerned that Chicago's preparations for the event were insufficient. Particularly, they felt that the event's director, Colonel Jack Reilly, was treating the Games as an ordinary Chicago event rather than an international competition on par with the Olympics. In the summer of 1958, then-current IOC president and PASO honorary president Avery Brundage, himself an American, privately said that the Chicago organizers "haven't the faintest idea of the magnitude of the task they have assumed" and predicted that the Games would be "the most dismal fiasco in the history of international sport". Publicly, he warned that "unless greater effort is put forth to prepare for the 1959 Pan American Games, both the city and the nation may be disgraced in the eyes of the world". PASO considered cancelling the Games entirely before Chicago's organizing committee was reorganized and Reilly was replaced.[6]

## The Games

[edit]

Alternative poster in Spanish

The Games opened on August 27, 1959, in sunny 90 °F (32 °C) heat before 40,000 people at Soldier Field. The opening ceremony was preceded by a monthlong torch relay from Mexico City to Chicago. The torch itself was symbolic: instead of a burning flame, the "Atomic Torch" consisted of a blue lightbulb surrounded by a chromium-plated model of an atom. The torch was designed by staff at Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago.[7][8] President Dwight D. Eisenhower was expected to attend the opening ceremony, but he canceled his appearance in favor of a diplomatic trip to Europe. Eisenhower's brother Milton attended the ceremony in his place.[1][9]

The event was marred by numerous organizational failures and poor-quality facilities. For some sports, such as shooting, no practice facilities were provided at all.[10] Manuel Gonzalez Guerra, who would become president of the Cuban Olympic Committee during the Castro era, referred to the 1959 Games as "the worst ever,"[9] and his comments were in line with the negative perceptions of many other Latin Americans who traveled to Chicago for the Games.[6]

Male athletes were housed in dormitories at the University of Chicago, the Ferry Hall School, and North Central College, while female athletes stayed at the Shoreland Hotel.[9] On September 7, hours before the closing ceremony, Brazilian rower Ronaldo Duncan Arantes was found dead with bullet wounds at North Central College. Arantes' brother Rômulo, a fellow athlete at the Games, reported that Ronaldo had brought money to Chicago with him to purchase firearms.[11] No one was ever charged in Arantes' death.[6]

## Medal table

[edit]

* Host nation (United States)

Rank| NATION| Gold| Silver| Bronze| Total

|
|
|
|
|

1|  United States*| 121| 75| 56| 252
2|  Argentina| 9| 22| 12| 43
3|  Brazil| 8| 8| 6| 22
4|  Canada| 6| 20| 27| 53
5|  Mexico| 6| 10| 15| 31
6|  Chile| 5| 2| 6| 13
7|  British West Indies| 2| 4| 7| 13
8|  Cuba| 2| 4| 5| 11
9|  Bahamas| 2| 0| 0| 2
10|  Venezuela| 1| 7| 7| 15
11|  Uruguay| 1| 3| 4| 8
12|  Panama| 0| 4| 4| 8
13|  Peru| 0| 2| 5| 7
14|  Puerto Rico| 0| 2| 4| 6
15|  Ecuador| 0| 1| 1| 2
16|  Haiti| 0| 1| 0| 1
17|  British Guiana| 0| 0| 3| 3
18|  Guatemala| 0| 0| 1| 1
Netherlands Antilles| 0| 0| 1| 1
Totals (19 entries)| 163| 165| 164| 492

## Sports and Venues

[edit]

Opening ceremonies at Soldier Field. Wrestler Mario Tovar González can be seen serving as Mexico's flag bearer. Gymnasium at Navy Pier, site of the Gymnastics competition

* Athletics (details) at Soldier Field[12]
* Baseball (details) at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park[13]
* Basketball (details) at Alumni Gymnasium (men's) and Oak Park High School (women's)[14][15]
* Boxing (details) at Northwest Armoury
* Cycling (details) at Gately Stadium temporary venue (Track Cycling)[16]
* Diving (details) at Portage Park
* Equestrian (details) (Open jumping)
* Fencing (details)
* Football (details) (soccer) at Hanson Stadium[17] and Soldier Field[18]
* Gymnastics (details) at Navy Pier[14]
* Modern pentathlon (details) at Waukegan Shooting Range (shooting), Great Lakes Naval Training Center (fencing), Independence Grove (equestrian show-jumping and cross-country running), and Portage Park (swimming)[13]
* Rowing (details) in the Cal-Sag Channel[13][14]
* Sailing (details) in Lake Michigan
* Shooting (details)
* Swimming (details) at Portage Park[19]
* Tennis (details) at Lincoln Park Tennis Club[13]
* Volleyball (details) at Proviso High School[14]
* Water polo (details)
* Weightlifting (details) at Chicago Vocational High School[15]
* Wrestling (details) at Reavis High School[14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Ike's Brother Opens 1959 Pan-Am Games", Associated Press, via The Spokesman-Review, August 28, 1959, page 15.
2. ^ a b Emery, Curtis Ray (1964). The History of the Pan American Games (Dissertation). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
3. ^ "Cleveland Will Host 1959 Pan Am Games". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Mexico City, Mexico. AP. March 12, 1955. p. 5. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
4. ^ "Cleveland Designada Sede para los Juegos Panamericanos del 59" [Cleveland Designated Headquarters for the Pan American Games of 59]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. UP. March 12, 1955. p. 17. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
5. ^ a b Hersh, Phil (July 19, 1987). "Chicago-Style Pan Am Games". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
6. ^ a b c MacAloon, John. "Historical Erasure and Cold War Inter-American Relations: The Chicago 1959 Pan-American Games", Historicizing the Pan-American Games, Routledge, 2018.
7. ^ "Lemont Boys To Join Pan-Am Torch Relay", The Lemonter, August 20, 1959, front page.
8. ^ "Torch To Burn During The Pan American Games", Taylorville Daily Breeze-Courier, August 21, 1959, page seven.
9. ^ a b c Hersh, Phil. "Torch relay set the stage for '59 Pan American Games", Chicago Tribune News Service, via McAllen Monitor, July 26, 1987, page 7B.
10. ^ Gustkey, Earl. "PAN AM GAMES LEGACY: 1959 : It's Not Exactly Peace and Harmony", Los Angeles Times, August 6, 1987, Web, retrieved January 19, 2024.
11. ^ "Rowing Ace Dead; Foul Play Hinted", Associated Press, via The Spokesman-Review, September 8, 1959, front page.
12. ^ Ford, Liam T. A. (October 1, 2009). Soldier Field: A Stadium and Its City. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226257068.
13. ^ a b c d Dretske, Diana (December 8, 2008). "'59 Pan Am games brought Olympic-level competition to Lake Co". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2014.
14. ^ a b c d e Gustkey, Earl (August 5, 1987). "PAN AM GAMES LEGACY: 1959 : It's Not Exactly Peace and Harmony". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
15. ^ a b Lyke, Bill (August 29, 1959). "Drive Out to the Pan-Am Games!". Chicago Tribune. pp. B1. ProQuest 182386533.
16. ^ "Chicago Historic Velodromes & 6-day venues". Retrieved July 5, 2014.
17. ^ "05/09/1959 – Brasil 1 x 1 Argentina". jogosdaselecaobrasileira.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
18. ^ "29/08/1959 – Brasil 4 x 2 Costa Rica". jogosdaselecaobrasileira.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
19. ^ Pogorzelksi, Daniel; Maloof, John (2008). Portage Park. Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco CA: Arcadia Publishing. p. 95\. ISBN 978-0-7385-5229-3.

## External links

[edit]

* Chicago 1959 - III Pan American Games - Official Report at PanamSports.org
* Chicago 1959 - III Pan American Games - Official Report (Part 2) at PanamSports.org
* Torch relay envelope with Pan American Games Chicago postmark on 49 star flag stamp
* Daniel Hautzinger (July 8, 2021). "When Chicago Hosted Olympics-Style Games — And Why They Have Been Forgotten". wttw.

Preceded by

Mexico City

|  III Pan American Games
Chicago
(1959)  | Succeeded by

São Paulo

|
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Events at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, United States

* Athletics
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* Modern pentathlon
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