Ralph Rose

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Ralph Waldo Rose (born March 17, 1885 in Healdsburg, California, deceased October 16, 1913) was an American athlete. A giant of a man at 6' 5 1/2" and 250 pounds, Ralph Rose was the first shot putter to break 50 feet. His world record of 51' 0", set in 1909, lasted for 16 years. In 1904, while at the University of Michigan, he won both the shot put and discus at the Big Ten championships. He subsequently competed for the Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. and won seven National AAU titles in the shot, discus and javelin. A competitor in three Olympic Games, Rose compiled a medal total of three golds, two silver and one bronze. At the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, he won the shot, was second in the discus, third in the hammer throw and sixth in the 56-pound weight throw.

Four years later, in London, England, he repeated as the shot put champion. Acrimony between the United States and Great Britain began at the opening ceremony when Ralph Rose, the US flag bearer, refused (supported by a majority of his mostly Irish descended US teammates) to dip the flag to the royal box, as other countries did. He explained his action with the terse statement, "This flag dips to no earthly king." Several decisions by British judges went against American athletes during the games, and U. S. spokesmen felt they stemmed from bias, caused in part by the flag incident.

In the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, he won the two-handed shot put (throwing a total of 27.70 m (90' 10½") with his right and left hands), took second in the regular shot, ninth in the hammer and 11th in the discus.

Olympic champions in men's shot put

1896: Robert Garrett | 1900: Richard Sheldon | 1904: Ralph Rose | 1906: Martin Sheridan | 1908: Ralph Rose | 1912: Patrick McDonald | 1920: Ville Pörhölä | 1924: Clarence Houser | 1928: John Kuck | 1932: Leo Sexton | 1936: Hans Woellke | 1948: Wilbur Thompson | 1952: Parry O'Brien | 1956: Parry O'Brien | 1960: Bill Nieder | 1964: Dallas Long | 1968: Randy Matson | 1972: Władysław Komar | 1976: Udo Beyer | 1980: Vladimir Kiselyov | 1984: Alessandro Andrei | 1988: Ulf Timmermann | 1992: Mike Stulce | 1996: Randy Barnes | 2000: Arsi Harju | 2004: Yuriy Bilonoh