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# Olympic Football, c. 1904
- URL: https://www.lorejournal.com/olympic-football-c-1904/
- Published: 2026-10-18T22:07:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-22T13:53:24.000Z
- Author: Lore Press

American football was—debatably—a demonstration sport at the 1904 Summer Olympics. Washington University in St. Louis ("WashU") hosted much of the activity from the games on its newly-constructed "World's Fair Stadium" (later renamed "Francis Field” in 1907, and "Francis Olympic Field" in 2019).

Originally, organizers planned an Olympic-style international competition, but as with many aspects of the unconventional games, something else resulted. 

All of the games ultimately played during the Olympiad were between college-level competitors (the distinction between prep school teams and small college teams was hazier in 1904). WashU played all eleven of its games there, going an underwhelming 4-7.

Nearby St. Louis University, which sponsored a football program from 1899 to 1949, played four games at the Stadium in a 13-day blitz from October 18 to October 31\. It went 4-0, en route to an 11-0 season. Both WashU and St. Louis University played their scheduled college opponents. Only two games not involving WashU or St. Louis University were hosted on the field during the Olympic window, and neither involved international squads. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/d8/61/d861ae30-a59d-4f09-95c8-3fccaf20b47e/content/images/2026/10/IMG_5523-2.jpeg)

Oddly, there's no record of the St. Louis college teams facing one another in 1904\. St. Louis University was the better of the two local college programs, if short of the "Olympic World’s Champions" the above photo from the era proclaims them to be. 

The WashU Bears are currently a Division III program with a history that dates back to 1887\. Their home football field remains the 102-year-old Francis Olympic Field, the oldest Olympic stadium still in active service in the U.S. [The Bears are 6-0 this season](https://washubears.com/sports/football/schedule?ref=lorejournal.com), already eclipsing their 1904 counterparts.