RPI Lacrosse & the Olympics

Introduction

Typically, lacrosse is not included in the Summer Olympics. However, from the early to mid 1900's, lacrosse appeared five times. It was first showcased in the 1904 Summer Olympic Games, hosted in St. Louis with a total of three teams: two Canadian teams and one American team. In 1908, 1928, 1932, and 1948, lacrosse was again showcased, with various teams competing. Today, I will primarily go over the 1948 Summer Olympics and RPI's appearance in it.

RPI & The Olympics

In 1948, the Summer Olympic Games were hosted in London. Because of this, a team would need to represent the U.S. Luckily for RPI, they were on a hot streak. In 1947, they went a record of 11 wins and 1 loss and following that in 1948, they had a record of 13 wins and 0 losses. Because of this, they got an invite but, there was a problem, they needed money. Nowadays, it's easy to raise money through sponsorships and deals but this is back in the 1940's right after World War II. So, they really needed all hands on deck to raise around $17,000 (equivalent to around $210,000 today). They raised around $2,300 from selling $2 buttons to Troy community members, around $5,200 from ticket sales for a RPI game and ROTC parade they hosted in May, Troy Record newspaper fund that had $1,300, each class donating a small amount of money as well as the team going through every avenue to really help them reach for their budget (pie-eating contest, donations, store rebates, RPI trustees, even Union College fans donated). Luckily, they raised enough money to go.

The Results

Well? What happened? Did they do well?
Incredibly, they were a force to be reckoned with. They had a record of 8 wins and 1 tie. One of their wins was "to be disputed" but we can count it anyways. From a story told, the 1 tie that RPI had was one of the most intriguing games to happen. They played against the all England team at the Wembley Stadium. The amount of spectators is ambiguous but it was said that the amount of fans were between 35,000 and 60,000. It has been said that King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II arrive after the first quarter right when RPI is leading 4 to 2. As soon as they arrive, England goes on a hot streak to score 3 goals back-to-back-to-back. Because of this, RPI is down 5 to 4. Luckily, with 55 seconds left in the game, it has been noted that a played on the RPI team named Alan Myers tied the game on a shot from his knees. Since the game ended in a tie, they did not have any plans for overtime, so it was left at a draw. Nonetheless, it is impressive to not only have outstanding records in their regular season but also appear in the Summer Olympics representing the U.S. and also having an almost flawless record in the Olympics as well.

References

https://www.wamc.org/wamc-news/2021-08-05/when-rpi-lacrosse-went-to-the-olympics