If you are an Olympics fan who has never heard of William Milligan Sloane, you're not alone. Even in his prime, Sloane wasn't a track star, swimmer, gymnast, cyclist, soccer player or sensation on the basketball court. But more than almost any other American, he is responsible for the great diversity and success of our nation's Olympic tradition.
Sloane was a professor of history at Princeton and Columbia universities, a humble and unassuming scholar who believed that sport was a vital part of the human experience.Not only was he the only American delegate to the 1894 convention in Paris that re-established the modern Games, Sloane was a persistent voice for making the Olympics an all-inclusive affair. Throughout his 31 years on the International Olympic Committee, and during his tenure as president of the United States Olympic Committee, he argued that athletes of all races from all over the world - including women - should be allowed to compete.
The reward for his courage was bitterness from his fellow Olympic committee members. They resented Sloane, the son of an abolitionist preacher, for his belief in the equality of women and minorities, a view not popular at the time.
When Sloane died in 1928, there was no tribute to him, no mention of his leadership in the Olympic movement, no acknowledgment of his efforts to strengthen the Olympic ideal.
Now, 68 years after his death, Sloane is finally getting the recognition he deserves. The Olympic torch, carried by his great-grandson, stopped at Sloane's grave in New Jersey on its way to Atlanta.
And last week, Bill, Chelsea and I had the privilege of meeting his grandson and namesake, 78-year-old William Milligan Sloane. Together, we visited the 667 members of the United States Olympic team and 100 of our country's previous gold-medal winners at the Olympic village.
As the president told our athletes, Sloane didn't just help renew a 2,500-year-old tradition. And he didn't just pave the way for men and women from all continents to participate in the modern Olym-pics. He also helped organize the first American Olympic team to go to Athens when the Games resumed in 1896.
Sloane began by recruiting Robert Garrett, a young man who had never competed in sports in his life but responded to a notice Sloane posted on the bulletin board at Princeton University. Garrett had once seen a picture of an ancient Greek discus thrower, and he was game to give the Olympics a try. So, he found a blacksmith who agreed to make a discus for him.
The discus weighed 13 pounds, and Garrett practiced feverishly until he could hurl it 49 feet. Still, he knew he would be no match for the Europeans, who routinely threw 87 feet. But he went off to Athens anyway, determined to make his mentor, Sloane, and the United States proud of his efforts.
Good fortune was on his side. It turned out that the discus used in Olympic competition weighed only 2.5 pounds. Garrett heaved it 98 feet - almost out of the stadium. And he won.
Americans also placed first in 10 other events, including the 100-meter dash, the 400-meter run, the hurdles, the broad jump, the high jump, the pole vault, the shot put, the hop, skip and jump, and two shooting competitions. In those days, each winner received a silver medal and an olive branch.
Sadly, Sloane wasn't there to see this extraordinary triumph. He had given his tickets to two American athletes who couldn't afford the trip to Greece.
Sloane finally made it to the Olympics in Paris in 1900.
Now, almost a century later, his vision is being fulfilled in Atlanta, and I'm proud that Bill, Chelsea and I have had a chance to share in it. Watching the competition and spending time with the 280 women and 387 men who make up the American team, we have seen that William Milligan Sloane's Olympic spirit lives on. It lives on in the hearts and dreams of our athletes and in the pride they showed when they and their compatriots from 196 other countries marched into the Olympic stadium for the opening ceremonies last week.
As Americans, we can all be proud that our team -- comprised of athletes of all complexions, backgrounds and cultural traditions --offers such a fitting tribute to the man who started us down the Olympic road 100 years ago.