Ralph Rose and Martin Sheridan: The Battle of Shepherd’s Bush

Sultry heat and pelting rain turned the road through the exhibition grounds into “a sea of liquid mud,” marring the 1908 Olympics, according to the The Times of London. A much greater problem, however, was bitter partisanship that had emerged between the United States and Great Britain. The division grew so sharp that the 1908 Games were named “The Battle of Shepherd’s Bush.” The seeds of animosity were sown from the onset. During the opening...