View source for Ralph Rose

{{Short description|American track and field athlete (1885–1913)}}
{{for|the Australian rules footballer|Ralph Rose (footballer)}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Ralph Rose
| fullname = Ralph Waldo Rose
| image = Ralph Rose.jpg
| caption = Ralph Rose
| sport = [[Track and field]]
| event = [[Discus throw]]<br />[[Hammer throw]]<br />[[Shot put]]<br />[[Tug of war]]<br />[[Weight throw]]
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1885|3|17}}
| birth_place = [[Healdsburg, California]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1913|10|16|1885|3|17}}
| death_place = [[San Francisco|San Francisco, California]], U.S.
| height_ft     = 6
| height_in     = 6
| weight_lb     = 235
| pb = {{Unbulleted list
| '''Shot put''': {{convert|15.54 |m|ft}} (1909)
| '''Discus throw''': {{convert|40.81|m|ft}} (1910)
| '''Hammer throw''': {{convert|52.61|m|ft}} (1907)
}}
| medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport | Men's [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]}}
{{Medal|Country | the {{USA}} }}
{{Medal|Competition | [[Athletics at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
[[File:Olympic rings.svg|center|80px]]
{{Medal|Gold| [[1904 Summer Olympics|1904 St. Louis]] | [[Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put|Shot put]]}}
{{Medal|Gold| [[1908 Summer Olympics|1908 London]] | [[Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put|Shot put]]}}
{{Medal|Gold| {{nowrap|[[1912 Summer Olympics|1912 Stockholm]]}}| {{nowrap|[[Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's two handed shot put|Two handed shot put]]}}}}
{{Medal|Silver| 1904 St. Louis | [[Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's discus throw|Discus throw]]}}
{{Medal|Silver| 1912 Stockholm| [[Athletics at the 1912 Summer Olympics – Men's shot put|Shot put]]}}
{{Medal|Bronze|1904 St. Louis | [[Athletics at the 1904 Summer Olympics – Men's hammer throw|Hammer throw]]}}
}}

'''Ralph Waldo Rose''' (March 17, 1885 &ndash; October 16, 1913) was an American [[Track and field|track and field athlete]]. He was born in [[Healdsburg, California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/78977 |title=Ralph Rose |work=Olympedia |access-date=February 2, 2021}}</ref>

==Biography==
Standing 6&nbsp;ft 5.5 in (197&nbsp;cm) and weighing 250 pounds (115&nbsp;kg), Rose was the first [[shot put]]ter to break 50 feet (15 m). His world record of 51&nbsp;ft 0 in (15.5 m), 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|St. Louis, Missouri]], he won the shot, was second in the discus, third in the hammer throw, and sixth in the 56-pound (25&nbsp;kg) weight throw.

Four years later at the [[1908 Summer Olympics]] in [[London]], he repeated as the shot put champion. At the opening ceremony Rose, the U.S. flag bearer, refused (supported by a majority of his mostly [[Irish Americans|Irish-American]] teammates) to dip the flag towards the royal box, as athletes from other countries did. Fellow athlete [[Martin Sheridan]] supposedly explained Rose's action with the terse statement, "This flag dips to no earthly king."  According to legend, this caused acrimony between the United States and Great Britain. 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. However, there is no reliable evidence that the British spectators objected to Rose's action, nor that Sheridan ever uttered his famous quote, which did not appear in print until 1952.<ref>[[David Wallechinsky|Wallechinsky, David]] (2004). ''The Complete Book of the Summer Olympics'', [[Toronto]]: Sport Classic Books. {{ISBN|1-894963-34-2}}</ref>

At the [[1908 Summer Olympics]] Rose competed in the [[tug of war]] but was not successful.

[[File:Pat McDonald, Lawrence Whitney, Ralph Rose 1912.jpg|thumb|195px|right|[[Pat McDonald (athlete)|Pat McDonald]], [[Lawrence Whitney]], and Ralph Rose in 1912.]]
In the [[1912 Summer Olympics|1912 Olympics]] in [[Stockholm]], [[Sweden]], he won the two-handed shot put (throwing a total of 27.70 m (90&nbsp;ft 10.5 in) with his right and left hands), took second in the regular shot, ninth in the hammer and 11th in the discus.

At the age of 28 he died of [[typhoid fever]], in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite news|title=Athlete Rose Dead; Victim of Typhoid|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/10/17/100653668.pdf|access-date=4 July 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 17, 1913}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080531140524/http://www.databaseolympics.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=ROSERAL01 Profile]
* {{Find a Grave}}
*{{sports links}}

{{Commons category|Ralph Rose}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-sports|oly}}
{{succession box
| before = [[Matthew Halpin]]
| title  = [[Standard-bearer|Flagbearer]] for {{USA}}
| years  = [[1908 Summer Olympics|London 1908]]
| after  = [[George Bonhag]]
}}
{{s-ach|rec}}
{{succession box|before=[[Incumbent]]|title=[[World record progression shot put men|Men's Shot Put World Record Holder]]|years=August 21, 1909 – May 6, 1928 |after=[[Emil Hirschfeld]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Shot Put Men}}
{{Footer Olympic Champions Throws Men}}
{{Footer US NC shot put Men}}
{{Footer US NC Discus Men}}
{{Footer US NC Javelin Men}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Ralph}}
[[Category:1885 births]]
[[Category:1913 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Healdsburg, California]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Sonoma County, California]]
[[Category:American men shot putters]]
[[Category:American men discus throwers]]
[[Category:American men javelin throwers]]
[[Category:Olympic tug of war competitors for the United States]]
[[Category:Tug of war competitors at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1904 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field]]
[[Category:World record setters in the sport of athletics]]
[[Category:Michigan Wolverines men's track and field athletes]]
[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from typhoid fever in the United States]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic weight throwers]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]