A century ago, a Connecticut wrestler won a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.

John Spellman, who grew up on a farm in Somers with his two brothers and graduated from Enfield High in 1918, won a gold medal in the 1924 Paris Olympics in freestyle in the light heavyweight weight class (87 kilograms or 191 pounds).

Spellman won four bouts in the single-elimination tournament in Paris, beating Sweden’s Carl Westergren, the 1920 Olympic gold medalist in Greco Roman in the semifinals, and beating Sweden’s Rudolf Svensson in the final for gold.

A two-time AAU (American Athletic Union) New England champion, Spellman wrestled and played football at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Spellman wasn’t allowed to graduate with his class at Brown in 1924 because he took three days off during exams to participate in the Olympic trials at New York’s Madison Square Garden without the permission of Dean of Students Otis Randall, according to the Boston Globe.

In Paris, he initiated the action in the gold medal match with Svensson. The Providence Journal reported on July 14, 1924, that “Spellman was the aggressor for the final bout and carried the fight to the opponent. He was relentless in his attack during the 10 minutes the struggle lasted. He never wavered and his perfect condition and great strength carried him to victory.”

In 1960, the Brown Alumni Monthly magazine wrote that “the onerous labors of (his father's) farm (in Somers) hardened his body and developed (Spellman’s) strength. He wasn’t very tall but he had broad shoulders and crushing arms. So great was his strength that he frequently raised his opponent over his head and dashing him on the mat to set him up for a pin.”

Spellman was the captain of the wrestling and football team at Brown, earning All-American honors in football at tackle in 1923.

After the Olympics and Brown, he was a professional wrestler and played professional football. Spellman played eight years and 88 games in the NFL with the Providence Steam Rollers and the Boston Braves. He was part of Providence’s NFL championship team in 1928.

Photo caption: U.S. Olympic wrestling team that competed in Paris in 1924. Photo courtesy National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Photo of John Spellman, courtesy Brown University library.

Posted Monday, July 29, 2024 by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame