The evolution of the Olympic Games into a programme of events of the kind we will watch this summer has left behind an eccentric and at times violent selection of sports that were played in the first half of the twentieth century, many of them popular games from the Victorian era already in terminal decline.
Singlestick, a type of static fencing where the attempt is to bludegeon rather than stab an opponent, is thus described by the protagonist in Thomas Hughes' 1857 novel Tom Brown's Schooldays: "The weapon is a good stout ash stick with a large basket handle, heavier and somewhat shorter than a common single-stick. The players are called "old gamesters"—why, I can't tell you—and their object is simply to break one another's heads."
Singlestick was played just once at an Olympic level in 1904 and gold was taken by Cuban Albertson Van Zo Post, a master in reshaping the skulls of his opponents.
In the same year at St. Louis, Missouri, the American version of croquet, 'roque', also appeared for the first and only time in the Olympic calendar. The rules of roque are the maxim of Americans everywhere: take something classic and say it is suddenly much improved because one has made it more technical:
"It was little known in America before the year 1870 when for a decade it was played in almost every section of the country, but without organization.
"At a meeting of representatives from seven clubs, held in New York City on October 4, 1882, the National Croquet Association was organized and the first tournament was held. In 1899 Mr. Samuel Crosby, of New York City, suggested that the letters "C" and "T" be taken from the word "croquet,' thus forming the name "Roque", that the name of the organization be changed to the National Roque Association, and that the game be made thoroughly scientific.
"Space does not permit the mention of the names of the many men who figured prominently and gave their time and money in the interest of the Association. But as a result of their contributions we have Roque, the most scientific outdoor sport in existence."
Some of our other favourite discontinued sports include:
• 12 hour road race in cycling (1896 in Athens)
• Paris 1900 archery contests 'au chapelet' (on a string/row), 'au cordon doré', and 'sur la perche a la pyramide' (on a pole in a pyramid formation).
• Paris in 1900 featuring croquet, polo and cricket
• London 1908: ‘water motorsports’ i.e. speedboat racing
•1908 fixed and moving bird targets in archery
• Clay pigeon shooting (various)
• Rope climbing in gymnastics (various)
• 2000m tandem (various)