HIRAM, Ohio - July 11, 2025 - Hiram College and Hiram Athletics are celebrating the 121st anniversary of the 1904 Olympic Games this weekend, when the Hiram men's basketball team won an Olympic gold medal in St. Louis. Hiram College remains the only college in the country with a team Olympic gold medal.
Those 1904 Olympic Games marked the third edition in the modern era and the first to feature the sport of basketball. Hiram competed as one of the top collegiate teams in the state of Ohio, and later took down Latter-Day Saints University (now Brigham Young University) for the Olympic Intercollegiate World Championship.
An excerpt from the St. Louis Dispatch (July 13, 1904) is included below to help recount the momentous occasion:
The first game was played at 10 o'clock this morning between Hiram and Wheaton, and resulted in a victory for Hiram, the score being 25 to 20. At 2 o'clock this afternoon, Wheaton defeated the Latter Day Saints' team by a score of 40 to 35. The final game at 4 o'clock between Hiram and the Latter Day Saints, was won by Hiram by a score of 25 to 18.
To the winning team was presented a banner, emblematic of the championship, and individual medals of gold. Wheaton and Latter Day Saints received silver and bronze medals, respectively. The officials were: Martin Delaney, of St. Louis, referee; Dr. Kennedy, of Chicago, umpire; F.A. Grinley, scorer, and S.B. McPheeters, timekeeper.
Hiram College men's basketball head coach Pierce Cumpstone reflected on the anniversary of Olympic gold, as he gets set to lead the 127th season of Terriers men's basketball this winter:
"It is a very special privilege to have a piece of basketball history sitting in our trophy case that no other school shares. Does the 121-year-old Olympic Gold medal play a role in our current student-athletes' on-court success? Not directly. But it does play a huge role in fostering a sense of pride for me as head coach of the men's basketball program. Knowing that we have been hooping for over 12 decades is wild! And I try my best to show off that little piece of gold as often as I can. Whether I am with recruits, alums, friends or family, I always make sure to stop by the trophy case because it is a piece of sports history that deserves to be shared and advertised. And honestly, not many people are aware that Hiram College won an Olympic Gold medal! Which I find as crazy as the fact that in our lobby sits a piece of Olympic history. I am extremely proud of this and our program's past successes."
The event was later selected as one of Sports Illustrated's Most Intriguing Events of the 20th Century. Below is what others have written about Hiram's Olympic gold medal:
