The Olympics Where Three Clubs Competed

Only three teams participated in the 1904 Olympic football tournament. All of them were actually club teams rather than national squads, representing just two North American cities.

The competition was quite a local affair, with two teams hailing from St. Louis and one traveling from Ontario. Two other Canadian clubs had originally signed up but pulled out before the event began. Because there were so few entrants, the entire tournament was essentially a mini-series between local clubs. It remains a strange footnote in sports history compared to the massive global events we see today.