Connecticut’s John Spellman of Somers (small photo in box) was on the the 1924 U.S. Olympic wrestling team and won a gold medal in Paris. Spellman is in the third row, second from the right next to the team official in a blazer. (Team photo courtesy National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Spellman photo courtesy Brown University library).
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 191.8 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.
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 15, 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 said that “the onerous labors of (his father’s) farm (in Somers) hardened his body and developed his 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, he was a professional wrestler and played professional football for eight years and 88 games in the NFL with the Providence Steam Rollers and the Boston Braves. He was part of Providence’s 1928 NFL championship team.
1924 Olympic gold medalist John Spellman at Brown University. (Photo courtesy Brown University)
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Tim Jensen of Patch Media wrote a story about Spellman and his accomplishments in 2012. He updated the story in 2024. The following is a majority of Tim’s story in The Patch.
The Forgotten Olympic Gold Medalist From Somersville
John Spellman, a Somersville resident who attended Enfield High School, won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1924 Paris Olympics.
A native of Middletown, John F. Spellman grew up on his family’s farm on Hall Hill Road in Somersville. Like his five siblings, he attended the Hall Hill one-room schoolhouse, then took a trolley to (the) Thompsonville (section of Enfield) every weekday to attend Enfield High School, from where he graduated in 1918.
He followed in the footsteps of his brother Bob, enrolling at Brown University. His brother was captain of the wrestling team in 1923, and John followed suit the next year. A third brother, Frank, captained the Brown squad in 1928.
A two-time AAU champion, Spellman sought permission to take three days off from school to attend the 1924 Olympic Trials. His request was denied by Dean of Students Otis Randall, but Spellman went to the trials anyway, earning a spot on the Olympic freestyle wrestling team. Randall punished Spellman for his defiance, denying him permission to graduate with his class, although he had fulfilled all the requirements.
Once the freestyle wrestling competition began in Paris, Spellman breezed through the first two rounds in the light-heavyweight division, pinning Walter Wilson of Great Britain and George Rumpel of Canada. In the semifinals, he won a decision over Carl Westergren of Sweden, a three-time gold medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling, to earn a trip to the finals.
In the gold medal match, Spellman took on another Swede, future two-time Greco-Roman gold medalist Rudolf Svensson. Spellman won by decision to earn the gold medal, one of four won by American grapplers in 1924.
Having excelled in both football and wrestling in college, Spellman entered the pro ranks in both sports. He signed as a lineman with the Providence Steam Rollers in 1925, and was a key member of the 1928 championship squad. He was named second team All-NFL in 1929, and stayed with Providence through 1931. He played a final season with the Boston Braves in 1932.
Concurrent with his football career, the 5-foot-10, 201-pound Spellman became a professional wrestler. He traveled the country numerous times, and eventually trained his former Steam Roller teammate, Gus Sonnenberg, who went on to become world heavyweight champion.
Spellman became a full-time wrestler upon his retirement from pro football and continued to travel extensively. In 1936, he embarked on a lengthy world tour with his wrestling troupe, arriving in Africa in 1938.
The onset of World War II left Spellman unable to return to the United States. He became a mining engineer in Zimbabwe and remained there until his death at age 67 in 1966.
Two years after his passing, Spellman was inducted posthumously into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. He was elected to the Brown University Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. His Enfield award was accepted by his sole living sibling, Ruth Terwilliger, who was 96 at the time. She passed away in 2006, a month shy of her 100th birthday.
