Sports Physician - Athlete 1903

1903

Canadian Warren Snyder (1903-1957) (5th from right) won the silver medal with the coxed eight at the 1924 Olympics in Paris. He also played basketball, baseball and rugby. He graduated from the 'University of Toronto' and worked as a general practitioner in the town of Mimico. However, he was suspended after being charged with manslaughter for hitting and killing a cyclist with his car while allegedly drunk. He was acquitted of the charges several months after a mistrial in February 1939 and resumed practicing.

1903

At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, the American team won the gold in the coxed eight. One of the rowers was Benjamin Spock (1903-1998), who later as a pediatrician became world famous with his psychoanalytic approach to children. In his 'The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care' from 1946, he made clear to mothers that 'they know more than they think they know'. It was a research job for all sorts of situations and phenomena that may occur in a baby or toddler. Because of its practicality it was frequently consulted, and the educational advice was also brought to the attention of the young parents.

1903

Bermuda-born Bill Tucker (1903-1991) played rugby for 'Cambridge University', 'St. George's Hospital' and 'Blackheath'. In 1926 he was selected three times for the English team. He was William Tucker's (1872-1953) son and followed the footsteps of his father not only in the field of sports. In 1928 he also graduated from 'St. George's Hospital' of London and he specialized in orthopedic surgery with a special interest for sports injuries. In 1936 he opened the 'Park Street Orthopedic Clinic'. As captain of the British army, he was captured by the German forces during World War II. In the POW camp he took care of hurt soldiers and constructed many prostheses for soldiers who had lost limbs in battle. After the war he returned to work at his London Sports Clinic, which was open seven days a week. In the meantime he was promoted colonel in the army. Along with Arthur Porrit (1900-1994) and Sir Adolphe Abrahams (1883-1967) he founded the 'British Association of Sport and Medicine'. He wrote several books on fitness and health, including 'Young at Heart', an advice book for remaining fit in old age.

1903

Dutchman Gejus van der Meulen (1903-1972) was goalkeeper of 'Haarlem FC'. In 1924 he made his debut with the Dutch team against the Belgian Red Devils, and that same year he took fourth place with the national team at the Olympics in Paris. Four years later he was back in Amsterdam, but the Dutch national team was eliminated in the preliminary round. He was called 54 times for the Dutch national team. He graduated from the 'University of Amsterdam' and after his specialization he worked as a pediatrician in Haarlem. During the Second World War, however, he collaborated with the Germans and from then on the once-acclaimed van der Meulen was reviled throughout the Netherlands