Did you know, just 3,089 athletes participated in the 1924 Paris Olympic Games? Even with the relatively small number – nearly 11,000 are participating this summer – the City of Lynn was made proud.
Lynn’s Frederick “Teddy” O’Connor (1902-1952) suited up for the U.S. men’s soccer team at just 22 years old. The Americans won their first game, 1-0, against Estonia, but lost a quarterfinal matchup with Uruguay, which went on to capture the gold medal after an undefeated run.
“He originally graduated from Lynn Classical, but it didn’t have high school soccer back then,” said grandson Mike O’Connor, a Lynn resident and firefighter for the last 28 years. “He played for F.C. General Electric (in Lynn) and ended up on the Olympic team.”
The Americans traveled by boat and played for a few months, according to Mike.
“He was a 22-year-old kid who ended up on the U.S. Olympic team, going to Paris,” he said.
After the Olympics – which distributed results and scores via telegraph – Frederick went on to get married and have two kids, Kevin and Paul.
“My father (Kevin) didn’t really talk about it much. He was proud of his dad,” Mike said. “With the Olympic stuff, we always knew about it… but only through bits and pieces of articles that I found.”
Better yet, Mike and his family have Frederick’s original uniform from 1924, among other memorabilia.
“I have his team photo, a photo of him in his Olympic uniform, and, in my family room, we have a poster from the 1924 Olympics. It’s encased in glass with his name on it,” he said.
Mike, age 55, said his family has been in Lynn for more than 100 years.
“I love the City of Lynn,” he said. “People have always made fun of it, but if you don’t live here and don’t know about it, then you don’t know what it’s all about. It’s where I was born, it’s where I was bred, and it’s where I love.”
