Pilgrim, Paul H.
Track and Field
b. 1883, New York, NY
d. Jan. 7, 1958
Pilgrim won a gold medal at the 1904 Olympics as a member of the winning team in the 4-mile team race, but he wasn't chosen to represent the U. S. when the "intercalated" games of 1906 were held in Athens to mark the tenth anniversary of the modern Olympics.
However, Pilgrim paid his own way to Athens and was allowed to compete. He astonished everyone by winning two gold medals. After running a 53.2 in the 400-meter run to beat the favorite, Wyndham Halswelle of Great Britain, Pilgrim came up against Halswelle and the 1,500-meter gold medalist, James Lightbody of the U. S., in the finals of the 800-meter run.
Lightbody and Pilgrim both began sprinting at the 700-meter mark to leave Halswelle behind, and Pilgrim just barely edged Lightbody in the time of 2:01.5.
In 1914, Pilgrim became manager and athletic director of the New York Athletic Club and he held that position until his retirement in 1953.