Foiled by Fancy Footwear

Tug-of-war was one of many events that used to be part of the early Olympics, but are no longer. Three teams from Great Britain competed in the 1908 Games in London; each team was made up entirely of police officers; the teams were from the City of London, the Met, and Liverpool. The two national teams from the United States and Sweden were added to them, making up the whole field for the tug-of-war competition.

In the quarterfinals, the Americans faced Liverpool and promptly defeated. They then reported to the authorities that their rivals were wearing shoes that were prohibited and characterized them as being "as huge as North River ferryboats, with steel-topped heels and steel cleats in the front of the soles, while spikes an inch long protrude out of the soles."

The Liverpool police force stated that the boots were normal issue that they wore on the job despite the fact that "prepared boots or shoes with any projecting nails" were prohibited. The American team's complaint was therefore overruled, and the Liverpool team ultimately won the silver medal.