Saint Louis Gets the Games.

In 1893 Coubertin toured the United States to garner support for the revival of the Olympic Games. He had attended the Chicago Columbian Exposition that year and was impressed by the enterprise and efficiency of the city. In 1899 William Rainey Harper, the president of the University of Chicago, expressed interest in having Chicago host the Olympics. With Coubertin's support the IOC awarded Chicago the 1904 Olympic Games. The city, however, lost its enthusiasm for holding the games, and Saint Louis, which planned to hold a World's Fair in 1904 to celebrate the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase, expressed interest. The IOC, following a 14-2 decision, awarded the Olympics to Saint Louis in 1902. Hoping to avoid the poor preparations of the last Olympiad, Coubertin asked James E. Sullivan, the president of the American Athletic Union, to manage the preparations for the games...