All Olympic record books list the silver medallist in the 1904 lightweight boxing event as Jack Egan (sometimes spelled Eagan). He lost the final on decision to Harry Spanjer, while Russell Van Horn took third place. But more than a year later, Egan was discovered to have been fighting under an alias. This was not uncommon at the time, as many more wealthy citizens did not want to be associated with sports. Egan’s real name was Frank Floyd, and he came from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. While this may not seem serious, by the rules of the AAU it was illegal to fight under an assumed name, a so-called ringer. In November 1905, the AAU decided that Egan would be disqualified from all AAU competitions, and he would have to return his prizes. The Atlantic Association that had knowingly accepted Floyd’s application as Egan was also expelled from the AAU.
This late decision to revise the Olympic results in this event has, as far as we know, never been published since the events in 1905, and was only rediscovered in 2008 by Taavi Kalju. More than 100 years after the fact, Peter Sturholdt can be recognized as a new Olympic medallist. This is even more remarkable considering he never won a single fight. In the quarter-finals, he was originally listed as having narrowly lost to Carroll Burton. While Burton was a well-known St. Louis fighter, the Olympic boxer was a different person. Like Egan, he had used a false name to compete, but his real identity, James Bollinger, was uncovered after the fight. This moved Sturholdt through to the semi-final by disqualification, where he lost against Egan. He then also lost the match for third place against Van Horn.
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