Martin Sheridan

Martin John Sheridan, born on 28 March 1881 in Bohola, County Mayo, Ireland, was an Irish-American athlete and a three-time Olympic Games gold medallist in the discus throw who took part in the 1904 and 1908 Olympic Games. He was one of the group of Irish-American athletes known as the Irish Whales and the best all-around athlete of the Irish American Athletic Club, standing 6 feet 3 inches tall. He served with the New York City Police Department from 1906 until his death and was so well respected that he served as the Governor's personal bodyguard in New York City. He won the discus at the 1904, 1906 and 1908 Games, the shot put at the 1906 Games and the Greek discus in 1908, and at the 1906 Intercalated Games he also won silver medals in the standing high jump, standing long jump and stone throw. He died on 27 March 1918 at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan from the Spanish flu, the day before his thirty-seventh birthday, and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Queens.