30 greatest one-time sports in Summer Olympics history

10. American Football
1932 Los Angeles Olympics

We’re bending the rules for this one, but you’ll understand why. American football was technically involved in the Olympics twice, but the 1904 event was just college teams having their regular season games in the Olympic stadium. This was a regularly scheduled game, and the stats counted toward their season. However, in 1932, there was a true demonstration for the crowd as part of the Los Angeles Olympic Games. 

The game was between two teams built of six powerhouse schools. On one team, Cal, Stanford, and USC put their rivalries to the side to join together on a team. They took on the East Coast’s “big three” of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. 

Sixty thousand people filled Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 8, 1932, to watch the two teams fight it out during the Olympics. This game led to a game at the World’s Fair the next year, which then led to the College All-Star Game, helping grow the sport that now dominates American athletics. The game was scoreless until the fourth quarter. A field goal attempt was missed, but the ball was in the field of play, and the East scored off the miss. The extra point was then blocked, which will come into play. The West scored a rushing touchdown with three minutes, and they ended up winning the game thanks to making their extra point.

Funnily enough, the original pitch for this game was a pseudo-national championship, with current champ USC taking on the “best” team on the East Coast in Yale. Yale turned down the invitation, and the all-star game was built. Flag football was added to the 2028 Games, but we believe this is the only time we'll see this type of football played at the Olympics.