his home town of Boston, Coe instead chose Yale University. He was reportedly enticed to enroll at Yale by "the blandishments of Mike Murphy and Walter Camp." He was expected to play football at Yale, but was not eligible to play during the 1902 season. Coe ultimately spent only one term at Yale. 1904 Olympics On July 4, 1904, at a meet held in Coe's home town of Sommerville, Massachusetts, Coe broke the world record with a distance of 48 feet, 6 inches, in the 16-pound shot put. However, the record was not recognized by the Amateur Athletic Union. Two months after the meet in Sommerville, Coe competed for the United States in the 1904 Summer Olympics held in St Louis, Missouri. The 1904 Olympics began a period of intense and widely covered competition between Coe and Ralph Rose for supremacy in the shot put event. Rose was considered a giant of man, and at six feet, five-and-a-half inches, he was more than seven inches taller than Coe. At the 1904 Olympics, Rose set a new Olympic record on his first try with 14.35 metres only to be bettered by Coe who threw 14.40 metres on his first attempt. Rose ultimately won the gold medal with a new Olympic record and tied his own unofficial world record with 14.81 metres on his fifth throw. Coe finished in second place for the silver medal, and a third American Lawrence Feuerbach took the bronze medal. World record at Medford Following the 1904 Olympics, Rose bested Coe again at an event hosted by the Boston Athletic Association. Coe reportedly became determined to break Rose's world record and "labored faithfully to perfect his style." In February 1905, a large crowd was drawn to watch Coe at the indoor games of the Lawrence Light Guard Athletic Association held in the armory at Medford, Massachusetts. Rose attended the event as a guest and wished Coe luck before his first toss. Coe fell short of the record on his first four throws. As Coe prepared for his final throw, Rose said, "Come on now, old boy, you are in grand form this evening, and with just a little more power on your next put, you ought to place my mark well in the shade." The Boston Globe described the final throw as follows: Coe smiled at the encouraging remark of his famous rival, and then made steady