The first event called the Pan American Games, which took place in Dallas in 1937, attracted so little attention it has never counted in the records of the competition.
The first officially scheduled Pan American Games, which were to take place in Argentina in 1942, were canceled because of World War II.
The first Pan American Games to be officially recognized, which took place in Argentina in 1951, are remembered in the same way as the Nazi Olympics of 1936.
Such is the tragicomic history of the Pan American Games, an Olympic-style competition for the nations of North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Three times, the designated host city has needed a replacement. The 10th Pan American Games, which open next Saturday and run through Aug. 23 in Indianapolis, are being staged there because first Chile and then Ecuador backed out as host for financial reasons.
These ``Hemispheric Olympics`` have been so thoroughly dominated by the United States that they are viewed in much of Latin America as just another example of Yankee imperialism. Cuba, which is the top U.S. rival in many sports, does everything it can to play on that attitude.
Since 1971, when Cuba suddenly emerged as a powerful sporting force, U.S. athletes have often found it uncomfortable to compete in the Pan Am Games. Some of the problems came from inferior housing and facilities, others from overt hostility.
After the 1983 Pan Am Games in Caracas, Venezuela, U.S. swimmers were so disgruntled at the thought of returning to South America that their federation signed a contract to send the top athletes to the Pan Pacific Games in Australia. When the 1987 Pan Ams were moved to Indianapolis, the swimmers were stuck with honoring the deal.
The Pan Am Games have nevertheless grown into a quadrennial extravaganza that will draw 4,000 athletes from 38 nations to compete in 27 sports at Indianapolis.
The Pan Am Games began, unofficially, as part of the 1937 Pan American Exposition in Dallas. They included three events: track and field and soccer at the Cotton Bowl from July 15-18, and boxing between champions of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and the United States from Aug. 12-14.
Twenty-one nations took part in the opening ceremonies July 15, although only three (champion Argentina, the U.S. and Canada) competed in soccer. The Cotton Bowl events drew crowds of 10,000, 12,000, 22,000 and 16,000. The high point in track was a world record by Johnny Woodruff in the 800 meters.
In boxing, the South Americans won five of eight titles.
The would-be 1942 Pan Am Games were to fill the sporting void caused by the cancellation of the 1940 Olympics. The entry of the U.S. into World War II forced the 1942 plans to be abandoned.
Nine years later, for better or for worse, the Pan American Games began a tradition that has been embellished by some of these highlights, lowlights and sidelights:
1951: So overwhelming is the personality cult of Argentine strongman Juan Peron and his wife, Eva, that the first Pan Am Games in Buenos Aires bring back discomfiting memories of the 1936 ``Hitler Olympics.`` The first three pages of the official program carry six pictures of the Perons, none of athletics.
Argentine boxers win all eight weight classes as the host country, whose team of 500 athletes is four times as large as the U.S. squad, wins the overall points title 1,071 to 734 1/2. The U.S. basketball team spoils the party by upsetting the Argentines, 1950 world amateur champs, 57-51.
1955: The Games in the thin air of Mexico City, with its 7,400-foot altitude, give special meaning to the idea of oxygen debt. The tone is set when a U.S. boxer collapses in the opening ceremonies. Athletes collapse in droves until the organizers provide oxygen. The U.S. moves to the top of the medal count (a position it has not relinquished since) with more than twice as many golds
(81-27) and total medals (177-73) as runner-up Argentina.
1959: Chicago is host to the only Games in the U.S. before this year. Chicago is a late replacement for Cleveland, which calls off the party in 1957 because of financial reasons. Because the 1959 Games are held in the North American summer for the first time (the previous two were in March), the United States is able to send an Olympic-caliber team. The U.S. wins 19 of 20 golds in swimming and diving and 26 of 32 in track and field, with swimmer Chris Von Saltza taking five gold medals (three individual, two relays).
Because the city`s attention is riveted on the White Sox drive to the pennant, only 400,000 spectators watch the 11 days of competition in 20 sports. With only two years to prepare, Chicago does a creditable organizing job, but there are transportation problems and protests in yachting, equestrian, modern pentathlon, rowing, cycling, sailing and soccer. Among the U.S. gold medalists are Althea Gibson (tennis) and Jerry West and Oscar Robertson (basketball).