Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, March 26, 1927
The formidable New York worker Ville Ritola took a few weeks off from his carpentry work in the winter of 1927. He began preparing for a showdown with Sweden's Edvin Wide, who had traveled to America. In the indoor competition held on March 26, the distance was unfortunately too short for Ritola, two miles, so a loss it was.
The defeat annoyed the "Wolf of Peräseinäjoki." In Ritola's opinion, his club, the Finnish-American Athletic Club, had lured him with empty promises to face Wide at an unfavorable, shorter distance and while he was not in top form. The carpenter's relationship with his club was tested later in the summer when Ritola settled his scores and skipped several of the club's competitions.
What consoled the Finns was that Ove Andersen won the three-mile handicap race.
Helsingin Sanomat, March 28, 1927 (in Finnish)
Helsingin Sanomat, April 1, 1927 (in Finnish)
Helsingin Sanomat, April 14, 1927 (in Finnish)