 Poster of the 1959 Pan American Games. | |
| Host | Chicago, United States |
|---|---|
| Nations | 25 |
| Athletes | 2,263 |
| Events | 166 in 18 sports |
| Opening | August 27 |
| Closing | September 7 |
| Opened by | Milton S. Eisenhower [1] |
| Main venue | Soldier Field |
The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959.
One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan American Sports Organization (PASO), along with three cities that withdrew their bids. On March 11, 1955, at the IV Pan American Congress in Mexico City, PASO selected Cleveland unanimously to host the III Pan American Games. [2] [3] [4]
On April 15, 1957, Cleveland asked PASO to be relieved of their assignment as the host city. Subsequently, both Guatemala City and Rio de Janeiro informed PASO that they would not be able to host the games either. Two cities came forward as candidates host the games, Chicago and São Paulo, and on August 3, 1957, Chicago was selected over São Paulo by a vote of 13 to 6. [2] [5]
Once Chicago took over the game following Cleveland's withdrawal, there were 18 months left to organize the games. The games were held on-schedule nonetheless. The games were the first Pan American Games to be held in the Northern Hemisphere's summer. The previous two editions were held in March. [5]
The games opened on August 27, 1959, in sunny 90 °F (32 °C) heat before 40,000 people in Chicago, Illinois, United States at Soldier Field.
* Host nation (United States)
| Rank | NATION | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States* | 121 | 75 | 56 | 252 |
| 2 |  Argentina | 9 | 22 | 12 | 43 |
| 3 |  Brazil | 8 | 8 | 6 | 22 |
| 4 |  Canada | 6 | 20 | 27 | 53 |
| 5 |  Mexico | 6 | 10 | 15 | 31 |
| 6 |  Chile | 5 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| 7 |  British West Indies | 2 | 4 | 7 | 13 |
| 8 |  Cuba | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| 9 |  Bahamas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 |  Venezuela | 1 | 7 | 7 | 15 |
| 11 |  Uruguay | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 12 |  Panama | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 13 |  Peru | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 14 |  Puerto Rico | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 15 |  Ecuador | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 16 |  Haiti | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 |  British Guiana | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 18 |  Guatemala | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Netherlands Antilles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (19 entries) | 163 | 165 | 164 | 492 | |
Athletics () at Soldier Field [6] 
Baseball () at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park [7] 
Basketball () at Alumni Gymnasium (men's) and Oak Park High School (women's) [8] [9] 
Boxing () at Northwest Armoury
Cycling () at Gately Stadium temporary venue (Track Cycling) [10] 
Diving () at Portage Park 
Equestrian () (Open jumping)
Football () (soccer) at Hanson Stadium [11] and Soldier Field [12] 
Gymnastics () at Navy Pier [8] 
Modern pentathlon () at Waukegan Shooting Range (shooting), Great Lakes Naval Training Center (fencing), Independence Grove (equestrian show-jumping and cross-country running), and Portage Park (swimming) [7] 
Rowing () in the Cal-Sag Channel [7] [8] 
Sailing () in Lake Michigan 
Swimming () at Portage Park [13] 
Tennis () at Lincoln Park Tennis Club [7] 
Volleyball () at Proviso High School [8] 
Water polo () 
Weightlifting () at Chicago Vocational High School [9] 
Wrestling () at Reavis High School [8] 
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