On November 9th, 1962, the City Commission of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida unanimously approved the following, which gave berth to the concept of the International Swimming Hall of Fame:
A RESOLUTION INDICATING THAT THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE IS INTERESTED IN ESTABLISHING THE FACILITY KNOWN AS “THE SWIMMING HALL OF FAME” IN THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE AND IS IN A POSITION TO PRESENT ITS PLANS THEREFOR.
The initial allocation for the ISHOF was $250,000 to be put towards building an Olympic-sized pool along with a shrine to the history of the sport of swimming.
49-years (and several renovations) later, there is a push to completely overhall the ISHOF. The cost this time? One proposal puts the figure as high as $76.2 million. Inflation, anybody?
Todays Birthdays
- Michelle McKeehan, 22 – The Georgia Bulldog senior breaststroker is a 4-time Individual All-American, who took bronze at this year’s Pan Am Games in the 200 breast.
- Sharon Stouder, 63 – Before Missy, Stouder was the world’s teen swimming sensation. At the 1964 Tokyo games, Stouder won three golds and a silver.
- Frederik Hviid, 37 – Hviid is a Spanish Olympian who pulled of the European double in 1999, with 400 IM golds in both short course and long course.
- Nelson Diebel, 41 – Diebel was the 1992 Olympic Champion in the 100 breaststroke for the United States. The Americans haven’t won the event since.
- Florence May Chadwick, would be 93 – In 1950, Chadwick broke the English Channel Record with a time of 13 hours, 20 minutes. A year later, she would become the first woman to cross the channel in both directions.
