Upper Hudson River 1,000-yard Swimming Championship
The Upper Hudson River 1,000-yard Swimming Championship was held at Pleasantdale annually most years between 1918 and 1935. The Sixteenth Annual in 1931 was not followed by the Seventeenth Annual until 1935, which may have been the last one (readers, do you know?). Items for the other years not yet represented below will be added soon.
—The Colonial Athletic Club will stage a 1,000-yard championship race on the Hudson at Pleasantdale on Sunday. Three medals will be offered. It will be some splash.
“Batting ‘Em Over.” Troy Times. August 25, 1920: 14 col 3.
TROY, Aug. 9.—The fourth annual 1,000-yard Hudson river swimming championship will be held over the historic course off Pleasantdale-on-the-Hudson here Sunday afternoon, August 28. Entrants from Troy, Waterford, Watervliet, Cohoes, Green Island, Albany and Schenectady are expected to make the 1921 event the greatest of them all.
The first race was arranged by Martin J. B. McDonagh in 1918 and has been held every year since that time. The race one year was held in September 28 with the water and weather extremely cold. This time it will be held in summer in order to give everybody a chance to share in the honor. Last year a chap named Prendergast won it in 18 minutes. The record for the course is 16 minutes, 50 seconds by Jim Merwitz of Pleasantdale who won the race in 1919.
The race is sanctioned by the Amateur Athletic Union and entries will be received by the promoter, Marty McDonagh, at the Troy Record office or at the scene of the race. An entry fee of fifty cents will be charged the contestants. Earl Smith of Schenectady is out to win the event this year. He has finished close up the past two years and may be ready. Jim Merolt and L. Prendergast, both of Troy, former winners, will start again this time. The race is annually one of the biggest features of the year, and this time will prove no exception judging from the requests as to the date of the event. The race is held at a point off Pleasantdale which may be reached by street car or auto bus. It is above the Lansingburgh car barns. On the Troy side of the river.
Schenectady Gazette. August 10, 1921: 11 col 5.
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Dorp Red Cross Entry Sets Mark in 1,000-Yard Event.
Ken Gray of the Schenectady Red Cross won the fifth annual 1,000-yard swim at Pleasantdale-on-the-Hudson yesterday afternoon, setting a new record for the event by making the distance in 15 minutes 4 4-5 seconds was established by Joe Wheatley of New York.
Stanley Hane of Schenectady finished second in 17:55; Ernest Johnson, also of Schenectady, third, in 19:10; W. D. Mathewson, Schenectady, fourth, 19:38, and William Leonard, Schenectady, fifth, 22:00.
Troy Times. August 28, 1922: 9 col 4.
All the prominent amateur swimmers from Troy, Albany, Schenectady and vicinity, together with a gaia array of professionals, will be seen in action Sunday afternoon at Pleasantdale. The affair is the 10th annual 1,000 yard Adirondack Association Athletic Union championships to which a special 1,000 event for pros has been added. The first event will be staged at 2 o’clock and the entire program is being promoted by Marty McDonagh. […]
The winners of the 1,000-yard amateur championship to date are as follows:
1918—Leo M. Reed, Mobile, Ala. Time, 22 minutes 57 seconds.
1919—James Merwitz, Pleasantdale, 16 minutes 54 seconds.
1920—H. Prendergast, Lansingburgh, 18 minutes 32 seconds.
1921—Joe Wheatley, New York A. C., 15 minutes 4 4-5 seconds.
1922—Ken Gray, Schenectady Red Cross, 15 minutes 4 1-5 seconds.
1923—Ben Cann, Schenectady Red Cross, 16 minutes 20 2-5 seconds.
1924—Ben Cann, Schenectady Red Cross, 15 minutes 16 2-5 seconds.
1925—Ken Gray, Schenectady Red Cross, 14 minutes 34 3-5 seconds (new record).
1926—Frederick Tope, Jonesville, 16 minutes 40 3-5 seconds.
Troy Times. August 12, 1927: 12 col 3.
“Former German Army Officer And Champion In Pleasantdale Swim.” Albany Times Union. August 13, 1927
TWO additional swimming stars have entered in the 1,000 yard open-to-all professionals at Pleasantdale, at Troy, tomorrow afternoon. The race at 2 o’clock will be to determine the 1,000 yard Adirondack Association amateur championship in which the leading stars of the Albany area will compete. At 3 o’clock, the women’s event at 440 yards will be staged, and at 4 o’clock the big race of the day comes when some of the heading swimmers of American will compete. To the list already printed, which included Mobile Bill Jackson, winner of the Lake George-Kattskill Bay race recently; George X. Mayo of Troy, Fred Tope of Jonesville, third at Lake George; Bunny Spaulding of Saratoga and others, there was added this afternoon the names of Victor Klein and Leo O’Leary. Klein, who has been in the country for four years, comes from Germany, where he was hailed in his section as the champion swimmer. He has not competed in this part of the globe, but since everybody’s doing it now, he has caught the spirit and with true Teuton-Yankee feeling has started to get out of it all he can. O’Leary is well known in this section and competed in the 1924 event at Pleasantdale. Since that time he has improved wonderfully and in a recent trial unofficially broke the record for the course by swimming the route in 14 minutes 30 seconds. The record is 14 minutes 34 3-5 seconds.
Klein came to Albany today to enter his name with Marty McDonagh of The Times-Union, who is promoted the event for the tenth annual time. Klein’s records are fine on the other side. He rated high over there, not only in the athletics but in the military life of his country. He rose to a captaincy in the German army and served as captain during the ordeal from 1914 to the end of the World war. He is now a resident of Troy, and is being managed by Fred P. Ramroth of 35 Hudson avenue, Green Island, who will supervise his work in the 1,000 yard professional event tomorrow at Pleasantdale. Klein is essentially a long distance swimmer, so that the race tomorrow will not be a fair test for him, but he will enter anyhow to get in the training for the Toronto swim, August 31.
Klein competed twelve miles in the Lake George marathon swim in July, swimming 11 miles without food or guidance from a boat. His boat was lost after he had gone a mile in the water and officials of the court were undable to locate it. While in the 34th Artillery of the German army, Klein won an 18 mile swim in the Moselle river and later an 18 mile race in the Rhine while serving in the Seventh Artillery regiment.
Under the management of Ramroth, Klein is training in Saratoga lake, swimming twn to twelve miles a day.
Previous to the Lake George swim, Klein was employed as a baker at Ocean Grove, N. J., and training in salt water. He is now doing fresh water swimming and is anxious to get some competition before going to Toronto, so that he can adequately judge his condition. He will be in this section until August 20, and can be reached through his manager by anyone desiring to do local long distance swimming. He is related to the Heimbolds of Troy, the sausage kings.
KLEIN OUTDOORS MAN.
Klein is an outdoors man all the time. His German army training has left him straight and fine, and he looks every inch an athlete. He stands well over six feet, and is built proportionately. He has a happy habit of taking swims all winter, ice or no ice, and in Germany, clad only in running trunks and without a jersey, walked 21 miles in bitter cold weather for many days in a row just for condition’s sake.
TO REACH THE DALE.
In order to reach Pleasantdale from Albany, go to Waterfliet, to Troy by way of the Congress street bridge, and then go out River street, straight onward for five miles to Lansingburgh, continue straight ahead by the car barns (at the Waterford bridge, Troy end) to the watering encampment.
Albany Times-Union. August 13, 1927: cols 6-7.
Amsterdam Swimmers In Pleasantdale Event
Three Amsterdam swimmers will compete as a team tomorrow in the 1,000-yard swim at Pleasantdale. They are Eddie Slezak, Stan Wozniak and Harry Yurgana. Outstanding distance swimmers of the Capital District will compete, the event starting at 2:30.
Amsterdam Evening Recorder. September 7, 1935: 8 col 2.
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Vic Mochon Wins Pleasantdale Event; Four Local Mermen Make Fast Time
Records were broken by all competitors in the 17th annual Pleasantdale 1,000-yard swim, sponsored by Marty McDonagh, Sunday, as one of the finest fields ever to compete in an Adirondack District A. A. U. event took part.
The race was the closest in the history of the Pleasantdale event, with the lead changing frequently. Victor Mochon of Troy won with Dick Slade of Schenectady a fifth of a second behind him. Joseph Cassidy of Troy was third, a tenth of a second back.
Stan Wozniak of Amsterdam finished fifth, only a tenth of a second out of fourth place, and Eddie Slezak of this city was a second behind Wozniak. Eddie Silva and Harry Yurgana, both of Amsterdam High, completed the field, finishing only seconds behind the leaders.
The local swimmers swam a zig-zag course, but all broke two existing records.
The order of the finish:
Time
V. Mochon, Troy 13:10 2-5
R. Slade, Schenectady 13:10 3-5
J. Cassidy, Troy 13:10 7-10
V. Harris, Schenectady 13:10 9-10
S. Wozniak, Amsterdam 13:11
E. Slezak, Amsterdam 13:12
E. Silva, Amsterdam 13:14
H. Yurgana, Amsterdam 13:18
Amsterdam Evening Recorder. September 9, 1935: 9 col 4.