George Young (3 March 1909 – 6 August 1972) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

marathon swimmer Marathon swimming is a class of open water swimming defined by long distances (at least ) and traditional rules based in English Channel swimming. Unlike marathon foot-races which have a specifically defined distance, ''marathon swims'' vary in ...

who, on 15–16 January 1927, became the first swimmer to cross the channel between Catalina Island and the mainland of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. This took place during a contest called the Wrigley Ocean Marathon, sponsored by

chewing gum Chewing gum is a soft, cohesive substance designed to be chewed without being swallowed. Modern chewing gum is composed of gum base, sweeteners, softeners/plasticizers, flavors, colors, and, typically, a hard or powdered polyol coating. Its te ...

and

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

magnate

William Wrigley Jr. William Mills Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American chewing gum industrialist. He was founder of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. Biography William Mills Wrigley Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Penns ...

Young was the only person to complete the swim, which took him 15 hours and 44 minutes. This feat earned him a prize of $25,000 and the nickname "The Catalina Kid". He was inducted into

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (french: Panthéon des sports canadiens; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canad ...

in 1955 and into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

in 2014. Young retired from competitive swimming around 1931. He worked on the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

until the death of his second wife in 1953, and then at the Parks Commission in Niagara Falls until his death in 1972.

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A reminiscence of the Wrigley Ocean Marathon
*
Wrigley Ocean Marathon Swim
1909 births 1972 deaths Canadian long-distance swimmers Sportspeople from Aberdeen Scottish emigrants to Canada {{Canada-swimming-bio-stub

See also

References

External links