Budd Goodwin

Leo “Budd” Goodwin of the New York AC won numerous championships during a long career, but his days as an active swimmer were nearly ended in 1906 when he almost lost an arm following a severe case of blood poisoning. Goodwin won AAU titles outdoors in the 1904 440 yard freestyle, the 1901 and 1907 880 yard freestyle, the 1-mile freestyle in 1910 and 1912-14, and in long-distance swimming in 1910 and 1915. He won indoor AAU titles in the 100 yard freestyle in 1903 and in the 1908 500 yard freestyle. He was also noted as a marathon swimmer, winning the Battery-to-Coney Island race at least once.

Goodwin worked for his father for many years on their Manhattan Island excursion ferry. He later won a Congressional Medal for bravery for a daring sea rescue in Newport News, Virginia. Goodwin continued to compete until 1922. He retired to the Palm Beach area where he continued to swim recreationally. His son, Tommy Goodwin, became one of the nation’s top amateur golfers.