The athletic destiny of the New York Athletic Club was determined in 1866 when three Civil War veterans, all friends and elite level sportsmen, met in New York and decided to form a club for amateur athletes in the city. It took them two years of persuasion and advertising before 14 young men agreed to join them in September, 1868.

In the ensuing 15 years the NYAC changed the face of American athletics, especially track and field. Distances and weights were standardized, the most competent and unbiased referees and officials were appointed, and a record book was established. The NYAC capped these innovations in 1876 by sponsoring the first national track and field championships at which two of the Club founders, Bill Curtis and Henry Buermeyer, won gold medals.

The zeal which marked the transformation of track and field spilled over into other sporting endeavors such as rowing, swimming, gymnastics, wrestling, boxing, and, eventually, fencing. At the NYAC's request, during the 1880s, responsibility for regulating amateur athletics passed from the Club's officers to a national governing body, eventually called the Amateur Athletic Union.

An increasing number of NYAC athletes were also among New York's social leaders. They became weary of the Club's nomadic existence; they wanted a permanent headquarters equipped, not only with a gymnasium and swimming pool, but with a billiards room and a formal dining room. President Bill Curtis (in office from 1880 to 1881) strenuously objected, fearing a diminution of athletic resolve. Nonetheless, William Travers, was elected president in 1882 with a mandate to build a luxurious club house. Angrily, Curtis resigned, lamenting the inroads of society into athletic excellence and camaraderie. Travers personally supervised every aspect of the construction and furnishing of the new club house, the first of its type in the US. The opening in 1885 was heralded by the New York press as a glamorous success, attended by almost all of Mrs. Astor's "400".

Contrary to Curtis' forebodings, luxury did not in any way curtail the Club’s dedication to amateur athletic excellence.

Although the NYAC was mostly indifferent to the revived Olympic Games that took place in Athens in 1896 (Although Club-member Thomas Burke did win the 100m and 400m), the results prompted the Club's athletic hierarchy to take action. Club Captain Charles Sherrill took the initiative in organizing the US Olympic squad for the Paris Olympics in 1900. Despite bad management by the host city and makeshift facilities and grounds, the NYAC athletes excelled in the track and field events, claiming a total of 20 medals. The NYAC also took two medals in swimming, and the Club was in the Olympics to stay.

After the tremendous success of the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm (NYAC President Col. Robert M. Thompson took personal charge of the American team), the Club’s reputation was such that Germany sent a delegation of sporting officials to Central Park South to find out how to emulate our training methods.

After the Armistice that ended the First World War, it proved difficult, especially in Europe, to return to the status quo in sports. Even so, Club members like Gustavus Kirby and Bartow S. Weeks led a U.S. team to the revived 1920 Olympics in Antwerp and returned with appropriate NYAC success - a tally of nine gold medals.

It was difficult to innovate in the 1930s with the specter of bankruptcy facing the denizens of the glamorous new club house at Seventh Avenue, as it did innumerable institutions across the nation. Even so, the administration kept funding the athletic programs.

Though competitions continued during the Second World War, both Olympic Games (1940, 1944) were cancelled and the NYAC’s overall program was curtailed, in part because Travers Island, site of our annual world class Spring and Fall Games, was leased to the Norwegian Navy for military training.

The post-war period found the athletic program quickly blossoming into a new golden age, with a total of 13 Olympic gold medals being won by NYAC members in the Games of 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968. National titles piled up by the bushel, but especially notable was our indoor track meet at Madison Square Garden, an event that hosted some of the most memorable competitons of the era.

During the 1980s and 1990s the Club's Athletic Department changed focus, going back to its roots. We fostered: rowers, fencers, judo players, wrestlers, water polo players, handball players, cyclists, race walkers, weight throwers, and a modern pentathlon record holder. We developed a youth fencing program that continues to stand as a model for the rest of the country. A large financial commitment has been assumed and, in this, we have been bolstered by an active and generous Athlete's Fund.

How are we doing? Measuring by one yardstick - the Olympic Games - very well. In 1996, the Club sent 23 Winged Footers to Atlanta. Bruce Baumgartner, Lance Deal and Jim Pedro won medals. In 2000 we surpassed our Atlanta representation with 35 Olympic team members. In 2004, we had 39 Olympians and took home five gold medals, one silver and five bronze.

We've made countless strides since the Club's inception in 1868; but, throughout, our purpose has remained constant: to foster a spirit of healthy athletic competition and assist our athleles, in whatever way we can, as they strive for the highest levels of sporting accomplishment.
       
New York Athletic Club
City House: 180 Central Park South, New York, NY 10019 | Tel: (212) 247-5100
Travers Island: Shore Road, Pelham Manor, NY 10803 | Tel: (914) 738-2700
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