History Olympic Club

1 history

1.1 women s athletic club
1.2 discrimination lawsuit
1.3 golf club
1.4 competition
1.5 winged-o football , rugby
1.6 rugby

history

nahl brothers, 1855



ruins of club, 1906 quake



olympic natatorium

first named san francisco olympic club , oldest athletic club in united states. established on may 6, 1860, first officers president, g.w. bell, secretary, e. bonnell, treasurer, h.g. hanks, , leader, arthur nahl.

james j. corbett, heavyweight boxing champion 1892 1897, joined club in 1884. later went on coach boxing @ club many years. on january 2, 1893 club opened first permanent clubhouse on post street. building did not survive san francisco earthquake.

women s athletic club

women not join men-only olympic club built own modest athletic club few doors down, named women s athletic club of san francisco. begun in 1912 , completed in 1917, provided many of same facilities olympic club. in 1966, club changed name metropolitan club of san francisco. may found on sutter st., in of olympic club s parking garage.

discrimination lawsuit

in 1987, san francisco city attorney louise renne filed suit against olympic club discrimination against women , (allegedly) against minorities. renne contended club s lease of city-owned land upon 1 hole of lake course , 2 holes of ocean course required them conform city s anti-discrimination policies. rather face protracted legal case uncertain outcome, board voted accept women members in 1990. allegation involving minorities withdrawn.

golf club

in 1918, club took on lakeside golf club, had opened in 1917 struggling financially. lakeside had 1 18-hole golf course designed wilfrid reid, following additional land purchases club decided replace 2 courses. these designed willie watson, well-known scottish architect, , lake , ocean courses opened in 1924. ocean course shortly thereafter damaged landslides, , sam whiting (who had constructed 2 courses, , remain superintendent until 1954) remodeled , rebuilt both courses in 1927. in 1953, lake course modified robert trent jones in preparation 1955 u.s. open. ocean course altered several times on years, , following heavy storm damage in 1996 redesigned tom weiskopf , reopened in 2000.

the cliffs course opened in 1994 jay morrish , tom weiskopf course architects.

the olympic club hosted 2004 u.s. junior amateur (won sihwan kim) , u.s. amateur in 1958 (won charles coe) , 1981 (won nathaniel crosby, son of bing crosby). lake , ocean courses used 2007 u.s. amateur, won colt knost of dallas, texas, earned 2-and-1 victory on michael thompson of tucson, arizona.

competition

in 1909, olympian , club member ralph rose set world record shot put throw of 51 feet.

in 1915, club s amateur basketball team won amateur athletic union (aau) basketball championship. in 1934, club member fred apostoli won national amateur middleweight boxing title. in 1937, olympic club track , field team won track , field national championships. in 1941, club member hank luisetti helped lead olympic club basketball team win aau basketball championships again. in 1950, olympic club member arthur larsen won u.s. open of tennis in forest hills, new york. olympic club water polo team won 1959 water polo national championship.

cycling 1 of sports longest tradition @ olympic club. 1893 1903, olympic club cycling team 1 of club s premier teams. although sanctioned cycling team disbanded in 1903, many olympians participated in cycling on individual basis. illustrious of these ernest ohrt. ohrt capped cycling career being named coach of united states olympic games cycling team in 1924.

beginning in mid-1990s, revived olympic club cycling team supported several cyclists went on become professional road cyclists. former olympic club cyclists later turned professional include skyler bishop, nick kelez, james hibbard, jackson stewart, mike tillman , zach walker.

in addition being springboard aspiring professional cyclists, modern cycling team boasts of finest masters-age cyclists in nation, including brian mcguire, hal johnson, cynthia mommsen , lisa hunt.

club member maureen o toole won silver medal in water polo @ 2000 olympic games in sydney, australia.

at least 5 olympic club members have won dipsea race, founded oc members: oliver millard in 1910 , 1913, mason hartwell in 1917, norman bright in 1970, joe king in 1995 , 1996, , shirley matson in 1993.

in 1992, club set winged o foundation, changed name olympic club foundation in 2002. purpose fund youth sports programs target less advantaged youth live in bay area.

winged-o football , rugby

the olympic club fielded football team played bay area colleges such stanford, cal, st. mary s, , santa clara. team formed in 1890. year, olympic club accused rival club of enticing athletes jump ranks offers of jobs. investigation amateur athletic union ruled olympics practice not professionalism semi form of it, inventing term semi-pro . although amateur athletic union didn t idea much, decided clubs indeed offer employment without losing amateur status or compromising athlete. 1891 through 1934, olympic club had 12-30-8 record against stanford , 6-49-5 record against cal.

in 1926, percy locey played football @ olympic club. member of olympic s winged-o football eleven handed university of california s wonder team first loss in 5 seasons. in 1928, locey took on head football coach @ olympic club. in first year olympic club, team posted undefeated season, wins on future pac-12 schools stanford , 1929 rose bowl bound california. after success of season, locey promoted head coach of sports @ athletic club. named coach of west team in annual east-west shrine game in 1929, though team defeated year, 19-7.

rugby

olympic club fields rugby team has participates in pacific rugby premiership , formerly in usa d1 , in rugby super league. pacific rugby premiership (prp) highest level domestic rugby competition in u.s. several players olympic club have played u.s. national rugby team.

in 1913, olympic club s rugby union team played touring new zealand blacks, world top team in sport. olympic club members later provided core of u.s. national team won gold medals in rugby @ 1920 , 1924 summer olympics, last occasion sport part of olympic program.