Walter Newell COLBATH

Walter Colbath began diving at the Chicago AA and Illinois AC, later attending Northwestern University. Colbath was a radio entertainer, who was the first to voice the character of Jack Armstrong on radio. His wife, Vesta, also attended Northwestern and both were voted the best looking at the college, with a 1932 Chicago American article labeling their marriage a Venus-Apollo match. Colbath performed as a diver at the Streets of Paris Pavilion at the 1933 World’s Fair. He later coached swimming at St. George High School in Evanston, Illinois and Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. During World War II, Colbath trained swimming to recruits at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center and then served in the Pacific, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander.

After World War II, Colbath worked in industry, first with Ryerson Steel and then Chicago Steel Service. He then started his own firm in Riviera Beach, Florida, which supplied much of the steel used to build up the Bahamas.