George VAN CLEAF

George Van Cleaf competed in swimming and water polo at the 1904 Olympics. Van Cleaf was a New York native who first represented the Knickerbocker AC. When that club was disbanded Van Cleaf joined the New York AC. He swam in the tank at the NYAC, but also did a lot of ocean swimming at Bath Beach, near where he lived. Van Cleaf was known to swim in early spring as soon as ice had cleared the water.

Like many of the 1904 water poloists, who competed in the pond that was also used for the Livestock Exhibition of the 1904 World’s Fair, Van Cleaf died of typhoid fever only a few months after the Olympics. His obituaries noted that he had won “over 200” trophies in swimming contests.