August 27, 1927. “Raymond Ruddy, 15-year-old New York Athletic Club swimmer who won the race on the Potomac, with members of the victorious team — Lee, Fissler, Farley and Geibel — on Washington Canoe Club float at Chain Bridge.” Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.
NEW YORK BOY, 15, IS WINNER OF THREE-MILE SWIM ON POTOMAC
Raymond Ruddy First in Test for President’s Cup
“His tapering legs and well-formed body apparently visualized the Greek athlete to all, as this comparison was general as he stood on the Washington Canoe Club float at the finish.”
— Washington Post
RAY RUDDY, OLYMPIC SWIM STAR, KILLED BY PLUNGE DOWN FLIGHT OF STAIRS
Raymond Ruddy, whose achievements as a swimmer and water-poloist caused him to be ranked among the outstanding athletes of the world, died at 7 o’clock last night at the age of 27 in Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center from the effects of a fall twenty-four hours earlier. The swimmer was about to leave the home of his aunt when his foot caught in the carpet of a stairway leading down from the second floor. He lost his balance and fell nearly the entire flight, striking his head against a radiator on the first floor.
