On This Date: A 17-Year-Old Johnny Weissmuller Breaks a World Record in Brooklyn (Sept. 24, 1921)
On Sept. 24, 1921, 17-year-old Johnny Weissmuller swam 100 yards in 53 1/5 seconds at Brighton Beach, beating a mark shared by Duke Kahanamoku. Then he asked for his frankfurters.
Before he was Tarzan, Johnny Weissmuller was the fastest swimmer in the world. On Sept. 24, 1921, at the Brighton Beach Baths in Brooklyn, a skinny 17-year-old from Chicago swam 100 yards in 53 1/5 seconds, breaking the world record.
Then he climbed out of the pool and asked about his hot dogs.
"Do I get those frankfurters you promised me?"
3 official timers. 3 watches reading 53 1/5.
Weissmuller swam for the Illinois Athletic Club, and his clubmate Norman Ross, one of the best-known swimmers in America, was at the meet too. His main opponent in the 100 was Harold "Stubby" Kruger of Hawaii. It wasn't close. Weissmuller won by about 5 yards, and Kruger finished in 56 1/5 seconds.
The Brighton Beach Baths had a 75-foot outdoor pool, and all 3 official timers stopped their watches at 53 1/5 seconds. The New York Herald called it "a new international standard for the century in a tank." The old mark, 54 seconds, had been shared by another Illinois AC swimmer, Perry McGillivray, and none other than Duke Kahanamoku. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle said it was the first men's world swimming record ever set in Brooklyn.
The Eagle's reporter also caught what Weissmuller said next. First, to Ross: "Say Norm, did I break that record?" Then: "Do I get those frankfurters you promised me?" And then, the part that made the headline: "Bring on the 'Duke.'"
The Duke was Duke Kahanamoku of Hawaii, the Olympic 100-meter champion and the most famous swimmer on earth. Weissmuller was 17, and he'd been racing for about 7 weeks.
Where he came from
Born in Hungary. Or Pennsylvania, depending on which papers you believe.
Weissmuller was born on June 2, 1904, in a village called Freidorf, then in Hungary and now in Romania. His family came through Ellis Island when he was a baby and eventually settled in Chicago.
For years, he said he'd been born in Windber, Pa. That's where his younger brother, Peter, was born, and the story is that Johnny used Peter's birth record to prove he was American so he could swim for the U.S. at the Olympics. It's never been proven, but historians who've looked at Peter's baptismal record say the name "John" was added in different ink.
As a teenager he got a tryout with Bill Bachrach, the demanding coach at the Illinois Athletic Club. Bachrach said the kid had "the gawkiness of an adolescent puppy." He spent about a year teaching him to swim his way before letting him race.
Weissmuller's first official meet was in Duluth, Minn., on Aug. 6, 1921. He won 4 races, including the national title at 50 yards. 7 weeks later he had a world record.
The weekend in Brooklyn
He tried for Duke's record the very next day.
On Sunday, Sept. 25, Weissmuller went after Kahanamoku's world record in the 50-yard freestyle. He won the race in 24 seconds, well off the Duke's 23. He also won the 100-yard backstroke. About 2,000 fans came out that Sunday, and the Eagle counted 6 world records at that meet alone, most of them by Ross and the women swimmers.
He didn't win everything in 1921. Ludy Langer beat him at 440 yards at the national championships. But he didn't lose often after that.
What came next
The first man under a minute. 5 Olympic gold medals. 12 Tarzan movies.
On July 9, 1922, Weissmuller swam 100 meters in 58.6 seconds, taking the world record away from Kahanamoku. He was the first man ever to swim it in under a minute.
At the 1924 Olympics in Paris, he beat the Duke in the 100 meters and won 2 more gold medals, in the 400 meters and the 4x200 relay, plus a bronze in water polo. In 1928 in Amsterdam he won 2 more golds. By most counts he set 67 world records.
Then Hollywood called. In 1932, MGM cast him in Tarzan the Ape Man. He played Tarzan in 12 movies over 16 years, and for most of the world he was Tarzan, not a swimmer.
But it started in a pool in Brooklyn, with a 17-year-old asking whether he'd really broken the record, and whether he'd get his frankfurters.
Did you know Tarzan was a 5-time Olympic champion? Tell us in the comments.
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