Describing Archives: A Content Standard

5933 6th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Phone: 206-324-1126 URL: http://www.mohai.org

Finding aid encoded by Jody Hendrickson 2008 Finding aid written in English. Finding aid based on DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard). Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library

5933 6th Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Phone: 206-324-1126 URL: http://www.mohai.org

1970.5051 Madison, Helene, 1913-1970 Helene Madison papers 1914-1972 1929-1932 2 boxes .84 cubic feet Photographs, papers, ephemera and realia documenting the career of the Seattle swimming champion and 1932 Olympic gold medal winner 13a.4.7 13a.4.10 Collection materials are in English. Biographical Note:

Seattle swimming phenomenon Helene Madison (June 19, 1913 – November 27, 1970) had already broken all sixteen world freestyle records and most of the American freestyle records before going on to win three gold medals at the 1932 Olympics Games in Los Angeles at 19 years old.

Born in South Bend, Washington, Madison began swimming in early childhood, after the family relocated to Seattle when Madison was two years old. When she was six, the family moved to a home a block away from Green Lake, where Helene swam regularly and participated in the Parks Department swim programs. With the help of Green Lake coach Jack Torney, Helene developed an effective racing technique, began competing locally, and soon outgrew the competition. Winning the Seattle Post-Intelligencer swim carnival in 1928, Madison caught the eye of Ray Daughters, coach at the Crystal Pool, who recruited her for his team. Swimming competitively under Daughters for the Crystal Pool team and later, for the Washington Athletic Club, Madison developed her extraordinary talent in the freestyle to the point of being virtually unbeatable. Within sixteen months in 1930-1931, Madison broke all sixteen world freestyle records in various distances, sweeping the freestyle events at various national championships. She traveled to New York for the Olympic swimming trials at Jones Beach, winning first place in the 100 meters and 400 meters freestyle, and qualifying for the American women's team.

Competing in the tenth Olympiad in Los Angeles in August 1932, Madison won three gold medals in the freestyle--in the 100 meters, 400 meters and 400 meter relay. Madison was honored upon her return by the largest ticker tape parade in Seattle history and a banquet in her honor at the Civic Auditorium. The 1932 Olympics, however, marked the end of Madison's amateur swimming career. In order to contribute to the family's finances, especially after they had committed substantial resources to support her swimming, Madison had already decided to pursue the apparently lucrative opportunities created by her fame.

During the Olympics, several athletes were wooed by Hollywood executives, and Madison had accepted a motion picture contract even before Games had ended. She starred as herself in the unsuccessful Mack Sennett comedy "The Human Fish" in 1932 and performed in an uncredited role in the 1933 "The Warrior's Husband"; a brief career as a nightclub entertainer followed. These roles and her paid performances in swimming exhibitions, while not providing the substantial financial compensation Madison had hoped for, nevertheless officially ended her amateur status, precluding Madison's participation in the 1936 Olympic Games. Retired from competition and disqualified from teaching by the Seattle Parks Department policy of not hiring female swim instructors, in 1936 Madison worked selling hot dogs at a confectionary stand at Green Lake bathing beach in order to earn some money. Soon after, Madison decided to enter training at Virginia Mason Hospital to pursue a career as a registered nurse. While in training, she met Luther C. McIver, an executive at Puget Sound Power and Light, while he was one of her convalescing patients. Madison married McIver in March 1937, and the couple had a daughter, their only child, Helene Jr. ("Junie"), the following year.

Madison continued to appear in newspapers, largely in relation to her earlier accomplishments and those of swimmers who were beginning to break her records, as well as in occasional public appearances. Her direct involvement in swimming was minimal until the late 1940s or so, when Madison opened a swimming school at the Moore Hotel pool, coaching male and female swimmers, including future Olympian Nancy Ramey. By the late 1950s, however, Madison's health had begun to decline, and the school closed in 1958. Already diagnosed with diabetes, Madison developed throat cancer in the mid-1960s; she died, after a long and painful illness, in her Green Lake basement apartment in November 1970 at age 57.

Today, Seattle has two Helene Madison pools, a Seattle Parks and Recreation pool on Meridian Avenue North, dedicated in 1972, and a pool at the Washington Athletic Club in downtown Seattle. Helene Madison was posthumously inducted into the US Olympic Hall of Fame in 1992.

The collection consists of photographs, personal papers, ephemera and realia. The photographs document Madison's swimming career from her first competitions in 1929 through the Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games in 1932. The photographs depict Madison swimming, at poolside, and with team members and coaches. An album of photographs, probably put together by Madison, contains photographs (many autographed) of other swimmers, probably at the 1932 Olympics. Other photographs depict Madison in Hollywood settings, and in her later years.

Papers and ephemera include school and swimming certificates, high school yearbooks, and programs. A series on Madison's Olympics participation includes two daily programs, Madison's qualifying certificate from the New York Olympic trials and an autograph book containing signatures of other athletes.

Clippings document Madison's rise as a swimming champion, from her early races through the Olympics, as well as her later careers in nursing and coaching. The realia series includes 22 medallions from FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) marking Madison's world records in the freestyle set in 1930-1931.

The collection is arranged into five series: Photographs Personal Papers Artwork Ephemera Realia

View selections from the collection in MOHAI's online collections.

The collection is open to the public by appointment.

The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Helene Madison papers, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle

Gift of Roscoe "Torchy" Torrance, December 11, 1970.

Processed by Helice Koffler in 2004 and Jody Hendrickson in 2008.

Collection materials are numbered beginning with number 4; numbers 1 through 3 have been assigned to the artifacts received with the donation.

These materials are part of a donation that also included a number of artifacts. These artifacts are cataloged and stored separately by MOHAI's Collections Department.

A 1913 menu from a meeting of the Skåninaklubbens was relocated to the Clubs section of the Ephemera files in the repository.

Pieroth, Doris. <emph render="italic">Their Day in the Sun. Seattle</emph>: University of Washington Press, 1996.

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Madison, Helene--Photographs Coleman, Georgia--Photographs Daughters, Ray--Photographs Mae, Fred Marron, Joe Prather, Alfred United States--Washington (State)--Seattle Swimmers--Washington (State)--Seattle Olympic Games (10th : 1932 : Los Angeles, Calif.) Photographs Seattle Sports and recreation Women Photographic prints Photograph albums Ephemera

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Photographs 1914-1960s 86 loose photographs 1 album of 90 photographs

Arranged roughly chronologically. A photograph album from 1929-1932 is at the end of the series.

1/1 4-8 Helene Madison as a child circa 1914-1924 5 photographs 8: Alfred Prather

Images of Madison from age 13 months to approximately 10 years old.

Copy negative on file for 1970.5051.8.

Fleishhacker Pool, San Francisco 1930 September

These images are probably related to the Far Western Swimming Championships at the Municipal Swimming Pool at Herbert Fleishhacker Playfield in San Francisco, September 6 and 7, 1930. Madison, then of Crystal Swimming Club under coach Ray Daughters, competed in the 100 and 200 meters free style races. At the time of the race Madison was already holder of all the world free style swimming records.

1/2 9 Bird's-eye view of Fleishhacker pool 1930 Fred Mae, San Francisco 1/2 10 Fleishhacker pool swim team and coach Charlie Fisher posed at poolside 1930 September Fred Mae, San Francisco

Inscription on photograph: "To Helene, with all good wishes from Charlie Fisher and the Fleishhacker boys and girls."

1/2 11 Charlie Fisher and his bulldog is his office 1930 September Fred Mae, San Francisco

Inscription on photograph: "To Helene, wishing you all the good luck, health and happiness in the world, Sincerely yours, Charlie Fisher"

1/2 12 Charlie Fisher helping Helene Madison out of pool 1930 September Fred Mae, San Francisco 1/2 13 Helene Madison and Charlie Fisher 1930 September Fred Mae, San Francisco 1/2 14-15 Helene Madison and Charlie Fisher 1930 September Joe Marron 1/2 16 Charlie Fisher, Helene Madison and 3 female swimmers 1930 September Joe Marron 1/2 17 Helene Madison seated at poolside, probably at Fleishhacker pool 1930 September Joe Marron

Copy negative on file.

1/2 18 Helene Madison swimming, probably at Fleishhacker pool 1930 September Joe Marron

Copy negative on file.

1/2 19 Helene Madison on ladder in pool 1930 September Fred Mae, San Francisco 1/2 20 Helene Madison eating hot dog in pool, probably Fleishhacker pool 1930 September Fred Mae, San Francisco

Copy negative on file.

1/2 21 Swimmers, coach Charlie Fisher, and spectators gathered around corner of pool 1930 September Fred Mae, San Francisco 22-25 1/2 Helene Madison with baby zoo animals circa 1930 4 photographs Fred Mae, San Francisco

Images depict Madison, probably at Herbert Fleishhacker Zoo (now the San Francisco Zoo), with a baby gorilla and a baby elephant. Madison's coach Ray Daughters appears in two of the images.

26 1/3 Helene Madison and coach Ray Daughters at desk circa 1930 Alfred Prather, Seattle

Copy negative on file

27 1/3 Helene Madison in Washington Athletic Club swimsuit at poolside circa 1930 Alfred Prather, Seattle 28 1/3 Helene Madison and five Washington Athletic Club teammates around table circa 1930 World Wide Photos, San Francisco Bureau 29 1/3 Helene Madison in canoe at poolside circa 1930 World Wide Photos, San Francisco Bureau 30 1/3 Helene Madison shaking hands with another swimmer circa 1930 World Wide Photos, San Francisco Bureau 31 1/3 Helene Madison with WAC teammates and other swimmers at poolside circa 1930 F. Billie Wilcox, Centralia, Washington 32 1/3 Helene Madison and 3 teammates in WAC swimsuits posed with elderly couple on lawn circa 1930 F. Billie Wilcox, Centralia, Washington 33 1/4 Helene Madison and young swimmers at poolside at Natatorium in Wenatchee 1930 July 29 Simmer Studio 34 1/4 Helene Madison in warm up suit at indoor pool circa 1930 35 1/4 Studio portrait of Helene Madison in swimsuit circa 1930 Grady, Seattle 36-38 1/4 Helene Madison dressed as cowgirl for parade in Ellensburg, Washington circa 1930 3 photographs 2" x 3" Return from Women's National Championship in Miami Beach 1930

These photographs depict Helene Madison after her return from the Women's National Championship at Miami Beach in March 1930, where she won every freestyle event and broke six records.

1/5 39 Helene Madison with Ray Daughters and unidentified man receiving trophy in Portland 1930 March 26 1/5 40 Airplane West Wind and crowd at Boeing Field, Seattle 1930 March 27

Helene Madison and Ray Daughters arrived in Seattle on the West Wind on the last leg of their trip home from Miami, flying from Tacoma to Seattle.

41 1/5 Helene Madison and her parents in group posed in front of Civic Auditorium, Seattle 1930 March 27 Frank Perkins, Seattle

Helene Madison was feted at a banquet in her honor at the Civic Auditorium on the evening of her return from the Miami Beach championship.

42-43 1/5 Helene Madison in dress posing with a young woman indoors probably 1930 March

Presumably taken shortly after Madison's return from the Miami Beach championship as one of the images depicts the women with the trophy that Madison received in Portland.

44-45 1/6 Helene Madison posing for art classes circa 1930 45: Fred Mae, San Francisco Olympic Games, Los Angeles 1932 August 1/7 46 Helene Madison in Olympic warm up suit with spectator bleachers in background 1932 August 2" x 3"

Photo with Olympics themed border

1/7 47 Helene Madison swimming 1932 August 13 Fred Mae , San Francisco

Caption on verso: "'Sister to the flying fish' Helene Madison, champion of Olympians, as she appears, swimming the 400 meter swim, her crowning achievement in the Olympics. Aug. 13, 1932."

Additional photographer's stamp on verso: Alfred Prather, Seattle, Washington.

1/7 48 Olympic swimmers Eleanor Holm, Georgia Coleman, Jane Fauntz, Agnes Geraghty, and Helene Madison 1932 August

Copy negative on file.

1/7 49 Helene Madison, Josephine McKim, Eleanor Holm and another swimmer 1932 August 1/7 50 Helene Madison and Georgia Coleman in street clothes sitting on wooden horse probably 1932 August Keystone Photo Service , Los Angeles

Copy negative on file.

1/7 51-54 Olympians with Hollywood celebrities 1932 August

Hollywood celebrities entertained the Olympic athletics before the games began. Three of these photos show Helene Madison, Georgia Coleman and another woman with Frederick March and another man. One image (54) depicts swimmers in a pool and at poolside with others, and possibly depicts a Hollywood-hosted event, but may be unrelated.

1/7 55 Ticker tape parade on University Street between 4th and 5th Avenues, Seattle 1932 August Walter P. Miller , Seattle

Seattle held the largest ticker tape parade in its history in honor of Helene Madison upon her return from the 1932 Olympics. This photograph shows huge crowds lining University Street with a platform set up in front of the Metropolitan Theatre.

Copy negative on file.

1/7 56 Helene Madison waving to crowd in ticker tape parade. 1932 August Alfred Prather , Seattle

Copy negative on file.

Hollywood circa 1932

Madison remained in Los Angeles for 2 weeks after the Games ended, apparently meeting with individuals from the movie industry, and some of these may have been taken at that time. Some may be related to Madison's brief acting career, primarily in the 1932 movie "The Human Fish." A few of them depict other swimmers with Madison as well as people who appear to be related to the movie industry.

1/8 57 Group, including Madison, posed around desk circa 1932

The group includes young women recognizable from other collection photos as swimmers, as well as men and women who appear to be actors and actresses.

1/8 58-59 Madison and six other women posed in street circa 1932

These groups includes include the young women swimmers in the previous photo, and so probably on the same visit.

1/8 60 Helene Madison and four young women near mail slots circa 1932 World Photos , San Francisco Bureau

This photo depicts some of the same women as in the previous photos.

1/8 61 Helene Madison, Ivan Kahn (manager), Al Mannon and John Clein (producer) outside John Clein Productions building circa 1932 Woodbury , Los Angeles

2 copies

1/8 62 Head shot of Helene Madison with platinum blond hair circa 1932 Maurice Seymour Helene Madison and other swimmers circa 1930-1932 12 photographs 5' x 7" and smaller

This group of smaller photographs depicts Helene Madison, often with other swimmers, in unidentified situations. All of the photographs are dated circa 1930-1932; some may have been taken while Madison was in Los Angeles for the Olympics

1/9 63-64 Helene Madison, Georgia Coleman and 2 other women near train wreck circa 1930-1932 1/9 65 Helene Madison at poolside with man from German press circa 1930-1932 1/9 66 Helene Madison on boardwalk circa 1930-1932 1/9 67 Helene Madison with three women in car circa 1930-1932 1/9 68 Helene Madison standing in pool circa 1930-1932 1/9 69 Helene Madison sitting on edge of pool with three men (possibly Olympic swimmers?) circa 1930-1932 1/9 70 Helene Madison standing at poolside with man in hat circa 1930-1932 1/9 71 Helene Madison with man (ship's captain?) on deck of boat circa 1930-1932 1/9 72 Georgia Coleman and heavy man near building circa 1930-1932 1/9 73 Helene Madison and Georgia Coleman in dresses near edge of pool circa 1930-1932 1/9 74 View of crowd on waterfront from boat circa 1930-1932 75-76 1/10 Helene Madison and two men near car outside Eldridge Buick Co., Pike Street, Seattle circa 1932 75: Alfred Prather , Seattle 76: Webster & Stevens , Seattle 77 1/11 Helene Madison in nurse uniform seated a desk circa 1936 Associated Press

Copy negative on file.

78-79 1/12 Helene Madison with Ann Curtis 1946 April 14 78: International News Photo , San Francisco 79: Gerald Beadin Photos , Seattle

These images show Helene Madison, in street clothes, shaking the hand of swimmer Ann Curtis after Curtis broke the American record for the 220-yard freestyle relay event

Copy negative on file for 79

80-82 1/13 Helene Madison coaching young female swimmer (her daughter?) at indoor pool 1948 March 6

Copy negative on file for 82.

83 1/13 Helene Madison with Lincoln High School students and teacher 1952 February Jack H. Johnson 84 1/14 Head shot of Helene Madison 1961 Jack H. Johnson 85 1/14 Helene Madison circa 1960s Forde photographers 86 1/13 Ray Daughters holding framed photo collage of himself with young swimmers, standing with Helene Madison and three unidentified women circa late 1960s Seattle Times Miscellaneous 87 1/15 Duke Kahanamoku lying on sand in Waikiki 1931

Writing on photo: "Compliments of C.E. Kinnear"

88 1/15 Men's (swimming?) team in "Florsheim" warmups undated 89 1/16 Photograph album circa 1929-1932 90 photographs

Includes photographs of Madison and others swimmers, some wearing swimsuits with "C" logo, probably the "Flying C" logo from Crystal Swimming Club; Madison with family and friends; Madison's coach Ray Daughters; swimming events; one photo of Madison leaning out the window of the airplane West Wind (1930); and Madison wakeboarding.

Autographs on photos: "Wally" Colbath, Georgia Coleman, Mickey [Riley}, "Dutch" Smith, Johnny Riley, Leonard Spence, A. Zonittz (?), Maiola Kahli, George Kojar (?)

Personal papers Correspondence 1932-1947 1/17 Correspondence regarding "Wheaties" endorsement 1936 9 items 1/18 Miscellaneous 1932-1947 13 items Certificates 1/19 Seattle Public Schools perfect attendance certificates 1924-1926 1/20 Camp Fire Girls Certificate of Rank 1926 1/21 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Master Swimmer's certificate 1931 1/22 Amateur Athletic Union American Record Certificates for various events 1931-1932 23 certificates 1/23 Moore Pool swimming team Amateur Athletic Union membership certificate 1931 July 17 Programs 1/24 Far Western Swimming Championships, Fleishhacker Pool, San Francisco 1930 September 1/25 Helene Madison Memorial Pool Dedication 1972 Lists 1/26 Titles, Records and Championships undated

List of Madison's American and World Swimming records, listing distance, time, location and date, as well a list of her first place Olympic victories

1/26 List of trophies loaned to Gimbel's for use in window and store displays 1933 Lincoln High School 1/27 Totem (Lincoln High School yearbook) 1929 1/28 Totem (Lincoln High School yearbook) 1930 1/29 Commencement program 1931 Olympics, Los Angeles 1932 August 2/1 Olympics tryouts certificates 1932

From tryouts in New York City. Certificates indicate that Madison won 1st place in the 100 meters and 400 meters free style

2/2 Swimming stadium platform badge 1932 August 11 2/3 Official programs 1932 August 11 and 12 2/4 Autograph book 1932 August Artwork 2/5 Portrait of Helene Madison by newspaper artist Tom Renton circa 1932 2/5 Watercolor paintings by Helene Madison undated

One painting of a poinsettia plant and one cityscape

Ephemera 2/6 Poster for demonstration by Madison at Sherbrook St. Baths, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 1931 April Publications containing articles about Madison 2/7 The Swimmer, Toronto, Canada 1931 April 2/7 Brooklyn Central, Brooklyn, NY (YMCA publication) 1931 April 10 2/7 Gantner Swimming News, San Francisco 1931 January 2/7 Washington vs. Oregon (football game program) 1931October 10 2/8 Scrapbook of clippings 1929-1930

The scrapbook also includes 6 8" x 10" photographs: Helene Madison boarding a train; Madison on train holding hand of Ray Daughters, on platform below; studio photo of Madison in swimsuit; Ray Daughters in swimsuit; Madison seated with Ray Daughters and Maud Daughters; Madison posed sitting on diving board.

2/9-11 Clippings 1930s-1960s 3 folders Realia 2/12 World record medallions 1930-1931 22 medallions

22 diamond shaped cloth medallions, with red trim and red and blue FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) emblem in center, embroidered with world free style records, including distance, time and date, set by Helene Madison.

2/13 Dance card for Order of DeMolay Temple Chapter Fall Informal 1930 October 25 2/13 Program on scroll for "Cinderella Ball" at the Civic Auditorium 1934 December 14th 2/13 Lincoln High School "L" patch and pin 1961 May 18

Inscribed on paper mount: "Miss Helene Madison, 1st Honorary Member, Lincolnelle, May 18, 1961."