New York Athletic Club - History

History

The NYAC can be considered the foundation for amateur athletics in the United States by establishing the definition of an amateur. It was the first organization to compile and apply a code of rules for the government of athletic meetings, the first to offer prizes for open amateur games, and the first to hold an amateur championship.

In 1866, William Buckingham Curtis, Harry Buermeyer, and John C. Babcock opened a gymnasium on the corner of 6th Avenue and 14th Street in their New York City apartment, after discussing the rapid rise of organized athletics in England. Interest in their gym grew, and the three men decided to found the New York Athletic Club on September 8, 1868. Their goal was to sponsor athletic competitions in the New York area and to keep official records for different sports. In the beginning there was no initiation fee, but $10 was required for the first six months of dues.

NYAC members have won more than 230 Olympic medals of which more than 120 have been gold. Presently, the NYAC has top-ranked competitors in wrestling, judo, rowing, fencing, water polo and track and field, among other sports. Forty NYAC members competed for three countries at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, winning 16 medals.

Through at least the 1960s, the NYAC had membership restrictions against blacks and Jews. In 1962, New York Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. quit the NYAC over charges that it barred blacks and Jews.