Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award

Recipient:	Mildred Anderson
Year:	1978
LMSC:	South Texas

Mildred Anderson learned to swim at age 14 but did not swim in any competition until she was almost 18. Fast forward to 1946 when she participated with a group of adults in an exhibition race at the local YMCA. Continuing to swim on her own, she swam on a relay with her daughter at a meet in 1950 in El Paso, TX. Some 20 years later, Mildred and her husband Hamilton (Ham) heard from John Spannuth about Masters Swimming and a meet being held in Amarillo, TX. Mildred had been coaching the Crystal Pool Swimming Team and had a group of women 25 and older who swam a couple times a week; the adult men swam when they could find the time.

Mildred and her husband, Hamilton, were responsible for starting Masters Swimming as an organized group in Houston, Texas, when they founded Texas Gulf Masters in 1972. The Houston club held its first Short Course Masters meet at the Dad’s Club in 1972 and a Long Course meet at the Jewish Community Center that same year. Both were organized primarily by Mildred and Ham. They became involved in the Masters Swimming organization on the National level and eventually produced a Masters Swim History publication, which captured the early days. For her contributions, Mildred was honored, along with husband Ham, as the 1978 Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award winner.