Stephen Ruddy

Stephen Ruddy was from a famous swimming family. He swam and played water polo, helping the New York AC to win the US Championship in 1922, 1929, and 1931. Ruddy won numerous Metropolitan swimming championships. He was a governor of the New York AC from 1938-1942. He served with the Navy in both World Wars, and also served as a commander of the NYAC American Legion Post. Ruddy’s cousin Ray Ruddy swam at the 1928 Olympics and played water polo at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, while his uncle, Joe Ruddy, swam and played water polo at the 1904 Olympics.

Six weeks before the Antwerp Games, Ruddy was a passenger in a taxi returning to Manhattan when it collided with a pillar in Long Island City. This accident claimed the life of American record holder Arthur McAleenan, a 1912 Olympian, who was due to join Ruddy as part of the US Swimming team to the 1920 Olympics.