Downtown Athletic Club

Downtown Athletic Club. The Downtown Athletic Club was a prominent private club located in Lower Manhattan, New York City, founded by a group of Wall Street executives, including John W. Davis, Myron Charles Taylor, and William F. Carey. The club was established to provide a space for businessmen and athletes to socialize and engage in various sports activities, such as boxing, wrestling, and swimming, with notable members including Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Jack Dempsey. The club's founding was also influenced by the New York Athletic Club, The Harmonie Club, and the Lotos Club, which were popular gathering places for New York City's elite.

● History

The Downtown Athletic Club was founded in 1926, with the help of John W. Davis, a Democratic nominee for President of the United States, and Myron Charles Taylor, a prominent lawyer and businessman. The club's early years were marked by rapid growth, with membership increasing to over 1,000 by the end of the 1920s, including notable figures such as Charles Evans Hughes, Herbert Hoover, and Calvin Coolidge. During this period, the club hosted various events, including boxing matches featuring Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney, and wrestling matches featuring George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch. The club also had connections to other notable organizations, such as the New York Yacht Club, The Brook Club, and the Union Club of the City of New York.

● Facilities

The Downtown Athletic Club was located in a 35-story building in Lower Manhattan, designed by Starrett & van Vleck, a prominent architecture firm that also designed the New York Stock Exchange and the Empire State Building. The club's facilities included a swimming pool, a gymnasium, a boxing ring, and a wrestling mat, as well as dining rooms, lounges, and guest rooms, which were designed by Donald Deskey, a renowned interior designer who also worked on the Radio City Music Hall and the New Yorker Hotel. The club also had a library and a museum, which featured exhibits on sports history and athletics, including artifacts from the Olympic Games and the World Series.

● Heisman Trophy

The Downtown Athletic Club was also the presenter of the Heisman Trophy, an annual award given to the most outstanding college football player, as selected by sports journalists and coaches from around the country, including Grantland Rice, Walter Camp, and Amos Alonzo Stagg. The trophy was first awarded in 1935 to Jay Berwanger, a halfback from the University of Chicago, and was named after John W. Heisman, a renowned football coach who coached at Auburn University, Clemson University, and Rice University. The Heisman Trophy was presented annually at the Downtown Athletic Club until 2001, with notable winners including Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell, and Barry Sanders, who were all recognized for their outstanding achievements in college football.

● Membership

Membership in the Downtown Athletic Club was highly selective, with applicants required to be nominated by existing members and approved by the club's board of directors, which included notable figures such as William F. Buckley Jr., Averell Harriman, and Nelson Rockefeller. Members included prominent businessmen, athletes, and politicians, such as Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter, as well as celebrities like Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra. The club also had a strong connection to the Ivy League, with many members graduating from Harvard University, Yale University, and Princeton University.

● Notable Events

The Downtown Athletic Club hosted many notable events over the years, including boxing matches, wrestling matches, and swimming competitions, which featured athletes like Mark Spitz, Jesse Owens, and Muhammad Ali. The club also hosted dinner parties and galas, which were attended by celebrities and politicians, such as Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, and John F. Kennedy. In addition, the club hosted conferences and seminars on topics such as business, economics, and politics, which featured speakers like Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, and Henry Kissinger.

● Closure

The Downtown Athletic Club closed its doors in 2001, due to financial difficulties and declining membership, which was exacerbated by the September 11 attacks and the subsequent decline of the Wall Street area. The club's building was sold to a real estate developer, who converted it into a luxury condominium complex, with units selling for millions of dollars to buyers like Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch. Despite its closure, the Downtown Athletic Club remains a notable part of New York City's history and a testament to the city's rich cultural and athletic heritage, with its legacy continuing to be felt through the Heisman Trophy and other initiatives. Category:Defunct private clubs in the United States