Crossing the Catalina Strait to win half a million dollars

In mid-January 1927, 153 swimmers participated in the 21-mile Wrigley Ocean Marathon from Isthmo Bay on Santa Catalina Island to San Pedro, California.

The prizes, totaling $40,000, were meant to attract elite swimmers and long-distance swimmers to swim 21 miles in water that was around 55-59 degrees Fahrenheit (12-15 degrees Celsius) in the middle of a Southern California winter. Today, the prize money would be worth about $580,732, and the cold certainly didn’t deter the participants who trained and tried to acclimatize to the frigid waters.

The Wrigley Ocean Marathon was founded by William Wrigley Jr. primarily to spark interest in swimming as a national sport. And also, of course, to put Catalina Island, which Wrigley had just purchased for $3 million, on the map. It should be remembered that in 1926, just the year before this crossing was held, swimmer Gertrude Ederle, originally from New York, crossed the English Channel, a feat that the American media covered for many months. This inspired Wrigley to do a similar swim to Catalina Island to promote it. It can be said that Wrigley was a pioneer in sports marketing.

153 swimmers participated in the crossing organized by Wrigley, who undoubtedly helped him achieve this goal. With the water at 13 degrees and the logistics of that time, it was understandable that many of those who participated did not finish the feat. Of the 153 participants, only 102 entered the water (88 men and 14 women), some of whom left after just 22 minutes. Some were equipped with swimsuits and goggles, many were without even a swimsuit. Each swimmer had his own guide boat and his coach could give them water and food. An observer in each boat made sure that no cheating was done.

The winner of the crossing was George Young, called by the American press, the Catalina boy, who won the first prize of $25,000 in what was the first organized crossing from Catalina Island to San Pedro. 

Source: WOWSA