George E. Schroth (1899–1989) was born in Sacramento and attended St. Mary’s College. He married Frances Cowells, a gold- and double-bronze medalist in swimming at the 1920 Olympics.
Schroth joined the Club in the summer of 1920 as a swimmer and water polo player. The Olympian reported that he was “the high point scorer in the Pacific Association (PA) in AAU Championships” for 13 successive years, “competing in all freestyle distances from 50 yards to a mile…and achieved success in indoor and outdoor pools, fresh and saltwater, open bay swimming, in the rivers.” At one point he held the Pac Coast record for the 880 yard at 11 minutes and 39 seconds. He won the Santa Cruz 3 ¼ mile amateur ocean marathon in May 1927, and the Golden Gate Swim in 1928.
For all his success in swimming, water polo was his main sport. A big man at 6 feet 4 inches and 225 pounds, it was said that “playing against him is like trying to shove a battleship.” He and fellow Olympians George Mitchell, Elmer Collett and “Ginger” Austin, played for team USA at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, winning a bronze medal. The following year, he led the OC team to an AAU National Championship over the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Schroth also competed at the Olympics in 1928 in Amsterdam, where the team tied for fifth.
He began teaching at the Club in 1932, and took over as head coach of swimming and water polo in 1936. He developed a strong, active aquatics program that won regional and national championships. In 1938 alone, “swimmers set 10 American records, one Far Western record and seven PA records. The titles which came to the Club were one national championship, six PA championships, one Far Western, and one Northern California water polo championship.” The accolades and championship wins continued throughout his coaching career.
He worked closely with juniors and also expanded the nascent Spin & Swim program, ultimately transforming it into the tradition it has become. In 1948, he became head coach of water polo at Cal-Berkeley. He coached there for 12 seasons, racking up a 153–58–1 record.
