For sale is a WWI era YMCA FLYING FISH MINNOW CLUB JACKET PATCH. This triangle felt front reads ‘YMCA Minnow Club’ with a fish in the center. This vintage aquatic or swim club patch dimensions are 4 7/8” wide by 4” tall. The YMCA’s swim program had progressive skill levels from Minnow to Shark. A fun collectible vintage patch. A great gift for an older relative who is afraid of the water.
The Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London, England, on June 6, 1844, in response to unhealthy social conditions arising in the big cities at the end of the Industrial Revolution. George Williams, a sales assistant in a London draper’s shop, organized the first YMCA to substitute Bible study and prayer for life on the streets. By 1851 there were 24 Ys in Great Britain. By the 1880s, YMCAs began putting up buildings in large numbers. Gyms and swimming pools came in at that time, too, along with big auditoriums and bowling alleys. Hotel-like rooms with bathrooms down the hall, called dormitories or residences, were designed into every new YMCA building, and would continue to be until the late 1950s. Income from rented rooms was a great source of funds for YMCA activities of all kinds.
