Newt Perry

Who was Newt Perry?

Newton A. Perry was an American swimmer, attraction promoter, educator and swimming coach.

Perry was born in Valdosta, Georgia in 1908. After living in Tampa for several years, he and his family moved to the Ocala, Florida area in 1922. His father was a railroad conductor, and Ocala represented the midpoint of his train route. Perry was happy to discover that he could swim in the clean, clear water at Silver Springs, and he would walk the six miles from Ocala to the springs. In order to earn pocket change, he started teaching local residents to swim for twenty-five cents per lesson. In 1924, Perry became Ocala High School's swim coach and star swimmer; he was only 16 years old at the time. He once swam 25 miles in seven hours, 28 minutes.

Perry attended the University of Florida in nearby Gainesville, and was a member of the Florida Gators swimming and diving team in 1933 and 1934. He graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in education, and later returned to complete a master's degree in education in 1958.

Perry learned all he could about swimming, diving and life-guarding.