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Reformat 2 archive links. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:USURPURL and JUDI batch #26ag

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{{Short description|American swimmer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox swimmer
| name = Florence Chambers
| image = Florencia Chambers - El Gráfico 268.jpg
| image_size = 
| alt =
| caption = Florencia Chambers in ''[[El Gráfico (Argentina)|El Gráfico]]'' in 1924
| fullname = Florence Chambers
| nicknames =
| national_team = United States
| strokes = [[Backstroke]]
| club = Silver Gate Swim Club<br>San Diego Athletic Club<br>Florence Chambers SC
| spouse = Richard Newkirk
| collegeteam =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1907|11|2|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Boston, Massachusetts]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1979|9|27|1907|11|2|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Fallbrook, California]]
| height = 
| weight = 
| medaltemplates =
}}

'''Florence Chambers''' (November 2, 1907 – September 27, 1979), known by her married name '''Florence Newkirk''' by May 1964, was an American competition [[swimming (sport)|swimmer]] who competed in the 100-meter backstroke for the United States at the [[1924 Summer Olympics]] in Paris, finishing fourth in the finals. She was a successful swim coach and instructor who started the Florence Chambers Swim Club in the mid-1920's, and later became a leading business woman, community leader, and philanthropist in San Diego County.<ref name=LAT/><ref name=Olympedia>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/50984 |title=Florence Chambers |work=Olympedia |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref><ref name=WorldAquatics>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldaquatics.com/athletes/1165710/florence-chambers |title=Florence Chambers, Results, 1924 Olympic Games |work=WorldAquatics|access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref>

==Early life and swimming career==
Though Chambers was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to George and Emily Chambers, she lived in greater San Diego, at her parents' ranch in Poway, and at her Cloverdale Ranch of around 916 acres, outside Escondido, California, the majority of her life. Her father George owned the Pacific Beach Hotel in San Diego, having moved there from Brooklyn, New York in 1886.<ref name=History>{{cite web|url=https://sandiegohistory.org/archives/archivalcollections/ms47/ |title=Chambers Family Papers, San Diego Historical Society |work=San Diego Historical Society, Florence Chambers|access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref><ref name=Oil>"Vistan Gives Oil Income to Children's Hospital", ''Times-Advocate'', Escondido, California, 27 March 1965, page 2</ref><ref name=obit2>"Florence Newkirk Dead at 71", ''Times-Advocate'', Escondido, California, 28 September 1979, pg. 31</ref> Chambers reportedly started swimming around 1917 for therapy from a spinal injury she received from a streetcar accident in Los Angeles around the age of nine.<ref name=teacher/> She won her first medal at age 11, and is believed to have won more than 300 medals and 136 trophies in her long career, which included both pool competition and open water swimming.<ref name=SDHOF>{{cite web|url=https://sandiegohistory.org/collection/photographs/champions/ |title=Florence Chambers, San Diego Hall of Champions, San Diego History Center |work=Florence Chambers, San Diego Hall of Champions|access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref><ref name=backstrokechamp>"San Diego Girl Cops Swimfest", ''Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, 3 July 1933, pg. 11</ref>

==Early swimming career highlights==
=== Open Water ===
In October 1922, Chambers won San Francisco's Seal Rock Open Water Swim.<ref>"San Diego Girl Plans Try for Olympic Games", ''The San Francisco Examiner'', San Francisco, California, 30 December 1923, pg. 75</ref> By 1927, Chambers had won the 670-yard Silver Gate Channel Swim across San Diego Harbor three times.<ref>"Santa Monica Mermaids Get Ready", ''Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, 5 June 1927, pg. 24</ref>

=== Pool competition ===
At 22, in July 1923, Chambers swam with San Diego's Silver Gate Swim Club and held titles in the Southern Pacific AAU 100-yard backstroke, the junior 880-yard freestyle, and the 150-yard backstroke events.<ref>"Almost Adds Another Jewel to Her Crown", ''The Long Beach Telegram,'' Long Beach, California, 29 July 1963, pg. 6</ref> At the Annual Pacific Coast Swimming Championship in August, 1922, Chambers set a new Pacific Coast women's record of 1:22.2 in the 100-yard backstroke event.<ref>"Olympic Club Swimmers Win Championship", ''The San Francisco Examiner'', San Francisco, California, 28 August 1922, pg. 23</ref> On October 14, 1923, Chambers set a new Pacific Coast record for the 75-yard backstroke of 59.8 seconds at the Ambassador Plunge in Los Angeles.<ref>"New Women's Record in 75-yard backstroke", ''Stockton Evening Record'', Stockton, California, 15 October 1923, pg. 8</ref>

She lowered her own 100-yard Pacific Coast backstroke record in Los Angeles on October 29, 1925, with a time of 1:21, and also won the state championship in the 100-yard freestyle.<ref>"Another Swim Mark Broken", ''Los Angeles Evening Post'', Los Angeles, California, 30 October 1925, pg. 20</ref>

==1924 Paris Olympics==
Chambers was selected to compete for the American team in the Olympics at the 1924 Women's Olympic Trial finals from June 7–8 at the Briarcliff Lodge Pool in Briar Cliff Manor, New York. The recently completed pool was one of the largest in the world at the time, and measured 600 by 300 feet. Future English Chanel record holder Gertrude Ederle was a participant in the 100 and 400-meter freestyle. Selections for swimmers were also held in Indianapolis, Indiana.<ref>"135 Girls in Olympic Swim Trials", ''The Herald Statesman'', Yonkers, New York, 7 June 1924, page 11</ref>

At the 1924 Paris Olympics, Florence competed in the [[Swimming at the 1924 Summer Olympics - Women's 100 metre backstroke|women's 100-meter backstroke]], advanced to the event final, and finished fourth overall with a time of 1:30.8, two seconds behind the third-place American finisher, and diving competitor [[Aileen Riggin]]. At the time of her death and prior, several newspapers reported she had finished third and taken a bronze medal, though contemporary sources list her with a fourth-place finish.<ref name=Olympedia/><ref name=LAT/>

==Swim instructor and coach==
After her more competitive swimming career ended, by the mid-1920's she taught swimming, and had her own successful Florence Chambers Swim Club based in San Diego, from which a number of her women students competed in the October 1925 Pacific AAU Women's Championship Meet in Pasadena.<ref name="Angeles Evening Post Record 1954, pg. 15">"Trojan Swim Star Wins in Title Event", ''Los Angeles Evening Post Record'', Los Angeles, California, 23 February 1954, pg. 15.</ref>

===Florence Chambers Swim Club, circa 1926-1948===
[[File:ChambersFlorence1924.JPG|upright=.74|left|thumb|Chambers at 16, circa 1924]]
Soon recognized as a regional leader in competitive swimming, the Florence Chambers Club took a silver trophy, scoring the second largest number of combined points at the Far Western Aquatic Championship in August 1928 in Long Beach.<ref>Hatch, Olive, ''Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, 20 August 1928, pg. 9</ref>

Continuing to field entries, Chambers' Club had numerous participants in the 1929 Southern Pacific Association AAU Aquatic Championships on June 2, 1929, in San Clemente. One of her swimmers, Cleo Smiley, held the Pacific Coast record and the record for the Southern Pacific Swimming and Diving Championships in the 100-yard backstroke at 1:29.8 in the early 1930s and placed second in the event in the February 1934 Southern Pacific AAU Swimming Championships in Los Angeles. Norene Forbes, another one of Florence's outstanding swimmers, won the Silver Gate Swim twice, as well as the two-mile Hermosa Beach Roughwater event.<ref>"Champions in Times Swimfest", ''Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, 28 August 1929, pg. 29</ref><ref name="Angeles Evening Post Record 1954, pg. 15"/><ref>"Southland Mermaids at Meet in San Clemente", ''Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, 1 June 1929, pg. 10</ref><ref>"Six Titles at Stake in Big Contest", ''The Pasadena Post'', Pasadena, California, 2 October 1935, pg. 9</ref>

Though Florence was not the only coach, her Women's team continued to compete at least through 1945, placing fifth in a meet in Pasadena in July 1945.<ref>"Swimming", ''National Star City News'', National City , California, 6 September 1940, pg. 8</ref><ref>Competed through 1945 in "Sailors to Show Fire Swim Act", ''Pasadena Independent'', Pasadena, California, 1 July 1945, pg. 35</ref> By 1950, Chambers had taken a break in coaching her swim club and was beginning to focus on community work, though she would continue to instruct swimmers individually and in smaller groups at various times in her later life.<ref name=Chadwickteacher/>

===Florence Chadwick as student===
[[File:Florence Chadwick 1963.jpg|upright=.62|left|thumb|Circa 1963, Florence Chadwick]]
While working as an instructor, she had International Swimming Hall of Fame English Channel swimmer [[Florence Chadwick]] as one of her pupils. Chadwick first began instruction with the Florence Chambers Swim Club at the age of 9, around 1927, and continued to swim with the Chambers Club through around 1932, when she switched to the Los Angeles Athletic Club.<ref name=Chadwickteacher>Metz, Gordon, "Poway Valley Teacher of Florence Chadwick", ''Weekly Times-Advocate'', 1 September 1950, Escondido, California, pg. 13.</ref> Likely benefitting from Chamber's knowledge of and experience with backstroke and freestyle competition, at the age of 14 Chadwick was the Southern Pacific AAU Junior 100-yard backstroke and 500-meter freestyle champion. Chadwick won the Los Angeles Hermosa Beach Roughwater Swim in June 1933, a competition in which her coach Florence Chambers placed fifth.<ref name=backstrokechamp/> In her most memorable achievement as a distance swimmer, Chadwick crossed the Channel in 1950 with a time of 13 hours, 23 minutes, breaking Gertrude Ederle's twenty-year record, and was known as the first women to cross the Channel in both directions in 1951. Chadwick completed the Channel swim four times.<ref name=Olympedia/><ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/19/obituaries/florence-chadwick-swimmer-76.html|title=Florence Chadwick, Swimmer, 76|quote=Florence Chadwick, a long-distance swimmer who set a women's record for crossing the English Channel in 1950, died Wednesday in San Diego. She was 76. ...|date=March 19, 1995|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 21, 2014}}</ref>

===Post-Olympic swimming===
While working as a coach and instructor, Chambers still trained and competed in swimming events for fitness. On August 2, 1926, she won the half mile women's race in AAU competition in Long Beach, California, as part of the Long Beach Water Festival.<ref>"Florence Chambers Wins Half Mile", ''The San Francisco Examiner'', San Francisco, California, 3 August 1926, pg. 23</ref>

In August 1927, she won the 100-yard backstroke, the 100-yard medley, and placed second in the 220-yard freestyle event at the All-Women's Aquatic Meet in Pasadena, California, with her Florence Chambers Swim Club taking third place overall with the most combined points.<ref>"Mercury First in Tankfest", ''The Pomona Progress Bulletin'', Pomona, California, 27 August 1925, pg. 9</ref>

She represented her own club in Women's competition at the July 3, 1930 National AAU Swimming Championships in Long Beach, California.<ref name=1930AAU>"Nation's Greatest Swim Stars at NAAU", ''News-Pilot'', San Pedro, California, 1 July 1930, pg. 11.</ref>

She also competed in the annual Silver Gate Channel Swim across the San Diego Harbor entrance on June 22, 1930. Representing her own Florence Chambers Swim Club, she completed the 670-yard swim in 12 minutes, 15 seconds, taking a fourth place in the women's competition, and leading her own swim club to a team victory with two women from her club among the top ten to finish the course.<ref>"Mercury Stars Swim Winners", ''Los Angeles Times'', Los Angeles, California, 23 June 1930, pg. 12</ref><ref>"L.A. Club Swim Team Cops Honors", ''Oakland Tribune'', Oakland, California, 23 June 1930, pg. 14</ref> In July 1933, she placed fifth in Los Angeles' 2-mile Hermosa Beach Roughwater Swim for Women.<ref name=backstrokechamp/> Chambers was also one of the earliest swimmers to compete the La Jolla Roughwater course from Scripps Biological Pier to [[La Jolla Cove]], North of San Diego.<ref name=Chadwickteacher/>

==Community leader and philanthropist==
[[File:ChambersFlorenceolder.JPG|upright=.50|left|thumb|Circa 1972, Florence (Chambers) Newkirk]]
Chambers served for many years with the San Diego County Board of Supervisors as a Farm Bureau Representative, and was an honorary member for life of the San Diego Historical Society. A supporter of the San Diego Zoological Society, she patronized its Wild Animal Park which was only a mile from her Cloverdale Ranch, around five miles Southeast of Escondido. She had a major interest in San Diego County properties, and also owned land inherited from her father in Poway, California, and along Witch Creek, East of the Sutherland Dam in Ramona, California, in San Diego County.<ref name=Oil/> She purchased Cloverdale Ranch officially around 1950, and also had income from rental property in San Diego, Mission Beach, and Los Angeles.<ref name=obit2/><ref name=Oil/>

She was a leading philanthropist, contributing both her time and finances, and was particularly supportive of the Boy Scouts of America from whom she received a special award. A supporter and patron who took an interest in the way Brigham Young University developed character in its students, she received a Presidential Award from the college "in appreciation of extraordinary service".<ref name=obit2/> She also served on the Escondido Farm Bureau Center, and the San Diego Nutrition Society. In 1960–61, she was appointed by the San Diego County Board as a citizen advisor to the public welfare department.<ref name=Oil/>

===San Diego honors===
As both a recognized athlete and a San Diego County Agricultural and community leader, in 1970 Chambers was inducted by the [[San Diego Hall of Champions]] into the {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090103151103/http://www.sdhoc.com/awards/hall-of-fame/diving-and-swimming/florence-chambers/ Breitbard Hall of Fame]}}, honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090103151103/http://www.sdhoc.com/awards/hall-of-fame/diving-and-swimming/florence-chambers/]}} In 1959, she was named the Woman of Achievement by the President's Council of Women's Service Clubs of San Diego.<ref name=Oil/> In 1971 was named the Lady of Agriculture of San Diego County.<ref name=obit2/>

===Death===
Shortly before her death, she bequeathed her ranch, then with an estimated value of around 5 million dollars to Brigham Young University and gave another large donation to the San Diego Historical Society.<ref name=Historical>"Florence Newkirk Dies in California", ''Hartford Courant'', 29 September 1979, pg. 87</ref><ref name=teacher/><ref name=LAT>"Olympic Swim Champ Florence Newkirk Dead", ''Los Angeles Times'', 29 September 1979, pg. 10</ref><ref name=Olympedia/> She died September 27, 1979, at Fallbrook Hospital in Fallbrook California, in Northern San Diego County and was survived by her husband Richard, a retired teacher, whom she married around May 1964.<ref name=obit2/><ref name=teacher>Littlefield, Larry, "Still a Champion", ''Times-Advocate'', Escondido, California, 18 June 1972, pg. 21</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ch/florence-chambers-1.html |title=Florence Chambers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007022647/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ch/florence-chambers-1.html |archive-date=2012-10-07 |url-status=dead}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121021144635/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/651238712.html?dids=651238712:651238712&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Sep+29,+1979&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Olympic+Swim+Champ+Florence+Newkirk+Dead&pqatl=google obituary]
* [https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/50984 Florence Chambers, Olympedia]
* [https://www.worldaquatics.com/athletes/1165710/florence-chambers World Aquatics Website, Florence Chambers-Results, 1924 Olympic Games]
* [https://olympics.com/en/athletes/florence-chambers Olympics.com, Florence Chambers]
{{Footer USA Swimming 1924 Summer Olympics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Florence}}
[[Category:1907 births]]
[[Category:1979 deaths]]
[[Category:American female backstroke swimmers]]
[[Category:American swimming coaches]]
[[Category:Olympic swimmers for the United States]]
[[Category:Swimmers from San Diego]]
[[Category:Swimmers at the 1924 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportswomen]]

Florence Chambers - Revision history

imported>GreenC bot: Reformat 2 archive links. Wayback Medic 2.5 per WP:USURPURL and JUDI batch #26ag