Downtown in St. Louis, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
The Missouri Athletic Club
The Clubs original home was destroyed in a 1914 fire that claimed 37 lives. This building was completed in 1916.
Heavyweight champion Gene Tunney spent New Years Eve here incognito in 1927.
Justice Harry A Blackmun lived here when nominated by President Nixon for elevation to the United States Supreme Court.
High schooler Bill Bradley played basketball here on Saturday before moving on to Princeton, a Rhodes Scholarship, a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics, the NBA champion Knicks and a seat in the U.S. Senate.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • Sports. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #37 Richard M. Nixon series list.
Location. 38° 37.797′ N, 90° 11.242′ W. Marker is in St. Louis, Missouri. It is in Downtown. It is on Washington Avenue west of North 4th Street, on the right when traveling west. Marker is mounted at eye-level, directly on the Missouri Athletic Club Building, just to the right of the main front entrance on Washington Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 405 Washington Avenue, Saint Louis MO 63102, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and in the Great River Road Region. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Site of First Mormon Meeting Place in St. Louis (within shouting distance of this marker); 1997 (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); 1996 (about 600 feet away); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (about 600 feet away); 1995 (about 600 feet away); William Tecumseh Sherman (about 700 feet away); 1994 (about 700 feet away); 1990 (about 700 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Louis.
More about this marker. Marker is a large metal plaque, mounted within a decorative polished granite frame.
Also see . . .
1. Missouri Athletic Club History. The Missouri Athletic Club, which opened its doors on Sept. 13, 1903, was born into a city bustling with preparations for the 1904 Olympics and World's Fair. The original Clubhouse was located in the Boatman's Bank Building at 4th and Washington Ave. in Downtown St. Louis. The spectacular new Club played a pivotal role hosting dignitaries from around the world who were visiting St. Louis for the Olympics and World's Fair. Athletes from the MAC competed in boxing, wrestling,
water polo, swimming and track at the Olympic Games.
The present-day Downtown Clubhouse opened its doors on March 1, 1916 with a gala celebration attended by 5,000 people. (Submitted on August 27, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. The Missouri Athletic Club. The Missouri Athletic Club awards the annual Hermann Trophy, the highest award in American college soccer, and the Jack Buck Award (in recognition of enthusiastic and dedicated support of sports in the city of St. Louis). Notable members have included President Charles Lindbergh, Harry S. Truman, and Alan Shepard. The American Legion was organized there in 1919. (Submitted on August 27, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 11, 2017
4. The Missouri Athletic Club Plaque (mounted on wall, near marker)
For this building the members of the Missouri Athletic Association are indebted chiefly to the devoted work of the Board of Governors who served from March Nineteen Hundred and Fourteen to March Nineteen Hundred and Sixteen.
E.W. Bornmueller, H.W. Geller, W.M. Louderman, W.C. Connett,
Thomas M. Grace, Norton Newcomb, B.H. Coyle, O.H. Greene,
Robert L. Niedringhaus, H.M. Cryder, F.M. Hickman, WM. Ochse,
Thomas L. Fetkete, F.W. Irland, Jos. C. Reed, Chas. H. Flach,
Wm. C. Johnston, C.L. Schwartz, Walter E. Fritsch, J.H. Kentnor,
Claude H. Smith, James W. Garneau, John A. Laird, Thomas G. Watts, Jr.
Thomas M. Grace, Norton Newcomb, B.H. Coyle, O.H. Greene,
Robert L. Niedringhaus, H.M. Cryder, F.M. Hickman, WM. Ochse,
Thomas L. Fetkete, F.W. Irland, Jos. C. Reed, Chas. H. Flach,
Wm. C. Johnston, C.L. Schwartz, Walter E. Fritsch, J.H. Kentnor,
Claude H. Smith, James W. Garneau, John A. Laird, Thomas G. Watts, Jr.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 720 times since then and 46 times this year. Last updated on October 15, 2018, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on August 27, 2018, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.




