Which Of These Lifeguards Is Captain Thomas Riley Who Saved Hundred Of Coney Island Swimmers?

This circa 1900 Detroit Publishing Co. photograph is captioned “Capt. Riley and Life Guards, Coney Island, N.Y.”

But which of them is Captain Riley? Click on the photo to have a much closer look.

The obvious choice would be the man in the cap wearing a dark colored shirt that says “Balmers Life Guard.”

Wearing a lifeguard shirt does not mean you are one or in charge of a group.

In the photo there several men who could be lifeguards.  The man in the center and man next to him with a striped shirt have lifeguard physiques.

Which proves the adage of never judging a book by its cover.

Captain Riley Is….

The answer came after searching through dozens of articles concerning Captain Riley and his heroic exploits. The November 28, 1898 Philadelphia Inquirer had an illustration of Riley. And the  July 16, 1905 New York Times had a long feature article with illustrations entitled, Tom Riley Life Saver and Champion Swimmer.

Being a large man and smoking while on the job did not hinder Riley’s life saving ability

Thomas J. Riley was the second oldest of eight children born to Michael and Ann Riley in Newport, Rhode Island on May 1, 1861. Thomas took to the water as a child and was competing in distance races against the world’s best swimmers by his early twenties. When not racing Riley worked as a gardener. As a young man Riley stood five eight and weighed a relatively svelte 175 pounds.

Though Riley gained weight over the intervening years, he chose to make swimming his vocation. In the 1880s Riley was taking home prizes of $250 or more for winning each race. This was good money for a few hours of physical exertion. A typical laborer might make $750 a year.

Captain Riley, Lifeguard

In 1890 Riley moved to Brooklyn. During the 1890s and into the 1910s Riley was leading the lifeguards at Balmer’s Bathing Pavilion at Coney Island beach.

Riley was not a swift swimmer he admitted, but a strong one, using a unique side stroke. Riley’s method was to lie partially on the side and cutting the water with his right arm, which he would throw forward, while the left arm performed a circular movement, keeping time with the legs, and with both arms and legs remaining fully submerged.

Outside of life-guarding, Riley continued his racing, mostly participating in distance contests from two to twenty miles. In one race Riley swam from the Battery to Coney Island in three and a half hours. His competition took almost seven hours. Riley said his own knowledge of the tides of New York harbor made the difference in winning the race.

In 1898 Riley filed a $10,000 lawsuit against 22-year-old Louise King for damaging his reputation. The wealthy Ms. King had disappeared September 11 while swimming and was supposedly drowned. Riley was dismissed from his j$300 a month job for “losing a lady customer.” The captain along with six assistants wasted over a week dragging the waters from Gravesend Bay to Canarsie searching for her body. Eleven days after disappearing King turned up out of nowhere, marrying Samuel Lloyd Chamberlain at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. King’s disappearing act and faking her own death was done to escape her home life and marry the man she loved. The resolution of the lawsuit was not reported, but Riley was rehired.

Beats A Shark With A Sword

Another time in 1906 with 3,000 people watching  Riley, armed with a broadsword, jumped into the ocean and battled  a huge 12-foot shark just off the iron pier at Coney Island.

The Baltimore Sun reported:

“When a swarm of bathers were in the water a school of blue-fish, were gathered at the end of the iron pier. They were about 150 yards from shore when the dorsal fin of a shark was seen above the water just behind them, following the bluefish, and the shark’s appearance created a panic.

Besides being an expert swimmer Captain Riley was also an expert with the broadsword. Captain Riley grabbed his’ broadsword, which he kept  in the bathhouse, and he and his two assistants ran into a rowboat and started to the rescue,

When the rowboat was within 80 feet of the fish Riley, who was standing in the bow, jumped overboard, The shark had turned toward him, but the captain, diving quickly, came up under the shark and managed to inflict.a gaping  wound with the sword in its stomach.

The fish made several~ quick dashes, and then, apparently having enough of it, swam away, just as Riley brought the sword down behind its dorsal fin. The water was crimson with blood. When the bathers saw the shark headed for the Jersey coast they once more entered the water. Riley was uninjured.

The National Police Gazette reported in 1903 that Riley was training in Florida during the off season preparing to swim the English Channel. For the next six years Riley would bring up his training to swim the Channel. But, if Riley did ever attempt the channel crossing, there is no mention of it.

Working every day during the season from nine in the morning until sometimes as late as ten at night, Riley protected crowds of up to 18,000 bathers and swimmers a day.

In his career as a lifeguard, Riley’s exploits were regularly reported by the newspapers. The papers continually pointed out Riley’s strength, outstanding rescues and life-saving skills. Features were written about Riley’s encouraging the public of the importance of learning how to swim. Over the years it was estimated that Riley saved hundreds of lives.

In 1906 Riley surmised that only about a half dozen people lost their lives under his watch. It was claimed that those who died had weak hearts or other conditions that contributed to their drowning or the victims never gave a signal that they were in peril.

Captain Riley died at the age of 64 on May 3, 1925 after falling down the stairs of his Brooklyn home at 218 Schermerhorn Street. He was married for 25 years and had no children.

One mystery is why Riley was called “captain.” No record mentions that Riley was in the military or piloted a boat. Early in his swimming career in the 1880s Riley went by the sobriquet of “Professor” Thomas Riley. On Riley’s death certificate, his widow Sarah listed Thomas’ occupation as “sea captain.”

Below is a colorized version of our lead photo. Except for the swimsuits they almost look a modern group of swimmers.