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Charles Silvia
Charles Eaton "Red" Silvia was an All-American competitive swimmer for Springfield College, and a Hall of Fame swimming coach for Springfield from 1937 through 1978 where he led his teams to ten New England Intercollegiate Championships. A 1956 Assistant Olympic swimming coach, he was an outstanding contributor to the swimming community and served as President of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America, as well as chairing the Board of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He authored seven books on swimming, Life Saving, and Scuba Diving, and was best known for his book, Life Saving and Water Safety Today.
Silvia was born January 3, 1911, in Sommerville, Massachusetts, outside of Boston to Anthony B. and Jane Kemp Silvia. He grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and attended Haverhill High School, around 30 miles North of Boston, where he was honored in their Hall of Fame. Though he did not compete with a swimming team at Haverhill, he excelled and lettered in a variety of other sports including basketball, football, and baseball. He later attended the New Hampton School, a preparatory school in New Hampton, New Hampshire, where he was also active in athletics. At New Hampton, he received a medal for outstanding academic achievement, played basketball, and was Captain of New Hampton's football team in 1929.
He attended and swam for Springfield College from 1930 to 1934, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1934 and later completed a master's degree in Physical Education between 1937 and 1940 while serving his early years as the swimming coach for Springfield. As a Senior at Springfield, Silvia made the Kappa Delta Pi academic honorary society.
While swimming for Springfield College, he won the New England Intercollegiate Championship in the 440-yard event in 1933, also known as the quarter mile, setting the 440-yard New England Conference record which he held for two years. In 1934, he retained his New England Swimming Association league record in the 440-yard swim with a time of 5.18.2 for the short pool, and 5:19.7 for the long pool course. Silvia's 440-yard record was broken in February 1935 by Springfield College swimmer C.F. Pawling who swam a new record time of 5:17.3. Silvia's fastest time in the 300 Individual Medley in 1934, was 4.00.8 for the short pool course, also a New England Swimming Association League record. Silvia may have also set a National Collegiate record in the 300-yard Individual Medley on March 3, 1933, at Springfield's McCurdy pool, with a time of 4:08.4 (prior record 4:08.6, 1930, by Yale swimmer J. W. Hart) though the record was not broken during an official meet, but rather in a match between Springfield's Varsity and Freshman teams. At least one reliable source, the International Swimming Hall of Fame Bio for Charles Silvia, referenced the 1933 300-yard IM swim as a national record.
Excelling in the longer freestyle competition as well, Silvia was a collegiate All-American in the 1500-meter event his Senior year in 1934 when he served as Captain for the Springfield College team. An open water distance swimming enthusiast, Silvia completed a two-hour swim from Hampton Beach to Salisbury Beach in early August, 1934, and planned an 11-mile swim from Hampton Beach to the Isles of Shoals.
Silvia swam under Coach Thomas K. Cureton, an honoree of the International Swimming Hall of Fame for his contributions to the science of physical fitness testing and research for swimmers as well as athletes in other sports. Cureton, widely published in his field, swam for and graduated Yale, obtained a PhD in educational research from Columbia in 1939, and later taught at the University of Illinois from 1941-1969. Cureton emphasized endurance training as being more valuable than mastering mechanical skills for athletes, which may have been one of his primary focuses in training his swimmers at Springfield, and became his lasting contribution to training athletes. As a Senior, Silvia's exceptionally strong 1934 team broke nearly all prior Springfield records. Silvia was considered one of Springfield's greatest endurance swimmers. As an outstanding contributor as a Senior, he scored the second highest number of combined dual meet points, for the 1934 season, a total of 76, out of a total of 421 scored by the entire Springfield team of 20 that year. His mastery of multiple strokes as a medley swimmer, would later benefit him as a swim coach. Possibly influencing his future choice of coaching swimming as a career, during summer breaks from Springfield College, Silvia worked as an Assistant swimming director at the Brimfield Red Cross Camp in the greater Springfield area.
Immediately after graduating Springfield College in 1934, Silvia worked for his former preparatory school, the New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire as Director of Athletics, continuing in the position through 1937. At New Hampton, he coached baseball, basketball, and soccer.
He served as the swim coach at his former alma mater Springfield College, from the Fall of 1937 through 1978. He began graduate work at Springfield during his employment as swim coach in 1937. In his earliest years at Springfield, he helped administer physical fitness, nutrition, and swimming placement tests to new students, and taught the Theory and Practice of Swimming. Formerly a multisport athlete as a High School student, while at Springfield, in addition to swimming, he helped coach the football and baseball teams. One of his most outstanding successors as a Springfield College coach was Peter Avdoulos who coached the Springfield Diving Team from 1986 through around 2024, though Avdoulos dove for Springfield beginning in the mid-1980's shortly after Silvia's coaching tenure.
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Charles Silvia
Charles Eaton "Red" Silvia was an All-American competitive swimmer for Springfield College, and a Hall of Fame swimming coach for Springfield from 1937 through 1978 where he led his teams to ten New England Intercollegiate Championships. A 1956 Assistant Olympic swimming coach, he was an outstanding contributor to the swimming community and served as President of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America, as well as chairing the Board of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He authored seven books on swimming, Life Saving, and Scuba Diving, and was best known for his book, Life Saving and Water Safety Today.
Silvia was born January 3, 1911, in Sommerville, Massachusetts, outside of Boston to Anthony B. and Jane Kemp Silvia. He grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and attended Haverhill High School, around 30 miles North of Boston, where he was honored in their Hall of Fame. Though he did not compete with a swimming team at Haverhill, he excelled and lettered in a variety of other sports including basketball, football, and baseball. He later attended the New Hampton School, a preparatory school in New Hampton, New Hampshire, where he was also active in athletics. At New Hampton, he received a medal for outstanding academic achievement, played basketball, and was Captain of New Hampton's football team in 1929.
He attended and swam for Springfield College from 1930 to 1934, where he received his bachelor's degree in 1934 and later completed a master's degree in Physical Education between 1937 and 1940 while serving his early years as the swimming coach for Springfield. As a Senior at Springfield, Silvia made the Kappa Delta Pi academic honorary society.
While swimming for Springfield College, he won the New England Intercollegiate Championship in the 440-yard event in 1933, also known as the quarter mile, setting the 440-yard New England Conference record which he held for two years. In 1934, he retained his New England Swimming Association league record in the 440-yard swim with a time of 5.18.2 for the short pool, and 5:19.7 for the long pool course. Silvia's 440-yard record was broken in February 1935 by Springfield College swimmer C.F. Pawling who swam a new record time of 5:17.3. Silvia's fastest time in the 300 Individual Medley in 1934, was 4.00.8 for the short pool course, also a New England Swimming Association League record. Silvia may have also set a National Collegiate record in the 300-yard Individual Medley on March 3, 1933, at Springfield's McCurdy pool, with a time of 4:08.4 (prior record 4:08.6, 1930, by Yale swimmer J. W. Hart) though the record was not broken during an official meet, but rather in a match between Springfield's Varsity and Freshman teams. At least one reliable source, the International Swimming Hall of Fame Bio for Charles Silvia, referenced the 1933 300-yard IM swim as a national record.
Excelling in the longer freestyle competition as well, Silvia was a collegiate All-American in the 1500-meter event his Senior year in 1934 when he served as Captain for the Springfield College team. An open water distance swimming enthusiast, Silvia completed a two-hour swim from Hampton Beach to Salisbury Beach in early August, 1934, and planned an 11-mile swim from Hampton Beach to the Isles of Shoals.
Silvia swam under Coach Thomas K. Cureton, an honoree of the International Swimming Hall of Fame for his contributions to the science of physical fitness testing and research for swimmers as well as athletes in other sports. Cureton, widely published in his field, swam for and graduated Yale, obtained a PhD in educational research from Columbia in 1939, and later taught at the University of Illinois from 1941-1969. Cureton emphasized endurance training as being more valuable than mastering mechanical skills for athletes, which may have been one of his primary focuses in training his swimmers at Springfield, and became his lasting contribution to training athletes. As a Senior, Silvia's exceptionally strong 1934 team broke nearly all prior Springfield records. Silvia was considered one of Springfield's greatest endurance swimmers. As an outstanding contributor as a Senior, he scored the second highest number of combined dual meet points, for the 1934 season, a total of 76, out of a total of 421 scored by the entire Springfield team of 20 that year. His mastery of multiple strokes as a medley swimmer, would later benefit him as a swim coach. Possibly influencing his future choice of coaching swimming as a career, during summer breaks from Springfield College, Silvia worked as an Assistant swimming director at the Brimfield Red Cross Camp in the greater Springfield area.
Immediately after graduating Springfield College in 1934, Silvia worked for his former preparatory school, the New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire as Director of Athletics, continuing in the position through 1937. At New Hampton, he coached baseball, basketball, and soccer.
He served as the swim coach at his former alma mater Springfield College, from the Fall of 1937 through 1978. He began graduate work at Springfield during his employment as swim coach in 1937. In his earliest years at Springfield, he helped administer physical fitness, nutrition, and swimming placement tests to new students, and taught the Theory and Practice of Swimming. Formerly a multisport athlete as a High School student, while at Springfield, in addition to swimming, he helped coach the football and baseball teams. One of his most outstanding successors as a Springfield College coach was Peter Avdoulos who coached the Springfield Diving Team from 1986 through around 2024, though Avdoulos dove for Springfield beginning in the mid-1980's shortly after Silvia's coaching tenure.
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