‘A desire to achieve’
December 11, 1997
By Travis Akin 24
It was known as the old swimming hole a narrow river channel of about 50 feet in length, and Edward Shea was only 7 years old as he stood looking at the banks on the other side of the river.
Ignoring the swift movement of the current, he dove into the water and began to dog paddle his way across the river. Halfway across, Shea felt his strength begin to give way to the mighty rush of the current. The water pulled downward, and he lost consciousness.
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Some people nearby realized his plight and rescued Shea before he drowned. Shaken with the realization that he almost had died, Shea sprawled on the opposite bank before being towed back on a tire inner tube.
The next day, Shea came back to the river at a time when the current was at a lull and did what he intended to do the day before swim across with his own strength.
Shea’s near-drowning took place 73 years ago. Since then, Shea has competed in collegiate swimming, coached at swimming clubs, participated in the 1936 Olympic tryouts and shattered 27 world swimming records.
But his experience at the river has stuck with him his entire life.
I couldn’t make it; I just couldn’t get across, Shea said. When I got in the middle, I just couldn’t get going, and I was frightened. It is an incident in one’s life that played an important part.
Through determination and the will to succeed, Shea was able to come back to the river the day after he almost drowned. That determination has become a philosophy that has allowed him to continue his success in swimming.
Many individuals have within themselves a desire to achieve, Shea said. The second factor is that I had a great love for swimming. It occupied a large part of my life at varying times.
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You have to have that motivation. It creates a challenge. If you are the kind of person who wants to accept that challenge, you’ll take it.
Shea swims six days a week. He competes in swim meets all over the world, and has been an All-American swimmer for 14 consecutive years.
Shea’s desire to excel is not limited to his passion for swimming. Since 1942, Shea has worked as a college administrator. In 1954, he accepted a position at SIUC as the chairman of the men’s Physical Education Department. In 1977, he became the chairman of the entire department and had that position until 1981.
He retired in 1985 and is now a professor emeritus in physical education.
Shea got his bachelor’s degree from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1941, and in 1954, he received his doctorate in physical education and administration in higher education from New York University.
He is the author of six books, and in 1989, Shea received the Luther Halsey Guilick Medal, the highest honor in the field of physical education.
Through his experiences in higher education, Shea kept swimming. As chairman of the SIUC Physical Education Department, he always taught at least one swim class.
I felt like I was contributing something to their lives that would remain with them, Shea said. It added something to their life that was vacant. I felt good about that, so I insisted on doing that (teaching swimming). I never lost my interest in swimming even though the major part of my life has been in my profession.
Now that Shea is retired, his life is consumed with supporting his family. He married his high school sweetheart, Ruth Baldwin, in 1939. The Sheas had four children and now have nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Ruth said the one thing she has noticed about her husband is his commitment to being the best at everything he does.
He has always had my encouragement and loyal support, Ruth said. I feel that his life has reflected equal degrees of success in both competition swimming and in the 56 years of his professional life.
The professional nature in which Shea tackles everything he does has impressed Paul Fawcett, coordinator of aquatics and sports clubs at the Recreation Center. He sees Shea come to the Recreation Center to swim on a daily basis and knows Shea has helped him develop his professional career as a facility manager.
When you are a new professional and you are writing, oftentimes you wonder if what you say has merit, Fawcett said. What I asked to do, a little tentatively, when I first got here was, Could I impose upon you to read my article before I submit it and get your comments on it?’
He was more than happy to do that for me. He has taken the time to sit down and not just read, but to give me at least a page of constructive comments.
But the one thing Shea regrets is that by working so hard to achieve so much in life, at times he did not spend enough time with his family. But his days are consumed now with being an influence in the lives of grandchildren and great grandchildren.
These years of my life, my interests are switching over to my family, Shea said. I have great interest in these kids. I love those kids, and I want to do so much for them. I am finding out that your values do change with age.
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