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{{short description|American private club}}

{{Infobox company |
{{Infobox company |
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name = Missouri Athletic Club |
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Since its founding in 1903, the mission of the '''Missouri Athletic Club''' has been to be the premier athletic, dining and social club for business, professional and civic leaders and their families in the St. Louis region. The Missouri Athletic Club (often referred to as the '''MAC'''), is a private city athletic club with two locations. The Downtown Clubhouse is in [[Downtown St. Louis|Downtown]] [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], [[United States|USA]] and the West Clubhouse is located in [[St. Louis County, Missouri|St. Louis County]] a suburb of [[Town and Country, Missouri|Town and Country]].
The '''Missouri Athletic Club''' (often referred to as the '''MAC'''), founded in 1903, is a private [[gentlemen's club|city and athletic club]] with two locations. The Downtown Clubhouse is in [[Downtown St. Louis|Downtown]] [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], [[United States|USA]] and the West Clubhouse is located in the [[St. Louis County, Missouri|St. Louis County]] suburb of [[Town and Country, Missouri|Town and Country]].


The MAC 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 [[Harry S. Truman]], [[Stan Musial]], and [[Alan Shepard]]. The [[American Legion]] was organized there in 1919.
The MAC awards the annual [[Hermann Trophy]], the highest award in American [[College soccer in the United States|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 [[Harry S. Truman]], [[Charles Lindbergh]], [[Stan Musial]], and [[Alan Shepard]]. The [[American Legion]] was organized there in 1919. Membership was restricted to white men until the late 1960s and men until 1988.


==Facilities==
==Facilities==
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[[Image:Missouri Athletic Club.JPG|thumbnail|right|175px|Missouri Athletic Club's Downtown Clubhouse]]
[[Image:Missouri Athletic Club.JPG|thumbnail|right|175px|Missouri Athletic Club's Downtown Clubhouse]]
{{main|Missouri Athletic Club Building}}
{{main|Missouri Athletic Club Building}}
The Missouri Athletic Club opened its doors on Sept. 13, 1903. The original Clubhouse was located in the Boatman's Bank Building at 4th Street and Washington Ave. in downtown St. Louis. The catalyst for establishing the Club was Charles Henry Genslinger who had successfully opened clubs in New Orleans and New York prior.
The Missouri Athletic Club opened its doors on Sept. 13, 1903, in the Boatman's Bank Building at 4th Street and Washington Ave. in downtown St. Louis. Founder Charles Henry Genslinger had opened clubs in New Orleans and New York.


A fire destroyed the original clubhouse in March 1914. Within two weeks after the fire, a committee was appointed to design and erect a new and more elaborate clubhouse on the same location. A special committee funded the project with bonds sold to prominent St. Louis businessmen like August A. Busch.
A fire destroyed the original clubhouse in March 1914. Within two weeks, a committee was appointed to design and erect a new and more elaborate clubhouse on the same location. The project was funded with bonds sold to prominent St. Louis businessmen, including [[August Anheuser Busch, Sr.|August A. Busch]].


The present-day Downtown Clubhouse opened its doors on March 1, 1916 with a gala celebration attended by 5,000 people. The new clubhouse, a 10-story facility, was grander than the original. The clubhouse was designed by [[William B. Ittner]] and contains two restaurants, a ballroom, a barber shop, numerous private meeting rooms, a reading room, a billiard parlor, a rooftop deck, more than 75 guest rooms, and full-service athletic facilities. The athletic facilities include weight training, a pro shop, whirlpools, tanning beds, saunas, trainers, pros, a masseuse, [[squash (sport)|squash]] courts, [[racquetball]] courts, and [[American handball|handball]] courts.
Designed by [[William B. Ittner]], the present-day Downtown Clubhouse opened on March 1, 1916, with a gala celebration attended by 5,000 people. The 10-story facility was grander than the original, with contains two restaurants, a ballroom, a barber shop, numerous private meeting rooms, a reading room, a billiard parlor, a rooftop deck, more than 75 guest rooms, and full-service athletic facilities. The athletic facilities include weight training, a pro shop, whirlpools, tanning beds, saunas, trainers, pros, a masseuse, [[squash (sport)|squash]] courts, [[racquetball]] courts, and [[American handball|handball]] courts.


The Missouri Athletic Club has renovated and expanded its West Clubhouse numerous times over the years. Some of the largest projects took place in 1998, 2004, and 2016.
⚫
===West Clubhouse===

[[File:MAC West Clubhouse.jpg|thumbnail|Missouri Athletic Club's West Clubhouse in Town and Country]]
⚫
===West Clubhouse===
⚫
In 1995, the Missouri Athletic Club purchased the Town and Country Racquet Club, which was built in 1975, and opened it as the MAC's West Clubhouse on June 16, 1995. The Missouri Athletic Club has renovated and expanded its West Clubhouse numerous times over the years. Some of the largest projects took place in 1998, 2004, and 2016. The sprawling West Clubhouse has more than 178,000 square feet of space. It features a 25-meter outdoor swim and dive pool, two restaurants and bars, private event spaces, eight indoor tennis courts, squash courts, racquetball courts, a basketball court and gymnasium, and a fitness center.
In 1995, the Missouri Athletic Club purchased the Town and Country Racquet Club, which was built in 1975, and opened it as the MAC's West Clubhouse on June 16 of that year.

⚫
The sprawling facility, with more than 178,000 square feet of space, has a 25-meter outdoor swim and dive pool, two restaurants and bars, private event spaces, eight indoor tennis courts, squash courts, racquetball courts, a basketball court and gymnasium, and a fitness center.


==History==
==History==
In 1903, during the lead-up to the 1904 [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]], having organized amateur athletic and social clubs in [[New York City]] and [[New Orleans]], entrepreneur Charles Henry Genslinger came to St. Louis and persuaded local prominent citizens to fund a similar club.<ref name=machistory>[http://www.mac-stl.org/macpost.pdf The New Missouri Athletic Club: 100 Years of History, Tradition & Service (Missouri Athletic Club 2003)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050830054814/http://mac-stl.org/macpost.pdf |date=2005-08-30 }}</ref> [[Boatmen's Bancshares|Boatmen’s Bank]] donated a seven-story building at Fourth Street and Washington Avenue to the Club, which adopted “Missouri Athletic Club” as its name.<ref name=machistory/> More than 3,200 members enrolled prior to the Club’s opening in September 1903.<ref name=machistory/>
Entrepreneur Charles Henry Genslinger came to St. Louis in 1903, during the lead-up to the 1904 [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]]. Having organized amateur athletic and social clubs in [[New York City]] and [[New Orleans]], he persuaded local prominent citizens to fund a similar club.<ref name=machistory>[http://www.mac-stl.org/macpost.pdf The New Missouri Athletic Club: 100 Years of History, Tradition & Service (Missouri Athletic Club 2003)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050830054814/http://mac-stl.org/macpost.pdf |date=2005-08-30 }}</ref> [[Boatmen's Bancshares|Boatmen’s Bank]] donated a seven-story building at Fourth Street and Washington Avenue to the Club, which adopted “Missouri Athletic Club” as its name.<ref name=machistory/> More than 3,200 members enrolled before to Club opened in September 1903.<ref name=machistory/>

⚫
Upon its founding, the MAC joined the [[Amateur Athletic Union]], which allowed its members to participate in the [[1904 Summer Olympics]], also held in St. Louis.<ref name=machistory/> As part of the AAU, the MAC formed basketball, swimming, track, baseball, boxing, wrestling, bowling, and billiards teams which competed throughout the United States.<ref name=machistory/>

In 1914, the MAC's clubhouse was destroyed by a fire that killed 30 members, guests, and staff.<ref name=machistory/> The club decided to construct a new building in its place, which opened in 1916.<ref name=machistory/> This has been the clubhouse ever since.<ref name=machistory/> From 1916 to 1939, the MAC was renamed the Missouri Athletic Association.<ref name=machistory/>

In 1943, the Missouri Athletic Club Apollos (Often referred to as the [[MAC Apollos]]) were founded, making them the MAC's oldest "Club Within the Club."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Missouri Athletic Club - Social and Dining - Missouri Athletic Club - St. Louis, MO |url=https://www.mac-stl.org/Social_Dining/Clubs_Within_the_Club |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=www.mac-stl.org}}</ref>


In the late 1960s, the all-white, all-male club voted to allow Black men to join.<ref>{{Cite web |title=21 Jun 1988, Page 11 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/141194863/ |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en}}</ref>
⚫
Immediately upon its founding, the MAC joined the [[Amateur Athletic Union]], which allowed members to participate in the [[1904 Summer Olympics]], also held in St. Louis.<ref name=machistory/> As part of the AAU, the MAC formed basketball, swimming, track, baseball, boxing, wrestling, bowling, and billiards teams, which competed throughout the United States.<ref name=machistory/>


In 1914, the MAC's clubhouse was destroyed by a fire, which also killed 30 members, guests, and staff.<ref name=machistory/> The club decided to construct a new building in its place, which opened in 1916.<ref name=machistory/> This has been the clubhouse ever since.<ref name=machistory/> From 1916-1939, the MAC was renamed the Missouri Athletic Association.<ref name=machistory/>
In 1987, the MAC began awarding the [[Hermann Trophy]] to the United States's top male and female [[College soccer in the United States|college soccer]] players.<ref name=machistory/> This is the highest player's award in college soccer, equivalent to the [[Heisman Trophy]] for [[college football]].<ref name=machistory/>


In 1988, the Club’s members voted overwhelmingly to admit female members.<ref name=machistory/> The vote came after John C. Shepherd, whose membership in the all-male MAC and the all-white [[Bellerive Country Club]] had drawn national scrutiny and criticism, withdrew from his nomination to be Attorney General [[Edwin Meese|Edwin Meese III]]'s deputy at the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Justice Department]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marcus |first=Ruth |date=1988-04-08 |title=SHEPHERD WEIGHS LEAVING ALL-WHITE, MALE CLUBS |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1988/04/08/shepherd-weighs-leaving-all-white-male-clubs/0dd5c791-97c0-4e04-859e-4b9237ebddf8/ |access-date=2022-09-16 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |last2= |last3= |first3= |last4= |last5= |last6= |last7= |last8= |first8= |last9= |date=1988-04-21 |title=Justice Dept. Nominee Withdraws : Shepherd Cites Pressures After Being Selected by Meese |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-04-21-mn-2540-story.html |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 1987, the MAC began awarding the [[Hermann Trophy]] to the United States's top male and female [[college soccer]] players.<ref name=machistory/> This is the highest player's award in college soccer, equivalent to the [[Heisman Trophy]] for [[college football]].<ref name=machistory/>


In 1988, the Club’s membership voted overwhelmingly to admit female members.<ref name=machistory/> Before that, membership had been restricted only to men.<ref name=machistory/>
In 1995, the MAC bought the Town and Country Racquet Club in West St. Louis County.<ref name=machistory/> The club spent $2 million to upgrade the facilities and reopened them as the Missouri Athletic Club's West Clubhouse.<ref name=machistory/> The West Clubhouse was re-renovated for $8 million in 2003.


By 2006, [[St. Louis Magazine]] reported, "The Missouri Athletic Club, one of the largest clubs in the country, lost cachet after admitting first women and then anybody who could pay."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooperman |first=Jeannette |date=2006-07-31 |title=Dinner at the Club, Darling? |url=https://www.stlmag.com/St-Louis-Magazine/June-2006/Dinner-at-the-Club-Darling-/ |access-date=2022-09-16 |website=www.stlmag.com |language=en-us}}</ref>
In 1995, the MAC bought the Town and Country Racquet Club in West St. Louis County.<ref name=machistory/> After investing $2 million in upgrading the facilities, it reopened as the Missouri Athletic Club's West Clubhouse.<ref name=machistory/> The West Clubhouse was re-renovated for $8 million in 2003.


==Notable members==
==Notable members==
* [[Glendy B. Arnold]], St. Louis judge
* [[Jack Buck]], [[St. Louis Cardinals]] sportscaster
* [[Jack Buck]], [[St. Louis Cardinals]] sportscaster
* [[Jimmy Dunn (soccer)|Jimmy Dunn]], American soccer player
* [[Jimmy Dunn (soccer)|Jimmy Dunn]], American soccer player
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* [[John Meyers (swimmer)|John Meyers]], American Olympic athlete
* [[John Meyers (swimmer)|John Meyers]], American Olympic athlete
* [[Stan Musial]], St. Louis Cardinals baseball player, [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] inductee
* [[Stan Musial]], St. Louis Cardinals baseball player, [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] inductee
* [[William Orthwein]], American Olympic athlete
* [[William R. Orthwein|William Orthwein]], American Olympic athlete
* [[Marquard Schwarz]], American Olympic athlete
* [[Marquard Schwarz]], American Olympic athlete
* [[Albert Schweitzer (artist)|Albert Schweitzer]], cartoonist for the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]''; served as art director of Missouri Athletic Club
* [[Alan Shepard]], [[astronaut]], first American in space
* [[Alan Shepard]], [[astronaut]], first American in space
* [[Harry A. Slattery]], [[United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior]] (1917–18), author of the [[Slattery Report]]
* [[Harry A. Slattery]], [[United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior]] (1917–18), author of the [[Slattery Report]]
Line 62: Line 73:


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
[http://www.machermanntrophy.org/ Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy]
[http://www.machermanntrophy.org/ Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy]


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{{Coord|38.629965|-90.187165|region:US_type:edu|display=title}}
{{Coord|38.629965|-90.187165|region:US_type:edu|display=title}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Athletics clubs in the United States]]
[[Category:Athletics clubs in the United States]]

Latest revision as of 00:49, 7 February 2024

Missouri Athletic Club
Genreathletic club
social club
FoundedSt. Louis, Missouri, 1903
HeadquartersSt. Louis, Missouri
Websitewww.mac-stl.org

The Missouri Athletic Club (often referred to as the MAC), founded in 1903, is a private city and athletic club with two locations. The Downtown Clubhouse is in Downtown St. Louis, Missouri, USA and the West Clubhouse is located in the St. Louis County suburb of Town and Country.

The MAC 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 Harry S. Truman, Charles Lindbergh, Stan Musial, and Alan Shepard. The American Legion was organized there in 1919. Membership was restricted to white men until the late 1960s and men until 1988.

Facilities[edit]

Downtown Clubhouse[edit]

Missouri Athletic Club's Downtown Clubhouse
Main article: Missouri Athletic Club Building

The Missouri Athletic Club opened its doors on Sept. 13, 1903, in the Boatman's Bank Building at 4th Street and Washington Ave. in downtown St. Louis. Founder Charles Henry Genslinger had opened clubs in New Orleans and New York.

A fire destroyed the original clubhouse in March 1914. Within two weeks, a committee was appointed to design and erect a new and more elaborate clubhouse on the same location. The project was funded with bonds sold to prominent St. Louis businessmen, including August A. Busch.

Designed by William B. Ittner, the present-day Downtown Clubhouse opened on March 1, 1916, with a gala celebration attended by 5,000 people. The 10-story facility was grander than the original, with contains two restaurants, a ballroom, a barber shop, numerous private meeting rooms, a reading room, a billiard parlor, a rooftop deck, more than 75 guest rooms, and full-service athletic facilities. The athletic facilities include weight training, a pro shop, whirlpools, tanning beds, saunas, trainers, pros, a masseuse, squash courts, racquetball courts, and handball courts.

The Missouri Athletic Club has renovated and expanded its West Clubhouse numerous times over the years. Some of the largest projects took place in 1998, 2004, and 2016.

West Clubhouse[edit]

In 1995, the Missouri Athletic Club purchased the Town and Country Racquet Club, which was built in 1975, and opened it as the MAC's West Clubhouse on June 16 of that year.

The sprawling facility, with more than 178,000 square feet of space, has a 25-meter outdoor swim and dive pool, two restaurants and bars, private event spaces, eight indoor tennis courts, squash courts, racquetball courts, a basketball court and gymnasium, and a fitness center.

History[edit]

Entrepreneur Charles Henry Genslinger came to St. Louis in 1903, during the lead-up to the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Having organized amateur athletic and social clubs in New York City and New Orleans, he persuaded local prominent citizens to fund a similar club.[1] Boatmen’s Bank donated a seven-story building at Fourth Street and Washington Avenue to the Club, which adopted “Missouri Athletic Club” as its name.[1] More than 3,200 members enrolled before to Club opened in September 1903.[1]

Upon its founding, the MAC joined the Amateur Athletic Union, which allowed its members to participate in the 1904 Summer Olympics, also held in St. Louis.[1] As part of the AAU, the MAC formed basketball, swimming, track, baseball, boxing, wrestling, bowling, and billiards teams which competed throughout the United States.[1]

In 1914, the MAC's clubhouse was destroyed by a fire that killed 30 members, guests, and staff.[1] The club decided to construct a new building in its place, which opened in 1916.[1] This has been the clubhouse ever since.[1] From 1916 to 1939, the MAC was renamed the Missouri Athletic Association.[1]

In 1943, the Missouri Athletic Club Apollos (Often referred to as the MAC Apollos) were founded, making them the MAC's oldest "Club Within the Club."[2]

In the late 1960s, the all-white, all-male club voted to allow Black men to join.[3]

In 1987, the MAC began awarding the Hermann Trophy to the United States's top male and female college soccer players.[1] This is the highest player's award in college soccer, equivalent to the Heisman Trophy for college football.[1]

In 1988, the Club’s members voted overwhelmingly to admit female members.[1] The vote came after John C. Shepherd, whose membership in the all-male MAC and the all-white Bellerive Country Club had drawn national scrutiny and criticism, withdrew from his nomination to be Attorney General Edwin Meese III's deputy at the U.S. Justice Department.[4][5]

In 1995, the MAC bought the Town and Country Racquet Club in West St. Louis County.[1] The club spent $2 million to upgrade the facilities and reopened them as the Missouri Athletic Club's West Clubhouse.[1] The West Clubhouse was re-renovated for $8 million in 2003.

By 2006, St. Louis Magazine reported, "The Missouri Athletic Club, one of the largest clubs in the country, lost cachet after admitting first women and then anybody who could pay."[6]

Notable members[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n The New Missouri Athletic Club: 100 Years of History, Tradition & Service (Missouri Athletic Club 2003) Archived 2005-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Missouri Athletic Club - Social and Dining - Missouri Athletic Club - St. Louis, MO". www.mac-stl.org. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  3. ^ "21 Jun 1988, Page 11 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  4. ^ Marcus, Ruth (1988-04-08). "SHEPHERD WEIGHS LEAVING ALL-WHITE, MALE CLUBS". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  5. ^ "Justice Dept. Nominee Withdraws : Shepherd Cites Pressures After Being Selected by Meese". Los Angeles Times. 1988-04-21. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  6. ^ Cooperman, Jeannette (2006-07-31). "Dinner at the Club, Darling?". www.stlmag.com. Retrieved 2022-09-16.

Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy

External links[edit]

38°37′48″N 90°11′14″W / 38.629965°N 90.187165°W / 38.629965; -90.187165

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