We take a look back over the life of world champion swimmer Joey Nuttall from Stalybridge, who died 80 years ago today.

Born in 1870, Joey had to tackle Victorian ideologies and expectations to rise above and prove his worth in the sporting world. Moving from Hulme to Stalybridge during his first year of life, he was just a few months old when Stalybridge Baths opened.

This outlet provided a means for exercise and also for bathing. Prior to this, the Nuttall family would swim in the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and wash in the River Tame.

Showing exceptional talent as a swimmer from an early age, Joey escaped the clutches of working class life by becoming a competitive swimmer.

He began his amateur days as a child, winning his first race aged just 9. He became a ‘boy champion’ at the age of 12 and went on to achieve great success throughout his career.

Aged fourteen, Joey worked as a coal hawker during the day and entered swimming events in his leisure time. He was destined to be determined through his exploits as a ‘speed’ swimmer.

Known as ‘The Lightening Merman of Stalybridge’, Joey claimed his first world title at the age of seventeen when he became the 500 yards Champion of the World.

He completed his first professional race in 1888, the 1000 yards ‘Topping Challenge Cup’, during which he dominated, winning by 20 yards.

By 1893, he had set professional world beating times for 100, 120, 160, 200, 440, 800 yards and half-mile distances.

News reports at the time of his success said that his routine consisted of being ‘early to bed and early to rise’ as well as ‘long walks’ and an avoidance of ‘tobacco and alcohol’.

During the 1880s and 1890s, Joey drew large crowds when he swam, travelling across the country to perform. From British coastal waters and lakes to major leisure destinations and local swimming baths, Joey amazed fans across the nation.

In 1894 he appeared at the newly opened Blackpool Tower Aquatic and Variety Circus. For the next 10 years Joey spent the summer season in Blackpool and the rest of the year entertaining the crowds, earning as much as £100 a race.

The incredible swimmer was a hero of Stalybridge, known as one of the founding members of Stalybridge Swimming and Water Polo Club. Adjacent to Stalybridge Old Baths, a memorial stone lies on Corporation Street, honouring this great Tameside sportsman.

Against a background of economic upheaval, Joey Nuttall found a means of earning a living outside of his family home in Stalybridge. This era saw a drive towards a more civilised and controlled society, with a desire for rules and a true professionalism about sport.

Joey died aged 72 in 1942. He was buried in an unmarked grave, with his occupation declaring him to be a ‘general labourer, retired’.

In current times, we wonder how different it may have been if Joseph Nuttall, Champion Swimmer of the World, could’ve plied his trade in the modern era of the iconic professional sports superstar.

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