Franklin & Marshall College

Bertram "Birchie" Davidson has been involved in swimming formore than 40 years. Today, he is one of the most active andsuccessful "senior" swimmers in the country. He is a member of thePennsylvania Swimming Hall of Fame. His swimming accomplishmentsbegan as a scholastic star when he won the national YMCA 100-yeardbackstroke. Before entering F&M, he led the Tome School to theHarvard Interscholastic Swim championships, and set a National PrepSchool record as a member of the school's 120-yard medley relay. Heattended F&M for one year, 1938-39, but he has been no strangerto Fackenthal Pool or to F&M swimming since then.

He is well known to former F&M swimmers, both as anencouraging friend, an official, and as a person "working out" inthe pool. In Lancaster, he has been generous in helping to fosterthe growth of swimming at the YMCA and in encouraging young men toconsider college. Even he has lost count of the number of clinicshe has organized or participated in. In the recent years, as amaster swimmer, he has won more than 32 National YMCA titles, morethan 250 Masters Gold Medals, and has been selected to the MastersAll American Swim Team in each of the past five years. He lives inLancaster and is associated with Zimmerman Industry in Ephrata.