Charles Butt (swim coach)

Charles J. Butt (1925–September 14, 2018) was an American swimming coach who competed in swimming, tennis, and soccer for Springfield College and coached men's swimming at Bowdoin College for 39 years from 1961–2000. He led the Bowdoin men's swimming teams to several second place finishes in the New England Swimming and Diving Championships, and after founding the women's team in 1976, led them to their first team victory in the New England Championships around 1989. Wide ranging in his command of sports management, he coached men's soccer at Bowdoin through 1984, where he led the men's team to Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Association titles in 1965-6, and 1968. In his retirement, he served as an Assistant Coach for the Bowdoin Women's Squash team and excelled as a participant in the sport himself.

Charles Butt was born a Portuguese citizen on May 19, 1925 in Shanghai, China to Joseph P. and Lindamira Martins Butt, parents of mixed Chinese and Portuguese decent. In 1941, he was a graduate of the Western District Public School, and later studied for two years at Shanghai's St. John's University, before the WWII era Japanese occupation caused the school to close. With most courses taught in English, St. John's was recognized by many American Universities with a registration in Washington, D.C., and students could often become accepted to American graduate schools upon graduation. In his youth, he was active at the Shanghai YMCA where he excelled in basketball, swimming, cricket, track & field, handball, tennis, water polo, softball, soccer, bowling, and boxing. Around the WWII era, he worked several jobs, including work as an oiler on a Danish ship, before returning to Shanghai after the war. Resuming his athletic career, he was selected as a member of China's national basketball team and captured national swimming records in the 50-yard, 100-yard, and 100-meter freestyles. Though he qualified to participate in basketball and swimming for China in the 1948 London Olympic Games, he was barred from participating when he refused to relinquish his Portuguese passport as required by the Chinese government.