Joseph Nuttall (31 August 1869 – 1 June 1942) was an accomplished English swimmer in the 1880s and 1890s, and into the early 1900s. He was the amateur English 100-yard and 220-yard champion from 1886 to 1888. He later turned professional and was generally the fastest professional of his period.Colwin, Cecil M
Breakthrough Swimming
p. 196 (2002) Nuttall was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, and moved with his family to

Stalybridge Stalybridge () is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, it had a population of 26,830. Historic counties of England, Historically divided between Cheshire and Lancashire, it is east o ...

, learning to swim in one of England's first public pools. He won his first competitive race at age 12 in 1881. He swam as an amateur until 1888, and then swam as a professional for many years, establishing many records at different lengths.Myerscough, Keith. Joseph (Joey) Nuttall, 1869-1942, 'The Stalybridge Lightening Merman' His primary stroke was the

trudgeon The trudgen is a swimming stroke sometimes known as the ''racing stroke'', or the ''East Indian stroke''. It is named after the English swimmer John Trudgen (1852–1902) and evolved out of sidestroke. One swims mostly upon one side, making an o ...

. Other notable English swimmers of Nuttall's time included James H. Tyers,

John Derbyshire John Derbyshire (born 3 June 1945) is an American journalist and political commentator. He was one of the last paleoconservatives at the ''National Review'', until he was fired in 2012 for writing an article for '' Taki's Magazine'' that was ...

, and

John Arthur Jarvis John Arthur Jarvis (24 February 1872 – 9 May 1933) was an English competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in three Olympic Games, and was a well-known amateur athlete of the late 19th century and early 20th century. He participated ...

. Nuttall also had notable races against English swimmer James Finney (in 1890), American swimmer James L. McCusker (including in 1893 and 1904), and Australians Ernest Cavill in 1894 and his brother Percy Cavill in 1904.(23 February 1905)
Nuttall and Cavill to Meet
''Daily Miami Metropolis''Lambie, James
The Story of Your Life: A History of the Sporting Life Newspaper (1859-1998)
p. 179 (2010) (relating story of August 19, 1893 one mile match between McCusker and Nuttall) He ended his professional swimming career around 1911.(11 January 2010)
Lightning Merman Joey
''

Blackpool Gazette The ''Blackpool Gazette'' (locally marketed as simply ''The Gazette'') is an English daily newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast. It was founded as '' ...

'' Nuttall died in Blackpool in 1942, survived by his wife Gertrude and one daughter. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Layton Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuttall, Joseph English male swimmers 1869 births 1942 deaths World record setters in swimming Sportspeople from Stalybridge 19th-century English sportsmen