2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Contributor)
2005 Dorothy “Dot” Donnelly Colonies Zone Service Award
2005 November NEM News Tom Lyndon Receives Dot Award
2004 NEM 1-Hour Swim Coordinator
1998-2003 NELMSC Chair
1996 U.S. Masters Swimming Newsletter of the Year Award
1992-1994 Colonies Zone Representative
1991-2004 NEM News Editor
1991 October NEM News Thomas Lyndon – Profile of a Leader
1987-1991 NEM News column producer – Freestyle
1985, 1986, 1987 & 1988 NEMMY Award – Most significant contributions to the club’s well being
1984 NEMMY Award – Dr. Ransom J. Arthur Decade of Service Award for most contributions to Masters swimming and/or NEMSC over the preceding 10 years
1977-1991 NEM President
1981 May NEM News Hail to the Chief! Tom Lyndon, NEM’s President
USMS Records
Pool – 8 lifetime relay
USMS All-American
Pool – 1 individual
USMS Top Ten – 60 individual, 19 relay
Club: New England Masters (NEM)
Tom was born on September 27, 1931 in Boston. He lived in Hingham for his first 5 years, then his family moved to Tennessee. Tom learned to swim at about the age of six at a summer day-camp in Knoxville, but he did not swim competitively until he went to college.
Tom graduated from Newton High School in 1949 and entered Bowdoin College that fall with the class of 1953. Although he had never swum competitively, he realized that he had competitive potential. When deciding where to go to college, the fact that Bowdoin had a pool and a swimming team was a consideration for him. He swam all four years as a sprint- and middle-distance freestyler. He was team captain his senior year and swam a 23.7 in the 50-free at the New Englands, which placed him third overall.
Tom majored in English and switched to American History. He was a member of the Army ROTC, and upon graduation, he was commissioned in the Reserves. Tom was immediately called to active duty where he was assigned to the Brooklyn Army Base. There he served until June of 1954 when he was sent to Puson, Korea. He arrived in Korea shortly after the armistice was signed. On release from the service, Tom entered Harvard Business School, graduating in 1957. After a number of positions, he became a financial administrator for 20 years in the public school systems (Wellesley, Natick, Danvers, and Wachusett).
Tom became involved in Masters swimming in March 1973 after an article about Ted Haartz in the Boston Globe piqued his curiosity. He showed up at his first Masters meet at Medford High School where he swam the 50 free in 26.5 while wearing boxer trunks. By 1977, Tom had become the president of New England Masters, a position he held until 1991 when he became the editor of NEM News.
Of his service as NEM president, Tom said, “it became and has stayed a major part of my life and a part that gave me frequent and much more than sufficient rewards for the time I put into it. I chose to give the club a lot of time. I am happy I did. The club is healthy and has the people with the potential to move it along. I feel good about that.” His best memories of Masters were “not just the memories, but, even more important, the continuing friendships of the many fine people I have met, because we shared the same pools from time to time.”
Barr Clayson, a close friend of Tom’s, sums it up: “The contributions made by Tom Lyndon to Masters swimming in New England are widely recognized. They have provided much of the glue that has kept our nifty and healthy club prosperous, competitive, and pleasurable.”