Courtesy of Long Beach Lifeguard Association Museum and Greg Shea.

Starting in 1950 when he first became a lifeguard in Long Beach, California as a 16-year-old and later being appointed as the city’s Chief Lifeguard in 1974 and the Long Beach Marine Bureau manager retiring in 1995, Dick Miller has been around the ocean all his life.

It was back in 1947 when he won the Naples Island Swim event has been held continuously since the 1920’s [shown above with Tom Lind, Gene Perle and Pat Keller.

On August 12th, 71 years after his first open water victory as a 14-year-old, the ever-smiling personable Miller will serve as the race starter for the 2018 Naples Island Swim.

The photo above, along with many other memorabilia, photos and equipment, are archived at the Long Beach Lifeguard Museum located at 5291 East Paoli Way, Long Beach. It is open to the public every Thursday evening during summer months from 5:00 – 9:00 pm.

For more information, visit here.

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