Meadowbrook opened as a summer pool on May 30, 1930. Built by the George Morris Company, Meadowbrook offered swimming, tennis, diving, and even miniature golf. Olympic swimmers from the 1928, 1932 & 1936 Olympics competed at Meadowbrook in those early years. George Morris sold Meadowbrook in 1945 to Edith Stieber and Frank Roberts. Edith Stieber’s husband Fred, a championship diver of national renown was also well known for his prowess in lacrosse on the neighboring Mt. Washington Club field. 1928 and ’32 Olympian Buster Crabbe entertained Meadowbrook audiences several times during the 1940’s with his Water Follies shows. In a lead up to Olympic Trials, Navy swimmer Bob Cowell competed at Meadowbrook in 1948 before competing at the Olympics in London. Due to its size and accessibility on the number 25 streetcar line, Meadowbrook hosted many swim meets in the 1930’s through the 1960’s. During the baby boom following World War II, thousands of Baltimore children learned to swim at Meadowbrook.
In 1986, after almost six decades of wear and tear, and several severe floods in the 1970’s Meadowbrook needed a makeover. The club changed hands for only the second time when Murray and Patty Stephens purchased Meadowbrook in 1987 from Fred Stieber. Murray is one of the founding coaches of the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and also the coach of the successful high school program at Loyola Blakefield. Patty, also a swim coach, established the North Baltimore Swim School at the Timonium Holiday Inn in 1993. The merging of the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, founded in 1968, with Meadowbrook created national and international swimming success. Successful Olympic swimming became synonymous with Meadowbrook in the era from 1987 to 2009, especially following the completion of the indoor pool and fitness center in 1995. In Summer League, the Meadowbrook Tomatoes won consecutive Central Maryland Division One championships from 2001 until 2017.
In September of 2020, Meadowbrook began two Swim Practice Groups, Introduction and Advanced to replace the Stroke & Turn Clinic from previous seasons. Evaluations were conducted by John Cadigan and Josh Coplai to determine whether prospective swimmers could be placed in Introduction or Advanced or remain in the Intermediate level of Swim Lessons. Rather than run in six week sessions as the rest of lessons, Swim Practice would run in semesters, September to December and January to May. Coached by John, Josh, and Darla Long, these groups inspired Meadowbrook to consider starting a year round team. Kailey Morris, a coach and former swimmer familiar to Meadowbrook, was hired in December and began working with the Swim Practice groups in January.
On January 15, 2021, the decision to form a team was formalized and the application process through Maryland Swimming, Inc. and USA Swimming began. The completed application packet was submitted to Maryland Swimming on January 26th and forwarded to USA Swimming in Colorado Springs the next day. Meadowbrook received preliminary approval on February 4th and final approval February 8th. Meadowbrook publicly announced the new team February 15, 2021, with Kailey Morris and John Cadigan as coaches. Evaluations began March 1st. The first practices were scheduled for Saturday, May 1, 2021.
Meadowbrook Swim Team creates an atmosphere of opportunity and encouragement in competitive swimming which develops mental discipline, honesty, and teamwork in the pursuit of excellence.