Career
He learnt to swim at eight in his hometown of Leeds, England at the public bath house. He could afford to swim there once a week, on "dirty water days", when it only cost a penny. Otherwise, he swam in the outdoor sluiceways that drained from the wool mills.
In his early 20s, he emigrated penniless to North America, with his International Swimming Hall of Fame biography stating:
He was Head Coach of the United States Men"s Swimming Team at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
He was one of the twenty-one people to be inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame when it was formed in 1965. He was one of only two coaches (with Robert Kiphuth) and two Britons (with English Channel swimmer Captain Matthew Webb) to be inducted.
He purchased land along a lake in Canada and opened a boys swim camp, Camp Chikopi, in 1920. Many coaching peers and friends would attend the summer camp and a number of Olympic athletes (at least thirty by 1965) from many nations trained and developed there.
In 1961 the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (MISCA) honored Matt Mann by creating an award in his honor.
The award is presented annually to a swim coach who demonstrates continued leadership, contributions, and service to Michigan High School Swimming.