Honor Diver Vicki Draves makes Google Doodle
On August 3rd, 2020, Google Doodle is launching a Doodle celebrating ISHOF Honr Diver and friend, Filipino American diver and coach Victoria
“Vicki” Draves, the first Asian American woman to win an Olympic medal. On this day in 1948, Draves
won the gold medal in the women’s 3-meter springboard event at the London Summer Olympics.
VICTORIA “VICKI” MANALO DRAVES (USA)
1969 Honor Diver
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1948 gold (springboard; platform); NATIONAL DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1946, 1947, 1948 gold (platform); 1948 gold (springboard); First woman in Olympic to win both springboard and platform diving crowns in same games.
Victoria Manalo Draves was the first woman in Olympic history to win both springboard and platform diving crowns in the same games. She was the only swimmer or diver to gold medal in two individual events at the 1948 London Olympiad. Her rise to No. 1 in the world was meteoric but far from easy. Vickie was a twin born in San Francisco to an English mother and Filipino father. When Vickie was 16, she and her sisters would take the trolley car to Fleishhacker Pool to swim and admire the divers. Admiration was mutual as one of the boy divers introduced her to Phil Patterson, coach of then national champion Helen Crlenkovich. Vickie learned rapidly under Phil, but her biggest hurdle was not on the diving board. Her diving club on Nob Hill required that she drop her father’s Filipino name and take her mother’s maiden name, Taylor. Finances were another problem and a year later, she joined Charlie Sava’s famed Crystal Plunge team where she worked with Jimmy McHugh. McHugh left coaching and on Sava’s advice, Vickie crossed the bay to dive with Lyle Draves and his star pupil Zoe Ann Olsen at the Athens Club in Oakland.
With a third diver, Gloria Wooden, Draves took his girls to the 1945 Indoor Nationals in Chicago and they placed 1, 2, 3 in the 3 meter springboard.
Wartime duties, another Nob Hill meet argument over Vickie’s Filipino parentage, and Draves returning to Southern California left Vickie once more without a coach. There followed some commuting to Los Angeles, a second and a third at the Outdoor Nationals, and then, on the death of her father, Vicki retired and returned to San Francisco and to her old job as a secretary in the Army Port Surgeon’s office.
When the war ended, Vickie finally moved to Southern California for good. She married her coach and her winning ways began immediately with the national Tower Diving Championship (10 meter platform), in 1946, 1947 and 1948. In 1948, she won her first springboard national title. She made the team but was not first at the Olympic Trials in either springboard or platform. She was the first woman of oriental ancestry to win an Olympic gold medal in diving. The first man was Korean-American Sammy Lee, who, like Vickie, stands 5’1″ when he stretches. The incredible performances of these two Asian-Americans helped heal the scars of an Olympic-canceling World War, and personified the Olympic revival of individual competition regardless of race, creed or national origin.
@google #GoogleDoodle
: http://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-vicki-draves
: goo.gle/388OQ3U
Abouheif: Crocodile of the Nile
Abdellatief Abouheif (EGY)
Honor Open Water Swimmer
Considered one of the greatest open water swimmers of all time, Abouheif was a superstar in his home country of Egypt. Read his fascinating story here:
In a country where marathon swimming is the premier sport, Abdellatief Abouheif is Egypt’s national hero. Revered and respected, his fellow countrymen bow down to him, streets and buildings are named after him and when the great Abouheif speaks, people listen. To the rest of the world, he is an extraordinary phenomenon.
Very few other marathon swimmers can match the achievements of this amazing long distance swimmer. His death defying distance swims and open water races have been held in most of the major bodies of water in the world and under extreme conditions. For example, in a swim hosted by ISHOF Gold Medallion recipient Jim Moran, Abouheif accomplished the 60 mile Lake Michigan Crossing of 1963, spending 34 hours 45 minutes in the chilly 52 degree F. water. In 1962, he spent over 9 hours in the 84 degree F. water, completing the 23 mile Mar Del Plata swim in Argentina. But like all of his swims, he endures, takes himself to the limit and recovers.
Between 1953 and 1972, he competed in over 68 international races of lengths from 30k to 80 kilometers. In 1964, 1965 and 1968, he was the World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation Champion of a circuit of races held in Canada, United States, Italy and South America. Of these 68 races he most often finished first and in only 12 races did he finish below third place. International competitions were hosted by France, Argentina, Lebanon, England, Yugoslavia, Mexico and Holland.
Abouheif was born in 1929, the eighth of fifteen children and the son of a school teacher and Parliamentary member. He received his secondary education at Eaton and Sandhurst Military Academy in England. He returned to Egypt to serve in the army rising to the rank of colonel. Along the way he learned to play the piano, speak six languages, marry a beautiful Greek opera singer and become the world’s professional swimming champion.
Abouheif’s five foot ten inch frame that weighs between 200 and 240 pounds, is well covered with fat to endure the exposure to cold water. His eating had no rules and he would eat anything that smelled good at the time, which, before a race, could include two whole roast chickens and a quart of orange juice and milk.
He was held in awe by every swimmer on the circuit. If there was ever any doubt as to whether or not a race could be completed, due to weather conditions, Abouheif would erase that doubt and battle the elements to the finish line. No body of water was too difficult a challenge for him, either fresh or salt water. He has crossed or traversed the English Channel, Lac St. John, Capri-Naples, Canadian National Exposition, La Tugue, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, the Nile River, the Seine River and many more. His trademark was a flurry of strokes and a finish sprint that carries him to the finish line to strive with unyielding competitiveness and to endure in the battle with mother nature.
If an emblem were made that represents Abouheif and his feats, it would have a big set of beautiful white teeth amidst a friendly grin and a picture of a huge stomach. He became the greatest marathon swimmer in the history of the sport and set the standards for today’s open water swimmers.
FOR THE RECORD: Abdellatief Abouheif, Honor Open Water Swimmer
World’s Great Marathon Swimmer from 1953-1972;
Longest Distance Swim – 60 miles of Lake Michigan in 34 hours, 45 minutes;
Competed in over 68 International Races between 30km and 80km in length.
1964, ’65 & ’68 World Professional Marathon Swimming Federation Champion.
Famous swims, with first place finishes, include:
1953 – Seine River (Paris) France, 18 miles, 5:46.40;
1954 – St. Nazaire LaBaule, France, 26 miles, 7:41.15;
1955 – English Channel (France to England), 21 miles, 11:44.00;
1955 – St. Nazaire – La Baule, France, 26 miles, 9:32.00;
1956 – Nile River, U.A.R., 42 miles, 17:01.01;
1956 – Ouvers, Oise, France, 11 miles, 4:24-00;
1956 – Seine River (Paris) France, 18 miles, 6:37.50;
1957 – Saida, Beirut, Lebanon, 25 miles, 13:05.00;
1961 – Saida, Beirut, Lebanon, 23 miles, 10:47.00;
1962 – Lake Ohrid, Yugoslavia, 21 miles, 9:27.07;
1963 – Capri, Naples, Italy, 23 miles, (tie) 8:49.35;
1963 – Lake Michigan USA, 60 miles, 34:45.00;
1963 – Toronto (CNE) Ontario, Canada, 15 miles, 7:37.26; 1964 – Capri, Naples, Italy, 23 miles, (tie) 10:43.57;
1964 – Rio Corond, Argentina, 38 miles, 10:38.50; 1964 – Toronto (CNE) Ontario, Canada, 30 miles, 19:00.00;
1965 – Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 10 miles, 5:18.54.2; 1965 – Lac St. Jean, Quebec, Canada, 25 miles, 8:34.35;
1965 – Rio Parana, Argentina, 55 miles, 10:31.41; 1966 – Montreal, Quebec, Canada (30 hr. team race), 251 laps;
1968 – Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada, 28 miles, 9:10.00; 1968 – Molson Sprint, 10:44.08;
1968 – Narragansett, Rhode Island, 15 miles, (tie) 8:11.00; 1969 – Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada, 28 miles, 10 hr.;
1969 – LaTuque, Quebec, Canada, 24 hr. team swim, 62.5 laps.
Felix Grossman, MISHOF Honoree is special. He is One in a Thousand!
When asked why he wanted to join the International Swimming Hall
of Fame’s One in A Thousand Club, Grossman had a story he wanted to share: “My journey to
ISHOF began in 1987. Bob Muir was my diving coach at Williams College,
Williamstown, MA, from 1952 to 1956. He was also to be named as the head coach
of the USA Olympic Swim Team for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the only small
college coach ever to be so honored. In 1956 I placed 15th in the 1-meter and
17th in the 3-meter diving at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships (no
divisions back then; it was just after fire was invented) and took 29th out of
approximately 70 springboard divers at the Olympic Trials in Detroit that
Summer. Obviously, I was not an elite diver, except in the minds of my folks.
In about 1987 I began
working with Carl Samuelson, the Williams swim coach who succeeded Bob, to get
Bob inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He was the only US
Olympic swim coach who was not in the Hall. We worked with Buck Dawson and put
together material establishing that Bob deserved to be there. In 1989 Bob was
inducted and I attended that lovely event. It was my first visit to the Hall
and I was much impressed. The Hall represented the finest in the history of our
sport and those honored to be in it were incredibly deserving. One thing was
clear. Under no circumstances would there ever be a place for a ho-hum,
mediocre but enthusiastic diver such as I in that prestigious environment. I
had been active in Masters Diving for about 12 years at that time and my diving
dreams did not realistically include being in the Hall.
Masters Diving, in
fact Masters sports in general, offers athletes the opportunity to compete
meaningfully and at a high level from in their 20’s into their 90’s and beyond.
To keep at diving for 20, 30, 40 or more
years is a tribute to my love of the sport. It requires a dedication that can
legitimately be described as transcending even that of many Olympic athletes.
Olympic athletes are the best in their sport at the time they are training and
competing. Their ability, talent and training ethic are incredible and awe
inspiring. But in most cases when their Olympic years are over, so is their
active participation in their sport. For Masters athletes the only definable
end of the road is either physical inability or their last breath.
Competing in
Masters Diving has not only provided an outlet for our athletic desires it has
become a medium for athletic excellence, success and national and international
recognition and camaraderie that was, frankly, not available to us when we were
much younger. Many of us have become national champions and even world
champions in our sport; not realistically achievable goals when we were
younger. We love our sport and we are willing and desirous of pursuing it and working
at it for many, many years, well into our 50’s, 60’s, and for some into our
80’s and 90’s. It gives energy to our lives. Frankly, it amazes me that so many
of our great Olympic athletes can walk away from diving as a competitive
recreational sport. Do they love our sport any less than we do? Probably not,
but they sure seem content to leave it behind while we want to love and enjoy
it for year after year, decade after decade.
I am reminded of
what the beautiful Carol McAlister told me when her husband, the great Masters
Diver Bill McAlister was about 84 years old. She said, “You know, Felix, just
about the only thing Bill has to live for these days is our national
championships. His entire life revolves around getting ready for the next
Masters meet.” Bill died in 2000 at 89 years of age – he was a consummate
Masters Diver. He was inducted into ISHOF in 2005.
Which brings me to
the question at hand – why I want to be part of the One-In-A-Thousand campaign
of ISHOF. It is a great honor for me to
be a MISHOF Inductee and I am proud to play whatever small role I can in
securing its future. Do I want to be One-In-A-Thousand? Actually, I hope I will
be One-in-Ten-Thousand.
Those of us who
love the sports of swimming and diving wish good luck to ISHOF and those who
are running it during this critical time in its history. We are delighted to be
able to be a part of the magnificent rebuilding work you are doing.
Join Felix and the One in a
Thousand Club by helping ISHOF on a monthly or one-time basis.
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$10 Monthly Commitment
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$25 Monthly Commitment
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$50 Monthly Commitment
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Make a One-Time Commitment
More about……FELIX GROSSMAN
Felix Grossman, pushing 80, has
been athletically inclined all his adult life. Mountaineering, mountain
biking, backpacking, windsurfing, cross-country and downhill skiing, water
skiing, competitive tennis, and of course, springboard diving.
Grossman, a former diver at
Williams (Mass.) College Class of 1956, has kept his body in peak shape to
compete in top championships all over the world. He was even able to increase
the degree of difficulty of his dives, attempting maneuvers he hadn’t been
capable of in college.
Felix is now in his fifth decade and has competed in 52 U.S.
National Masters Championships. He has won 33 USA Masters Diving titles (gold)
in eight age groups: 40-44 to 75-79 through 2013. He set a world record when he
scored 213.8 points diving in the 70-74 age group, a record which he continues
to hold now in its eighth year.
Grossman has competed in seven FINA Masters World Championships,
winning two gold, six silver, one bronze medal and a 5th and a 7th place. He
has competed in five World Masters Games, winning three gold, three silver,
three bronze, and a fourth place.
In 1987, Felix had both of his severely arthritic hips replaced
and still beat the field of divers in his age group. This was the first time a
diver with two prosthetic hips had won a national championship. In 1992, he won
the FINA Masters World Championships with his two replacement hips. In 1998, he
had both of his arthritic knees replaced. In 2001, he again won the USA Diving
Masters Nationals followed by World Masters Championships in Melbourne winning
with four prosthetic joints, two hips and two knees. In 2002, he was featured
in Sports Illustrated for his prosthetic joint success. Over the years, his prosthetic
advice and recommendations has led to the successful extension of many divers’
careers. They learned success on the board does not have to end with bad
joints.
In 2004, Grossman was presented with the Bicentennial Medal, bestowed
by his alma mater Williams College. “You are an inspiration to the college
divers you train with and to the countless inner-city Los Angeles teenagers you
have encouraged to set high standards for themselves. Your non-profit
organization, Felix Ventures, now works with students at L.A.’s Workman High
School to stretch them physically and academically and to challenge them to
develop work habits that will help them reach their full potential. It has
developed into the school’s largest co-curricular activity, involving each year
more than 150 students, almost all of whom will go on to college.”
Beginning in 1975 and for over 30 years, Felix has conducted
Masters diving meets in his home state of California as well as serving as a
sort of Chaplain, spiritual and motivational spokesperson for the sport.
Felix Grossman was inducted into MISHOF in 2013. He IS “One in a Thousand.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame wants to
know if you are One in a Thousand? We think you are! Show how
special you are and become a member of the International Swimming Hall of
Fame’s “One In A Thousand” Club.
Help keep the International Swimming Hall of Fame moving forward toward a new
vision and museum by joining now!
During these unprecedented times, the ISHOF Board is
calling on every member in the aquatic community to make a small monthly
commitment of support to show how special you are and how special the
International Swimming Hall of Fame is to everyone.
“Our goal is simple. If we get 1,000 people to
simply commit $10, $25 or $50 per month, we will generate enough revenue to go
beyond this Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis.” – Bill Kent – Chairman
of the ISHOF Board
“Those that believe in our vision, mission, and
goals can join us in taking ISHOF into the future and be a part of aquatic
history.” – Brent Rutemiller – CEO and President of ISHOF
Since 1965, ISHOF has been the global focal point
for recording and sharing the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an
essential life-skill, and developing educational programs and events related to
water sports. ISHOF’s vision for the future is to build a new museum and expand
its reach by offering its museum artifacts digitally through a redesigned
website.
The ISHOF Board of Directors is calling on all
members of the aquatics community to make a small monthly commitment to show
their dedication to aquatics and how special the International Swimming Hall of
Fame is to everyone.
About ISHOF Take a Virtual Tour
The International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF)
museum opened its doors to the public in December of 1968 in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. That same year, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) – the
governing body for Olympic aquatic sports – designated the ISHOF museum as the
“Official Repository for Aquatic History”. In 2018, Sports
Publications Inc, publisher of Swimming World Magazine and its
multi-media platforms, merged with ISHOF to expand the museum’s reach and
impact. Today, ISHOF’s vision is to be the global focal point for
recording and sharing the history of aquatics, promoting swimming as an
essential life-skill, and developing educational programs and events related to
water sports. Show your support for the sport of swimming by becoming
a member of ISHOF.
ISHOF Vision Statement
To be the global focal point for recording and sharing the history of aquatics,
promoting swimming as an essential life-skill, and developing educational
programs and events related to water sports.
ISHOF Mission Statement
To collaborate with aquatic organizations worldwide to preserve, educate and
celebrate history, showcase events, share cultures, and increase participation
in aquatic sports.
The International Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc. is
registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, incorporated in the State of
Florida. Contributions to ISHOF are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the
law. ISHOF’s tax identification number is 59-1087179. A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL
REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF
CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR FROM
THE WEBSITE, www.800helpfla.com. REGISTRATION
DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. You can
find out more about us on guidestar.org under International
Swimming Hall of Fame, Inc.
Thank YOU for Celebrating FSPA’s 50th!
Thank YOU for Celebrating FSPA’s 50th!
This week we asked our Members and pool industry professionals to help the FSPA celebrate our 50th Anniversary by providing Florida’s children with a valuable life-skill with a donation to the Florida Swims Foundation.
In the last week we’ve raised:
$12,380
The Bill Kent Family Foundation generously matched ALL donations through this campaign which means we have raised a total of:
$24,760
Together, we have all made a difference in the lives of so many Florida children by providing them with swim lessons!
We are grateful to our Members for 50 years of furthering the Florida pool industry and look forward to the next 50!
There is Still Time to Donate!
All donations made in the month of July will be counted for the campaign!
Click here to make your pledge and send a check
Happy Birthday ERWIN SIESTAS – Honor Pioneer Swimmer !!!!
ERWIN SIETAS (GER)
1992 Honor Pioneer Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1936 silver (200m breaststroke); EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1934 gold (200m breaststroke); WORLD RECORD: 1 (200m breaststroke).
In an Olympic era that was dominated by Japanese breaststrokers, Erwin Sietas of Germany emerged as the greatest European breaststroker of his time. Following in the footsteps of Hall of Famer and fellow countryman Eric Rademacher, Sietas was Germany’s breaststroke champion from 1928 through 1936. Representing Germany in his first Olympics in 1928, Sietas placed fifth in the 200m breaststroke. By 1932 at the Games of Los Angeles, Sietas had moved up to a fourth place finish behind gold and silver medalist Yoshi Tsuruta and Reizo Koike of Japan and bronze medalist Teofilo Yldefonzo of the Philippines. In his final Olympic competition at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Sietas came within four tenths of a second of gold medal winner, Tetsuo Hamuro of Japan to take the silver medal.
Sietas medaled in three European Championships in the 200 meter breaststroke, bronze in 1931, gold in 1934, and silver in 1938. He broke Frenchman Jacques Cartonnet’s two-year world record in 1935 in the 200m breaststroke with a time of 2 minutes 42.4 seconds. He was the only European breaststroker to medal at an Olympics between 1928 and 1952, a 24-year period.
Erwin Sietas was a tall, muscular breaststroker, unlike the short, stocky competitors of his time. But his strong desire and commitment to the sport kept him as one of the world’s great swimmers for the ten-year period from 1928 to 1938.
Erwin was born today, July 24, in the year 1910 and passed away just shy of the age of 79, on July 20, in 1989 in Hamburg, Germany
Happy Birthday MIKE BRUNER !!!
MIKE BRUNER (USA)
1988 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1976 gold (200m butterfly; relay); WORLD RECORDS: 2 (200m butterfly; relay); AMERICAN RECORDS: 2 (1650yd freestyle; 200yd butterfly); WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: 1978 gold (200m butterfly); AAU NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS: 7 (400m, 1500m, 1650yd freestyle; 200m butterfly); NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS: 2 (1650yd freestyle; 200yd butterfly); 1982 Stanford University Athletic Hall of Fame; 1980 J. H. Kiphuth Award; 1980 American Swimmer of the Year.
Mike Bruner was high point winner in both the 1980 Indoor Nationals and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials. He qualified first or second for three events in the Moscow Olympics but never got to swim due to the political boycott. Fortunately he had better luck at the 1976 Montreal Games where his characteristically clean shaven head came away with two gold medals in the 200 butterfly and the 800 meter freestyle relay. This introspective man needed time to think, dream and plan and got this private time between Olympic Games and National Championships…by growing hair. “Hair gave me anonymity,” he said, “I enjoyed my swimming image as a ‘bald Daddy Warbuck head,’ but it was it was nice to hide behind my hair and be myself, too.”
Swimming at Stanford and all over the place with Bill Rose , Bruner won gold medals in twenty major national and world wide meets. Ironically his best year of the six he swam in top competition, was the last, when he was high point in both the indoor and outdoor U.S. Nationals, (1980).
The big question is how could a high mileage distance swimmer stay at it so long. “The hard way,” says Bruner. “I worked hard and long,” We studied what “the best were doing and then tried to top that in some way during his workouts,” said Coach Rose. “Mike had the ability to make practice into games with his intelligence and imagination. That’s it. He made himself the best and stayed up there through a combination of working, dreaming and playing winning games.” Rose as a coach kept it interesting by constantly changing workouts and figuring out how everybody else was going to swim the races. For this coach-swimmer relationship, Mike was first, last and always his own man.
Happy Birthday CATHY FERGUSON !!!
CATHY FERGUSON (USA)
1978 Honor Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1964 gold (100m backstroke; 4x100m medley relay); WORLD RECORDS: 4; AMERICAN RECORDS: 7; NATIONAL AAU Titles: 10; “World Swimmer of the Year”: 1965 (100m, 200m backstroke).
It was the final of the 100m backstroke in the Tokyo Olympics. There were six World Record breakers at the start of the race — Linda Ludgrove and Jill Norfolk (Great Britain, Sata Tanaka (Japan), Christine Caron (France), Ginny Duenkel and Cathy Ferguson (USA). Only one could win. It was Cathy Ferguson, backstroker supreme, but also capable of a fine Individual Medley or a Freestyle Relay leg to help coach Peter Daland’s Los Angeles Athletic Club win a National Championship.
Happy Birthday IRENE GUEST !! Honor Pioneer Swimmer and 1920 Olympian
IRENE GUEST (USA)
1990 Honor Pioneer Swimmer
FOR THE RECORD: OLYMPIC GAMES: 1920 gold (relay), silver (100m freestyle).
Irene Guest, also known by her married name, Irene Loog, was a Philadelphia born, American Olympic Champion and World Record Holder. She represented the United States as a 19-year old and had either the good fortune or the misfortune of swimming on the same U.S. Olympic team (1920) with the all-time great Ethelda Bleibtrey. Bleibtrey won everything, which left Guest with a silver medal in the 100 meter freestyle (1:17.0), but a gold medal in the 400 meter “team race” (relay) in the Olympic and world’s record time of 5:11.6. The team consisted of Frances Cowells Schroh, Honorees Margaret Woodbridge, Bleibtrey and Guest, pictured below. Irene swam for the Philadelphia Meadowbrook Club and Temple University.
Irene was born on today, July 22, in the brand new year of 1900.
Happy Birthday LYLE DRAVES !!!
LYLE DRAVES (USA)
1989 Honor Coach
FOR THE RECORD: Lyle Draves was the first pure diving coach developing 3 Olympic Champions: Vicki Manalo Draves (his wife), Pat McCormick, Sue Gossick. Vicki was the 1st woman to win the Platform and Springboard at the same Olympics (1948). McCormick followed by becoming the first double, double Olympic gold winner (1952, 1956). Gossick won the Springboard in 1968. Draves coached female divers to 12 Olympic medals and 35 National Championships. His Olympic silver medalists include Paula Jean Myers and Zoe Ann Olsen, each of whom took a bronze. His divers Olympic medal count reads 7 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.
Lyle Draves was America’s first great diving coach beginning an era when diving coaches could specialize in divers and not coach swimmers too, or vice versa. He was a Hollywood film editor and his show biz background has helped his coaching or again, vice versa since Draves was diving in and then producing, top rated diving water shows before he became a film editor.
An Iowa farm boy, Draves met Fred Cady at a swimming meet in Iowa. Fred invited him to California where Lyle began coaching divers at the Lido Club at the famed Ambassador Hotel and at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. One of his first pupils was a 12 year old girl named Zoe Ann Olsen. Next, they both moved to the Athens Athletic Club in Oakland where he met Vicki Manalo. He later married Vicki, who was given away by 1948 and 1952 platform winner, Sammy Lee. Vicki and Zoe Ann took first and second off the springboard in the 1948 London Olympics. Vicki became the first woman diver ever to win gold medals in both tower and springboard at the same Olympics, narrowly beating Zoe Ann on her last springboard dive. After the Olympics, Vicki and Lyle toured the United States and Europe with Buster Crabbe and Dick Smith.
They quit barnstorming to raise 4 boys, all divers. Lyle returned to his coaching, first at tennis champion Jack Kramer’s Athletic Club and then at UCLA. His Olympic medal winning divers, in addition to Vicki and Zoe Ann, include Hall of Famers Pat McCormick, Sue Gossick, and Paula Jean Myers. The Draves boys are Acapulco and World Champion high divers who have followed the show biz side of their father’s heritage doing high and trick dives in such places a Magic Mountain, Sea World and Marineland.
ISHOF Honoree: Who was George “DAD” Center?
George “Dad” Center, 1991 Honor Pioneer Coach
ISHOF will be posting some of it’s older, maybe lesser known, but GREAT Honorees this summer to tell their fabulous stories and share their lives. Special thanks to the Outrigger Canoe Club in Hawaii and Marilyn K, the Historical Manager for the use of this article. We hope you learn a bit more about the tremendous people and history of our great sport!
Who Was “Dad” Center?
No history of the Outrigger Canoe Club would be complete without inclusion of the name of George David “Dad” Center. He was one of the men who made the Club what it is today. He was a leader and a teacher. But to many of the boys and girls who later matured into Olympic champions, business leaders, and Club stalwarts, he was affectionately known as “Dad”.
Coach, Club Captain, Director and friend of the youth of our Club, he encouraged physical fitness, team effort, sportsmanship and loyalty in all. Although most often known as a swimming coach, he was thought by many to be the “father of canoe racing” as he tried to revive the sport in the 1930s.
“Dad” was born at Kipahulu (Maui) on Christmas Day in 1886 during the reign of King Kalakaua. On the death of Kalakaua, “Dad” became a subject of Queen Liliuokalani. Next, a citizen of the Provisional Government and Republic of Hawaii with Sanford Ballard Dole as President. The American Flag went up over Hawaii in July of 1898 and “Dad” became a citizen of the United States and the Territory of Hawaii.
Educated in Hawaii and on the Mainland “Dad” distinguished himself as a school boy athlete in many sports. In his active athletic days “Dad” represented the Myrtle Boat Club in swimming, rowing and other sports. During the first half of the 20th century “Dad” was a swimmer, surfboarder, outrigger canoe paddler, canoe sailor, body surfer, fisherman, oarsman, yachtsman, volleyball player, golfer, basketball player, soccer player, track and field man, football player and expert participant in other athletic activities.
“Dad” missed becoming a charter member of the Outrigger Canoe Club by only a few weeks after it came into being in May of 1908, joining in June 1908. His first athletic endeavor for the Outrigger Canoe Club was in July 1908 in the Big Surf Contest (board) as the U. S. Atlantic Great White Fleet looked on.
To even list the contests in which “Dad” Center represented the Outrigger Canoe Club and the Myrtle Boat Club would cover pages. He was a familiar figure in early Regatta Days in Honolulu Harbor and at Pearl Harbor when he rowed for the Myrtles; but he was even better known later as a representative of the Outrigger Club in many sports, particularly in surfing events sponsored by the Club.
OCC Canoe Racing Team circa 1909
As early as Regatta Day of 1907 “Dad” was stroke of the Myrtle Freshman Crew which defeated Healani. On Regatta Day of 1909, “Dad” swung an efficient paddle (with Rusty Brown, Harry Steiner, Willy “Knut” Cottrell, Edmund Melanphy and Vincent “Zen” Genoves), in Prince Kuhio’s canoe Aa, as it won the six-paddle canoe contest for the Outrigger Canoe Club. And while “Dad” had many early athletic thrills, one of his greatest was to captain the Maile-Ilima Soccer Team which won the championship of the Hawaiian Association Football League in 1909.
Babe Dowsett, Miss Beatrice, Dad Center, Helen Martin
“Dad” Center coached swimming teams as early as 1912 when Duke Kahanamoku went to the Olympics to return to Hawaii a world champion. Others like Sam, David and Sargent Kahanamoku, Buster Crabbe, Gay Harris and Mariechen Wehselau Jackson followed in Duke’s footsteps.
Although his interest was primarily in swimming, outrigger canoeing was his personal love, and many a day he spent taking youngsters, tourists and all who could wield a paddle out to the surf in his koa canoe Miss Veedol.
“Dad” represented the Club in about every sport it took part in. Captain, coach, active-athlete, manager and adviser, “Dad” served on the Board of Directors of the Outrigger Canoe Club for many years. He was as much a part of Waikiki and the Outrigger as is the beach itself.
Dad Center with crewmates.
“Dad,” who shared with Duke Kahanamoku the honor of being the Outrigger Club’s “most honored member,” realized that Duke was a “coming champ” about 1910. As “Dad” said later, “I was swimming anchor on the Myrtles in a swimming relay race in Honolulu Harbor against Healani. Duke swam the final lap against me. Duke won by a touch. We knew then that we had a champion swimmer.” And, on August 12, 1911, the day that Duke (of the Hui Nalu) broke world-records in Honolulu Harbor, “Dad” swam second to Duke in the 220-yard race.
“Dad” was one of those who organized the Hawaiian AAU in 1911. Later, he served many years as its president, ending that service about 1939.
“Dad” was swimming coach at Punahou for about thirty years. He also coached water polo teams of Hawaii.
“Dad” coached and ran on the Outrigger track team as early as 1919; organized (with Dr. Paul Withington) and played on our football team; coached the U.S. Olympic Swimming team in 1920, was coach of the Outrigger swimming team and took a team to Japan in the early 1920s.
After a slate of officers were elected to the Club in 1917 who favored an athletic club to a social club, “Dad” was responsible for recruiting and forming winning football, basketball, baseball, volleyball and swimming teams, as well as the surfing and canoe racing that were the Club’s heritage.
“Dad” was also credited with starting the sport of sand volleyball in 1915 on the sandy beach in front of the Outrigger Canoe Club to entertain Club members on a day when there was no surf. He brought out the volleyball, strung the net, and the rest is, as they say, history. Outrigger members competed against each other for many years due to lack of competition, developing intense rivalries in open men and women and mixed tournaments. A century later, sand volleyball is played at high school, college and professional levels, and has been an Olympic sport since 1992.
1920 Hawaii team to Olympic tryouts: Lundy Lunger, Helen Moses, Duke Kahanamoku, Dad Center, Warren Kealoha, Pua Kealoha, Bill Harris
George David Center was selected to manage and coach the Hawaii swimmers who were picked to go to the Mainland for the Olympic Trials at Chicago in July, 1920. Eight swimmers won the right to be members of the team to enter the trials. They were: Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, Ludy Langer, Warren and Pua Kealoha, William W. Harris, Jr., John Kelii, Harold (Stubby) Kruger and Helen Moses. They sailed from Honolulu in June of 1920. “Dad” liked to tell about this wonderful trip. “Duke was a bigger attraction than ever. People demanded to see him at every place the train stopped—even at small towns—so that Americans could have a glimpse of their famous world champion. People would come right into the train car and get Duke out of his bunk so they could get a peek at him.”
A seven-swimmer team emerged from the Chicago trials to compete on the U.S. Olympic team—Duke, Wild Bill Harris, Warren and Pua Kealoha, Ludy Langer, Stubby Kruger and Helen Moses. They sailed for Europe aboard the SS Princess Matoika. Among the 1,500 athletes parading before King Albert of Belgium, Cardinal Mercier, the clerical war-hero, and other world-known notables were “Dad” Center and his comrades. “Dad” had been appointed coach of the entire American swimming team. The Hawaii swimmers did well, bringing home many medals. After shaking hands with King Albert and his Queen, “Dad” and his fellow Americans from Hawaii moved on to visit Brussels, Paris, London and other parts of the world.
Duke Kahanamoku and Dad Center 1920 Olympic Games
Receiving medals on their return to New York, the Hawaii team, on November 9, 1920, was greeted with a royal aloha welcome at Honolulu. During the team’s tour it took part in twenty-six contests and brought back fifty-nine medals and other trophies of their victories at Antwerp, Paris, London, New York, Chicago, Detroit, San Francisco and way-points. The Honolulu Chamber of Commerce honored the swimmers with a luncheon and each swimmer received a gold medal.
In 1926, “Dad” led a Hawaii swimming team to the Sesquicentennial at Philadelphia. This year “Dad” coached and managed another swimming team that visited Japan. In the following year (1927), “Dad” was coach and manager of a second American swimming team that journeyed to Japan.
Dad Center
In September of 1927 “Dad” Center left Honolulu (as the representative of the Pan-Pacific Union) to urge the organization of a Pan-Pacific Olympiad of Sports, with invitations from the Pan-Pacific Union to have the first meet held in Honolulu in 1929 or 1930. Before sailing, “Dad” told the Pan-Pacific Union: “I believe in swimming as one of the greatest sports in the world and a great developer of mankind, and that is why I am interested in having as many of the countries on the Pacific get together every two years in an athletic contest like this, to develop our swimmers so that we can build up a team to represent Hawaii and America in the Olympics every four years.”
“Dad” had much to do with the creation and dedication of the First World War Memorial (Natatorium) at Waikiki in 1927. Duke Kahanamoku returned from California for this dedication and declared, “I can see Dad Center’s hand in it,” and that “with such men as Dad Center there is no reason why Hawaii should not hold a high place in the swimming world.”
“Dad” Center coached the Hawaiian swimmers who participated in the Olympic trials at Detroit in 1928. Only Buster Crabbe qualified for the American team to compete at Amsterdam (Holland). Duke Kahanamoku did not try for the team.
“Dad” was also the person responsible for the Club acquiring its famed koa canoes the Leilani and Kakina in 1934. He was an employee of Theo H. Davies and had been sent to Kona to oversee the take-over of a bankrupt lumber yard. He found the canoes sitting in a shed there and asked the Club if they wanted them. The Club agreed and began a fund-raising campaign to purchase them. “Dad” loaded them on a barge and they arrived in Honolulu Harbor along with a third canoe, the Malie (later renamed Malia). OCC chose the Leilani and Kakina to take home, and “Dad” took the Malie home and kept it in his yard until Waikiki Surf Club was formed and they bought the canoe from him years later.
Dad Center stroking.
“Dad” was known as the “father of canoe racing”. It was through his efforts and others that the 1933-1935 canoe races in Kona were held, giving canoe racing a jump start after it had nearly died out in the 1920s and early 1930s. He coached the OCC girl’s crew which entered. Local canoe races started up after the Kona races, giving rise to Outrigger’s 4th of July races in the late 30s and the Walter J. Macfarlane Regatta on July 4, 1943.
All his life “Dad” was the friend and teacher of thousands of boys and girls of Hawaii—particularly those who wanted to learn how to swim and surf. He could be seen nearly every day at the Outrigger Canoe Club, where he enjoyed volleyball and giving the kids a helping hand around the canoes and surfboards.
On May 1, 1950, “Dad” after almost fifty years with Theo. H. Davies & Co., Ltd., retired with appropriate ceremonies. He retired from business but “Dad” never retired from helping those who wanted and needed aid on the beach at Waikiki.
To all who had the honor and pleasure of knowing him, “Dad” Center is remembered as a shining example of what the Outrigger Canoe Club stood for. A quiet, modest man, “Dad” had the leadership that inspired all of his charges to do their utmost, not only for the Club and themselves, but for “Dad”; and for them the greatest reward for winning was a “well done” from him.
The Outrigger Canoe Club didn’t just happen. Dedicated men of “Dad” Center’s ilk have played important roles in the success of our Club.
“Dad” passed away in October 1962.
In 1979 fellow Winged “O”s Mark Buck and Tom Conner and Archie Kaaua believed that women were able to paddle longer distance races and started the first woman’s long-distance canoe race. They named it for the man who contributed so much to Outrigger sports: the George “”Dad” Center Memorial Canoe Race. The initial race course was from Hawaii Kai to the Outrigger Canoe Club Beach and was won by the OCC women. The course has been extended and the race now starts at Kailua Beach Park and ends at the Outrigger. The race is held every August and draws nearly 50 entries each year.
There are three perpetual trophies for the race: one for the first place finisher, the first koa crew to finish, the first junior crew, and the first masters crew. The trophies may be viewed in the Trophy Display Case in the OCC Lobby. Naming the race for “Dad” Center was a fitting tribute to the man who meant so much to the men and women athletes of the Outrigger Canoe Club.
“Dad” Center remains a fixture of the Outrigger Canoe Club. His photo and paddle are placed prominently behind the bar in the Ka Mo`i Boathouse. Members, old and young, toast him on a daily basis to say thanks for making the Outrigger Canoe Club the sports club that it is today.
