Robert "Bob" Martin Horn (November 3, 1931 – January 11, 2019) was a collegiate swimmer and Water Polo Player for Fullerton College and Long Beach State, who as the first full-time UCLA swimming and Water Polo Coach from around 1964-1991 led the Bruins to 3 NCAA Water Polo Championships in 1969, 1970–72, and 7 Water Polo PAC-8 league championships from 1964-1971.[2] He represented the United States in Water Polo as an outstanding goalie in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne and the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.[3][4]
 As UCLA Coach in 1982 | ||||||||||||
| Biographical details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | November 3, 1931 Minneapolis, Minnesota | |||||||||||
| Died | January 11, 2019 (aged 87) Manhattan Beach, California | |||||||||||
| Alma mater | Fullerton College Long Beach State, B.A. M.A. | |||||||||||
| Playing career | ||||||||||||
| 1950-52 1957-58 | Fullerton College Long Beach State | |||||||||||
| Position(s) | Swimming, Water Polo | |||||||||||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | ||||||||||||
| 1959-1965 | Cal State Long Beach Head Swim and W. P. Coach | |||||||||||
| 1964-1990 | UCLA Bruins Swim and W.P. Coach | |||||||||||
| 1968, 1972 | U.S. Olympic Water Polo Teams Coaching staff | |||||||||||
| Head coaching record | ||||||||||||
| Overall | 487-188-8 | |||||||||||
| Accomplishments and honors | ||||||||||||
| Championships | ||||||||||||
| 3 NCAA Water Polo Championships 7 PAC-8 League Championships (UCLA) | ||||||||||||
| Awards | ||||||||||||
| 1965- NCAA Water Polo Coach of the Year 1972 - NCAA Swimming Coach of the Year.[1] '76 U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame '99 UCLA Hall of Fame '88 Long Beach State College Hall of Fame Fullerton Community College Hall of Fame | ||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||
Horn was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 3, 1931. Around 1935, he moved with his mother and older brother to Whittier, California. He attended Whittier High School, known as Whittier Union High School when he attended, and as a sophomore competed with their water polo team. Graduating Whittier in June 1949, he played in Orchestra as a violinist.[5] He competed with the Whittier Swim Club water polo team when they won the 1950 National AAU Water Polo Championships.[6] During his High School years, Horn played Water Polo from 1947-1949.[1][4] A nationally recognized program, the Whittier Swim club water polo team won the 1949 and 1950 AAU National Championships and the 1951 team was a runner-up.[7]
Collegiate era athletics
editHorn went to Fullerton College from 1950-52 where he participated on both swim and Water Polo Teams, and helped lead the team to a Southern California Championship in the 1951 school year. At Fullerton, he was coached by International Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Smith, who was an Officer in the Naval Reserves, coached at the Naval Air Station at Los Alamitos where Horn played Water Polo, and coached the U.S. Water Polo teams at the Pan American Games in 1955 where Horn would play and medal.[8] Playing for the Fullerton-Whittier Swim Club water polo team, he attended the Water Polo Olympic trials at New York's Astoria Park Pool in July 1952.[9][10]
After attending Fullerton College, Horn served in the Naval Air Force during the Korean War in the early 1950s. He trained with and played water polo during his Naval service with the U.S. Olympic team, preparing for the 1956 Olympics. Completing his naval service, he then attended California State University, Long Beach for the 1957-58 year where he played water polo, was named an All-American, and won the student athlete of the year award. In 1957-58, while Horn was playing Water Polo at CSU Long Beach, the team won the PAC Conference Championship.[4] He completed both a B.A. and Masters from Cal State Long Beach around 1958.[1]
'56, '60 Olympics
editHe was a member and Captain of the American water polo team that placed fifth in the 1956 Olympic tournament, where he played five matches as goalkeeper. Four years later he finished seventh with the American team in the 1960 Olympic tournament, competing in four matches as goalkeeper. Horn served as captain of the U.S. Water Polo Team at the 1955 Pan American Games, as captain of the 1956 Olympic squad and as a member of the 1960 Olympic team at the Rome Games.[3] He was considered at the time to be America's greatest Water Polo goalie.[11][12] He played Water Polo at the Naval Air Station at Los Alamitos, California, where he was also stationed for a period during his Naval service.[4]
Swimming and Water Polo Coach
editAfter completing his career as a college athlete, Horn first coached at Cerritos Jr. College, a community college in Norwalk, California, for two years from 1959-1961, where he led the team to both Metropolitan and Western State Conference Championships.[2][1][4] He led the swimming and Water Polo program at Cal State Long Beach from 1959-1965, where the team won the 1959 PAC Conference Championship.[3][1]
Coaching UCLA
editHe began his position as UCLA's first full-time Aquatics coach, managing both the Swim and Water Polo teams from around 1965-1973, then coaching only Water Polo from 1973-1991. In his UCLA coaching tenure roughly between 1964-1991, he led the Bruins to 3 NCAA Water Polo Championships, one in 1969 and two between 1971-1972, and 7 Water Polo PAC-8 league championships from 1964-1971. In 1988, his UCLA team won the Club National Championship, the first time a team consisting entirely of collegiate athletes won the Club National Title. He is still considered the UCLA coach with the most number of wins, as he won 50 consecutive Water Polo matches and coached four undefeated teams between 1964-1968. Horn's 1969 team, went 19-0 to become the first NCAA champions in the history of American Water Polo.[13] During his coaching career, he mentored 36 first team All Americans, and 26 Olympians in swimming and water polo.[3][1][2] Improving opportunities for women's swimming, he allowed diver Susie Kinkade to join UCLA's men's swim team around 1973 when the school had yet to develop a separate women's program.[14]
Horn was a part of the coaching staff for the 1968 and 1972 U.S. Olympic Water Polo teams. The 1972 Olympic team he helped coach in Munich won a team bronze medal. He also helped coach the U.S. team for two Pan American games and later 2 World University Games.[1]
Horn enjoyed lifeguarding, riding horseback, surfing, waterskiing, travelling, and spending time with family. He was musical, and played both the ukelele and violin. In his retirement, he lived for a period in a cabin in the Sierras.[1]
He died on January 11, 2019 after a long illness. He was survived by his wife Dorothy, five children, and seven grandchildren.[1]
Honors
editAs an athlete in Water Polo, he was an All California state selection in 1957-1958 during his time at Long Beach State University. In 1977, he was inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame.[15][16] In 1965, he was recognized as the “NCAA Water Polo Coach of the Year” and in 1972 as the “NCAA Swimming Coach of the Year”.[1] He was also a Hall of Fame member of the University of California at Los Angeles, Long Beach State College, and Fullerton Community College.[1] Horn served as President of the Southern California Water Polo & Swimming Association.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Daily Breeze, Bob Horn Obituary". dailybreeze.com. Daily Breeze. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Olympedia Bio, Bob Horn". Olympedia. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Swimming World, Randazzo, Michael, Bob Horn, U.S. Olympic and UCLA Swimming and Water Polo Coach Passes Away at 87". Swimming World. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Water Polo Hall of Fame, Robert M. Horn Biography". Water Polo Hall of Fame.
- ^ "Retiring Superintendant Awarded Unusual Honor", The Whittier News, Whittier, California, 4 June 1949, pg. 1
- ^ "Whittier Water Polo Team Leaves Sunday", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, 23 August 1951, pg. 62
- ^ "Whittier Water Poloists Need Help to Make Trip", The Whittier News, Whittier, California, 16 June 1952, pg. 1
- ^ "Winning Teams", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, 8 December 1957, pg. 257
- ^ "Whittier Water Poloists Leave", The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, 30 June 1952, pg. 59
- ^ "Fullerton College Sports Hall of Fame, Robert Horn" (PDF). Fullerton College Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "UCLA Water Polo, Bob Horn Biography". UCLA Sports.
- ^ "Grossbard, Adam, Former UCLA water polo coach, Long Beach State All-American Bob Horn dead at 87". Los Angeles Daily News.
- ^ "Walters, Tanner, Dec. 6, 2015, A Look Back at UCLA's History of Perfection". Daily Bruin. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Guardabascio, Mike, January 14, 2019, Obituary: Aquatics Legend Bob Horn Passes". 562.org. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Robert M Horn (1977)". usawaterpolo.org. USA Water Polo. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ "Hall of Fame Inductees". usawaterpolo.org. USA Water Polo. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
