Shocked!

Skip, Thanks for the link and so many others you have posted as the de facto historian of swimming. As a young high schooler in southern Cal when Rose, Konrads, Larsen and many other great swimmers were at USC, they were my idols.

Looking back, it seems that at the time many top swimmers emigrated to CA for the level of competition and great coaching, and of course these swimmers helped raise the level of competition. Peter Daland and George Haines are as legendary as John Wooden, but there were other coaches helping fill out our Olympic teams. Some outstanding coaches of that time and era that I remember, Don Gambril, Pete Accardy, Kris Kristianson (sp?), Bob Horn and Monte Nitzkowski (water polo), Jim Schultz, Urho Saari. They, and many others, all contributed to a great competitive climate and the advancement of our sport.

Having watched a bit of "Ride The Wild Surf" on TCM, I noticed in the credits that one of the leads was played by Murray Rose. When I relayed this trivia tidbit to a couple of Masters swim coaches that evening, I was shocked that they didn't know who Murray Rose was! Am I just an old geez for even bringing this up?Have some faith, love and seaweed, my gentle hawaiian old geez of the sea. A least one youngish (46) guy knows of the legend. Any swim geek, especially any mid-distance to distance geek, should google him if they don't.

I have to be honest, I had to google him but I do recognize his picture. Thank you for sharing this post though. I generally learn better when people bring up things in conversation like this. Once I've looked the person up and see how great they are it sticks in my mind better. Now I am going to have to go watch the movie. :)

Sadly, Murray passed away this last year. He battled cancer with all the grace and dignity he displayed as a competitor.

" Now I am going to have to go watch the movie. :) Please don't spend any money on the movie. The plot sucks and the surfing is prehistoric.

Having watched a bit of "Ride The Wild Surf" on TCM, I noticed in the credits that one of the leads was played by Murray Rose. When I relayed this trivia tidbit to a couple of Masters swim coaches that evening, I was shocked that they didn't know who Murray Rose was! Am I just an old geez for even bringing this up? No, you are not. I am linking the responses from masters swimmers when Murray passed way last year. forums.usms.org/showthread.php

Skip, Thanks for the link and so many others you have posted as the de facto historian of swimming. As a young high schooler in southern Cal when Rose, Konrads, Larsen and many other great swimmers were at USC, they were my idols. Swimming for Daland in the early 80's included eduction about past greats and occasional introductions. I met Larsen and Buster Crabbe.

Still, I will chase down the next running of the movie to remember it.

Looking back, it seems that at the time many top swimmers emigrated to CA for the level of competition and great coaching, and of course these swimmers helped raise the level of competition. Peter Daland and George Haines are as legendary as John Wooden, but there were other coaches helping fill out our Olympic teams. Some outstanding coaches of that time and era that I remember, Don Gambril, Pete Accardy, Kris Kristianson (sp?), Bob Horn and Monte Nitzkowski (water polo), Jim Schultz, Urho Saari. They, and many others, all contributed to a great competitive climate and the advancement of our sport. For those who missed it, Pete Accardy passed away last weekend. The Cal State Northridge athletics website has a press release: gomatadors.com/.../7162013_Accardy_Pete Thanks for mentioning him; he definitely belongs on your list of influential Southern California coaches.