James Counsilman
Encyclopedia
James Edward "Doc" Counsilman (December 28, 1920 in Birmingham, Alabama
– January 4, 2004 in Bloomington, Indiana
) was an Olympic and hall-of-fame swimming
coach from the United States. He is perhaps best known for being the head swimming coach Indiana University
(IU) from 1957-1990. He served as head coach for the USA's swim teams to the 1964
and 1976
Olympics; and was inducted as an Honors Coach into the International Swimming Hall of Fame
in 1976.
under coach Mike Peppe; and while in college set world-bests in the 50 and 300 yard breaststrokes. During World War II, Counsilman served in the United States Army Air Forces
in Italy as pilot of a B-24 Liberator with the 455th Bomb Group
of the Fifteenth Air Force
.
Post Ohio State, Counsilman went on to earn a masters degree at the University of Illinois (1947), where he also served as an assistant coach, before pursuing doctorate degree in physiology from the University of Iowa
(1951). Following getting his doctorate, the now-dubbed "Doc" began teaching and coaching at Cortland State University, where he would remain from 1952-57 leading into his time at Indiana University.
(1968–1973), and 20 consecutive (1961–1980) and 23 total Big Ten Conference titles. While at IU, Doc coached over 60 Olympic swimmers, including Mark Spitz
,
He served as the Men's Head Coach of the USA's swimming team at the 1964 Olympics
(where the USA men won 9-of-11 events) and at 1976 Olympics
(USA men won 12-of-13 events).
In 1961, he was named Coach of the Year by the American Swimming Coaches Association.
In 1964, he led the Indiana team to its sixth straight USA national championships (AAU
at the time).
In 1979, at the age of 58, he became the then-oldest person to swim the English Channel
.
Swimmers who swam for Counsilman include: Jim Montgomery, Gary Hall
, John Kinsella
, Mike Troy, Charles Hickcox
, Tom Hickcox, Don McKenzie
, Chet Jastremski
, Tom Stock, George Breen
, Mike Stamm, Alan Somers, Ted Stickles
, Larry Schulhof, John Murphy
, Bill Heiss, Fred Tyler
and John Waldman.
Counsilman died in Bloomington, Indiana in 2004, after many years of suffering the torments of Parkinson's disease
.
He has been inducted into various Hall of Fames, including: the International Swimming Hall of Fame
(1976), IU Athletics (2001), the American Swimming Coaches Association and SUNY Cortland (2005).
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
– January 4, 2004 in Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
) was an Olympic and hall-of-fame swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
coach from the United States. He is perhaps best known for being the head swimming coach Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
(IU) from 1957-1990. He served as head coach for the USA's swim teams to the 1964
United States at the 1964 Summer Olympics
The United States competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. 346 competitors, 267 men and 79 women, took part in 159 events in 19 sports....
and 1976
United States at the 1976 Summer Olympics
The United States competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. 396 competitors, 278 men and 118 women, took part in 189 events in 19 sports.-Medalists:...
Olympics; and was inducted as an Honors Coach into the International Swimming Hall of Fame
International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around...
in 1976.
Pre-IU
Counsilman was born in Birmingham, Alabama, but grew up and learned to swim in St. Louis, Missouri. He swam collegiately for the Ohio State UniversityOhio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
under coach Mike Peppe; and while in college set world-bests in the 50 and 300 yard breaststrokes. During World War II, Counsilman served in the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
in Italy as pilot of a B-24 Liberator with the 455th Bomb Group
455th Air Expeditionary Wing
The 455th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force Air Combat Command unit. It is one of two AEWs in Afghanistan, presently assigned to Bagram Airfield. Most of the wing personnel are located at the Air Force Village known as Camp Cunningham.The wing's primary mission is to...
of the Fifteenth Air Force
Fifteenth Air Force
The Fifteenth Expeditionary Mobility Task Force is one of two EMTFs assigned to the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . It is headquartered at Travis Air Force Base, California....
.
Post Ohio State, Counsilman went on to earn a masters degree at the University of Illinois (1947), where he also served as an assistant coach, before pursuing doctorate degree in physiology from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
(1951). Following getting his doctorate, the now-dubbed "Doc" began teaching and coaching at Cortland State University, where he would remain from 1952-57 leading into his time at Indiana University.
Tenure at IU (1957-1990)
At IU, Counsilman coached the men's team to 6 consecutive NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving ChampionshipsNCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships
The NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships are college championship events in the USA. The event is held annually, and the NCAA hosts Swimming & Diving Championships in each of its three Divisions ....
(1968–1973), and 20 consecutive (1961–1980) and 23 total Big Ten Conference titles. While at IU, Doc coached over 60 Olympic swimmers, including Mark Spitz
Mark Spitz
Mark Andrew Spitz is a retired American swimmer. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement only surpassed by Michael Phelps who won eight golds at the 2008 Olympics....
,
He served as the Men's Head Coach of the USA's swimming team at the 1964 Olympics
Swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics
At the 1964 Summer Olympics, eighteen swimming events were contested, ten for men and eight for women. There was a total of 405 participants from 42 countries competing...
(where the USA men won 9-of-11 events) and at 1976 Olympics
Swimming at the 1976 Summer Olympics
The 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montréal, Canada, 26 events in swimming were contested. There was a total of 471 participants from 51 countries competing.-Medal table:-Men's events:-Women's events:-References:...
(USA men won 12-of-13 events).
In 1961, he was named Coach of the Year by the American Swimming Coaches Association.
In 1964, he led the Indiana team to its sixth straight USA national championships (AAU
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
at the time).
In 1979, at the age of 58, he became the then-oldest person to swim the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
.
Swimmers who swam for Counsilman include: Jim Montgomery, Gary Hall
Gary Hall, Sr.
Gary Wayne Hall, Sr. is an American ophthalmologist who practiced in Phoenix, Arizona who became famous during the late 1960s and the 1970s, as an Olympic swimmer for the United States....
, John Kinsella
John Kinsella (swimmer)
John Pitann Kinsella was a standout at Illinois swimming powerhouse Hinsdale Central High School in the late 1960s. As a 16 year-old, he was the silver medalist in the 1500 meter freestyle at the 1968 Summer Olympics, finishing second to U.S. teammate Mike Burton.Kinsella was a member of the gold...
, Mike Troy, Charles Hickcox
Charles Hickcox
Charles Buchanan Hickcox was an American swimmer who won four medals at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona. He won gold in both the 200 and 400 Individual Medleys , gold as part of the world record setting U.S...
, Tom Hickcox, Don McKenzie
Don McKenzie (swimmer)
Don McKenzie was an American swimmer and olympic champion. He competed at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, where he received a gold medal in 100 m breaststroke, and in 4 × 100 m medley relay...
, Chet Jastremski
Chet Jastremski
Chester Andrew Jastremski is a former American Olympic swimmer who won the bronze medal in the 200 meter Breaststroke at the 1964 Tokyo Games. He was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1977. He also swam with the Indiana Hoosiers swim team...
, Tom Stock, George Breen
George Breen
George Breen is a retired freestyle swimmer from the United States, who has won four Olympic medals in his career. Breen twice broke the world record in the 1500 m freestyle....
, Mike Stamm, Alan Somers, Ted Stickles
Edward Stickles
Edward "Ted" Stickles was an American swimmer. He set many swimming records and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1995. He was inducted into the Indiana University Hall of Fame in 1998.Stickles swam with Doc Councilman's Indiana University swim team from 1962 to 1965...
, Larry Schulhof, John Murphy
John Murphy (swimmer)
John Joseph Murphy is a former backstroke and freestyle swimmer from the United States, who won the gold medal in the men's 4×100m freestyle relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. At the same tournament, the 19-year old also collected a bronze medal in the 100m backstroke.-...
, Bill Heiss, Fred Tyler
Fred Tyler
Frederick Daniel Tyler is an American swimmer and aquatics coach, winner of several high school and college championships and a gold medal in the 4x200 meter freestyle relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.-High school and Indiana University:Fred Tyler began his high school swimming...
and John Waldman.
Post IU
Doc Counsilman is known as one of the greatest swimming coaches of all time, and a known innovator in the sport. He was the pioneer of underwater filming, and even watching swimmers underwater, as can be seen in Royer Pool at Indiana University today.Counsilman died in Bloomington, Indiana in 2004, after many years of suffering the torments of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
.
He has been inducted into various Hall of Fames, including: the International Swimming Hall of Fame
International Swimming Hall of Fame
The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of swimming in the United States and around...
(1976), IU Athletics (2001), the American Swimming Coaches Association and SUNY Cortland (2005).
Selected List of Publications
- The Science of Swimming, by James E. Counsilman, Prentice Hall, Juni 1968, ISBN 978-0137953851
- The Complete Book of Swimming , by James E. Counsilman, Atheneum, 1977, ISBN 978-0689105302
- Competitive Swimming Manual for Coaches and Swimmers, by James E. Counsilman, Counsilman Co., 1977, ISBN 978-0253313959
- The New Science of Swimming, by James E. Counsilman and Brian E. Counsilman, Prentice Hall, April 1994, ISBN 978-0130998880