William Melvin Smith Jr. (May 16, 1924 – February 8, 2013) was an American former competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in four events. He was one of the most successful competitive swimmers in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. Smith was born in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, of mixed Irish and

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

ancestry. He attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

under Hall of Fame Coach Mike Peppe, and competed for the Ohio State Buckeyes swimming and diving team within the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). As a college swimmer, he was undefeated in three years of dual meet competition, and was a four-time

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. He set seven world records and won fourteen U.S. national championships: seven NCAA, six AAU indoor and one AAU outdoor. At the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

in London, England, Smith won gold medals in the 400-meter freestyle and 4×200-meter freestyle relay.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Bill Smith
Retrieved October 4, 2012. At one time, Smith held all of the world records in freestyle swimming events between 200 and 1,000 meters. At the US Olympic trials of the 1948 4x200-meter freestyle relay, several swimmers who had already qualified in other events slowed down in their heats or swam fast in the prelims and scratched themselves for the final to allow more swimmers to qualify for the US Olympic Team. Smith was one of the instigators of this "conspiracy". Ultimately, coach Robert Kiphuth did hold a time trial shortly after the actual trials with eleven of the swimmers. This time trial had Jimmy McLane as first overall with a time of 2:11.0, Bill Smith, and

Wally Wolf Wallace "Wally" Perry Wolf Jr. (October 2, 1930 – March 12, 1997) was an American attorney, bank director, competition swimming (sport), swimmer, water polo player, and Olympic champion. He competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics, 1948, 1952 Su ...

in 2:11.2, and

Wally Ris Walter Steven Ris (January 4, 1924 – December 25, 1989) was an American competition swimmer, two-time Olympic champion, and world record-holder. Ris won two gold medals at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England.Sports-Reference.com, Oly ...

in 2:12.4. This quartet was used for the Olympic final and won the gold medal. The next four-

Eugene Rogers Eugene Roy Rogers (February 17, 1924 – December 30, 2017) was an American competition swimmer who represented the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes Eugene Rogers Retrieved Janu ...

in 2:14.2, Edwin Gilbert in 2:15.4, Robert Gibe in 2:15.6, and William Dudley in 2:15.9, were used in the Olympic prelims. The next three swimmers-

Joe Verdeur Joseph Thomas Verdeur (March 7, 1926 – August 6, 1991) was an American competition swimming (sport), swimmer, Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Career Verdeur was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had a sister, Theresa, a ...

who came in 2:16.3, Alan Ford in 2;16.4 and George Hoogerhyde in 2:17.4 were not used in any capacity in the 4x200 freestyle relay. After retiring from competitions Smith became captain of the surf guards at Waikiki Beach, coached swimmers at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, and served as safety director for the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation for 25 years. He also coached masters swimmers at the Kamehameha Swim Club. Smith was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966. In 2001 he was named Ohio State University's swimmer of the century by the Columbus Touchdown Club. He died February 8, 2013; he was 88 years old.Dave Reardon (February 13, 2013)
"Quick Reads: Hawaii swimming legend Bill Smith passes
," ''Honolulu Star-Advertiser''. Retrieved March 14, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bill 1924 births 2013 deaths American male freestyle swimmers World record setters in swimming Ohio State Buckeyes men's swimmers American swimming coaches Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Swimmers from Hawaii Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wahine swimming coaches Native Hawaiian swimmers 20th-century American sportsmen

See also

References