Hobart Sherwood Billingsley (December 2, 1926 – July 16, 2022) was an American diver for Ohio State University and a Hall of Fame coach for Indiana University from 1959-1989, where he led the Hoosiers to six

NCAA 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. ...

national swimming and diving team championships. During his time with Indiana, he coached the U.S. Olympic diving team in 1968, 1972, and 1976.

Early life

Billingsley was born to James and Wenonah (Willing) Billingsley in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, on December 2, 1926. He taught himself how to dive by analyzing wallcharts at his local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

. During his final year of high school in 1943, he finished in third place at the national championships. Billingsley 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 ...

(OSU), where he won the NCAA one-and three-meter titles during his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

year in 1945. After putting his studies on hold to enlist in the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

, Billingsley served in Japan during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

before completing his studies at OSU. He subsequently undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Career

Billingsley first worked as a high school teacher and coach. He was the swimming and diving coach at Allen Park High School in Wayne County, Michigan from 1955 to 1957, where he built a swimming program that led to the Michigan High School Boys State Championship. He was subsequently recruited by

James Counsilman James Edward "Doc" Counsilman (December 28, 1920 – January 4, 2004)
...

, the head swimming coach at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

who created the new position of diving coach for Billingsley.

Dive coaching

Billingsley served as the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

’s diving coach from 1959 to 1989, leading the Hoosiers to six

and 23

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

team championships. During his time at Indiana, he coached the United States Olympic diving team at the

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, and 1976 Summer Games. Divers under his tutelage won 115 national diving titles and seven Olympic medals. His Olympic gold and bronze medalists include

Lesley Bush Lesley Leigh Bush (born September 17, 1947) is an American diver and 1964 Olympic champion in the 10-meter platform who competed for Indiana University. Bush was born in Orange, New Jersey, on September 17, 1947. After a move, by the age of 1 ...

, Kenneth Sitzberger,

Mark Lenzi Mark Edward Lenzi (July 4, 1968 – April 9, 2012) was an American Olympic diver and diving coach. Lenzi was known for his Olympic gold medal in the 1992 Olympic Games, and his Olympic bronze medal in the 1996 Olympic Games on the 3 m springbo ...

(twice),

Cynthia Potter Cynthia Ann Potter (born August 27, 1950) is an American former Olympic diver and diving color commentator. She was a member of three Olympic diving teams, winning a bronze medal in the 3 m springboard in 1976. Career Diving An 11-time A ...

, Edwin Young, and Jim Henry. Billingsley coached diver Russ Bertram at Indiana from 1986-1989, a talented diver who would have an accomplished career as an Olympic and collegiate dive coach with the University of Arizona from 2006-2013, and with Denison University after 2013. He later established the World Diving Coaches Association in 1968 and the American Coaches Diving Association two years later. He was regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of diving. He was profiled in the award-winning and widely televised documentary ''Hobie’s Heroes — 25th Anniversary Edition'', which depicts the struggles and successes of young divers training under this legendary coach. The title was derived from the nickname he gave to his divers.

Later life

Following retirement from university coaching, Billingsley continued to be active in the sport, training divers and coaches around the world, and was a respected speaker on diving history, technique, ethics, and general sports. His book ''Diving Illustrated'', a seminal work offering detailed technical support for coaching diving, was released in 1990, with the second edition published in 2018.

Personal life

Billingsley married Mary Drake in 1952, whom he met in college. The couple had three children. He was diagnosed with

myasthenia gravis Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a long-term neuromuscular junction disease that leads to varying degrees of skeletal muscle weakness. The most commonly affected muscles are those of the eyes, face, and swallowing. It can result in double vision, ...

in July 2018 and hospitalized. He died on July 16, 2022, in Bloomington, at age 95.

Honors and awards

Billingsley was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

in 1983 and the

Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame The Ohio State Varsity "O" Hall of Fame is the athletic hall of fame for The Ohio State University. Its purpose is to recognize individuals who have contributed to the honor and fame of the university in the field of athletics. An athlete must ha ...

in 1989. He was given the Sammy Lee Award, the most esteemed award in diving, in 1994. That same year, he was enshrined in the Indiana University Athletics Hall of Fame. At the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, he took the oath on behalf of all judges. The Counsilman–Billingsley Aquatics Center at Indiana University is named in his honor, as is an award bestowed by the Indiana High School Swimming and Diving Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Billingsley, Hobie 1926 births 2022 deaths American diving coaches American male divers American referees and umpires Indiana Hoosiers diving coaches Oath takers at the Olympic Games Olympic officials Sportspeople from Erie, Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen