Peter Daland (April 12, 1921 – October 20, 2014) was an

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 ...

U.S. Olympic and collegiate swim coach from the United States, best-known for coaching the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

Trojans swim team to nine NCAA championships from 1957-1992. Daland started Philadelphia's Suburban Swim Club around 1950, an outstanding youth program, which he coached through 1955, then served briefly as an Assistant Coach at Yale from 1955-56, where he was mentored by Olympic Coach and long serving Yale Head Coach

Bob Kiphuth Robert John Herman Kiphuth (November 17, 1890 – January 7, 1967) was an American swimming coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head men's swimming coach at Yale University for 41 years, from 1918 to 1959. During his tenur ...

. He was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Elliot and Katherine Daland, but grew up in Philadelphia, where after college, he began a coaching career that spanned over 40 years. Peter's more traditional father was slow to approve his unorthodox choice of careers.Chawkins, Steve, "Coach of Swimming Champions", ''New York Times'', New York, New York, pg. 15, 21 October 2014 Daland attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

as did his father, and grandfather, before he enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

for

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 ...

. After the war, he graduated from

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

in 1948 and got his first coaching job at the Rose Valley Suburban League in

Rose Valley, Pennsylvania Rose Valley is a small, historic borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its area is , and the population was 913 at the 2010 census. The area was settled by Quaker farmers in 1682, and later water mills along Ridley Creek d ...

, where he won 8 straight Suburban League titles (1947–55). Around 1950, he founded and was the first coach of the Suburban Swim Club, now called the Suburban Seahawks Club in

Newtown Square, Pennsylvania Newtown Township, also referred to by the name of its post office of Newtown Square, is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Prior to 1789, it was part of Chester County, along with the rest of Delaware County. As of t ...

and later served as an assistant coach to Bob Kiphuth at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. In 1956, he decided to take

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

's advice to head west and became coach at the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and the

Los Angeles Athletic Club Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) is a privately owned Sports club, athletic club and social club in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1880, the club is today best known for its John R. Wooden Award pr ...

. Recognizing the future of California swimming, and showing persistence, Daland endured rejection from fifty California clubs that turned down his application. Demonstrating his early success, in 1958, after two years on the USC coaching staff, he returned to Yale with 5 USC Freshmen and won the National AAU Team Title from the New Haven Swim Club.

Collegiate coaching career

For 35 years (1957–1992), Daland was the swimming coach for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

, where he led the Trojans to 9

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. ...

Championships. Harvard educated, and a graduate of Swarthmore, he was known for bringing the "bearing of an upper crust Eastern sophisticate" to the less stodgy USC campus, and would often come to the swim deck in a white shirt, coat and tie. He led teams to 14 AAU Men's National titles, and 2 AAU Women's National titles. He is the only coach to have won all three major national team championships—8 NCAA, 14 National AAU Men's, and 2 National AAU Women's (Los Angeles Athletic Club). Specializing in family dynasties, Daland had the good fortune of obtaining championship wins from the brothers Bottom, Devine, Orr, and the House brother and sister act. His Trojan teams won more than 160 dual meets and won more than 100 individual titles. By 1974, Daland's record boasted 183 individual national champions. Some of the most outstanding swimmers he mentored included four time gold medal winner

John Naber John Phillips Naber (born January 20, 1956) is an American former competitive swimmer, five-time Olympic medalist and former world record-holder in multiple events. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Naber studied in England and Italy where his father ...

and American record holders Dave Wharton and Mike O’Brien.

Olympic coaching

Daland also coached the U.S. women's swim team at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, where his swimmers won 15 of the 24 medals awarded in women's swim events. The women's team won six of eight events.Williams, Larry, "Southern California Coach Pools His Talent," ''The Commercial Appeal'', Memphis, Tennessee, pg. 28, 30 July 1982 He then coached the US men's team at the

1972 Olympics 1972 Olympics refers to both: *1972 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sapporo, Japan *1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an ...

in Munich, where his men swimmers won 26 of 45 medals awarded in men's events. In those Olympics,

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the Lists of Olympic medalists#Medalist with most medals by Olympiad, most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympi ...

of the United States had a spectacular run, lining up for seven events, winning seven Olympic titles and setting seven world records. Outstanding Olympians coached by Daland included William Craig, Roy Saari,

Murray Rose Iain Murray Rose, (6 January 1939 – 15 April 2012) was an Australian swimmer, who swam for the University of Southern California, and worked as an actor, sports commentator and marketing executive. He was a six-time Olympic medalist (four g ...

Jeff Float Jeffrey James Float is a former American competitive swimmer, world record holder, world champion and Olympic gold medalist. He qualified for the 1980 USA Olympic Swimming Team in three individual events, but could not participate when the Unite ...

, Joe and Mike Bottom and

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

and

Steve Furniss Steven Charles Furniss (born December 21, 1952) is an American former swimmer, business owner, Olympic bronze medalist and world record-holder.International University Sports Federation The International University Sports Federation (FISU; ) is responsible for the organization and governance of worldwide sports competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 25. It was founded in 1949 as the world governing body of ...

, and ASCA, the

American Swimming Coaches Association The American Swimming Coaches Association, or ASCA, is a professional organization for Swimming coaches in the USA. It was founded in 1958 and is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. ASCA provides education opportunities for swimming coaches, includi ...

. He was one of the founders of ASCA, and was inducted into the

in 1977. Daland served as a swimming consultant for Philips Petroleum, the sponsor of U. S. Senior Swimming from 1972-82. The pool of USC's

Uytengsu Aquatics Center The Uytengsu Aquatics Center (originally the McDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium) is a 2,500-seat outdoor aquatics venue located on the campus of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. The facility features two pools: a long course poo ...

bears his name. Daland was also the founder of the ''Junior Swimmer'' newsletter, and co-founded the widely subscribed ''Swimming World Magazine''. Originally little more than a mimeographed journal, Daland began ''Swimming World'' in the 1950s with Yale coach

who mentored him in his first College coaching assignment. His work on the journal greatly enhanced Daland's grasp of swimming data for opposing teams, and simplified access to swim times for the coaching community. Better access to swim times helped Dalland and other coaches more effectively assign their swimmers to events, which led them to winning more meets. Daland was married to former German top-class swimmer Ingrid Feuerstack (1942-2017). They had three children, Peter Jr., Bonnie, and Leslie. Leslie won a gold medal in the 900 meter freestyle at the 1986 Goodwill Games in Moscow. Leslie now owns Daland Swim School, which was founded by Ingrid, in Thousand Oaks, California. On October 20, 2014, Peter died in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

at the age of 93 of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

.Swimming World obituary
/ref>

Honors and awards

*1962 ASCA Coach of the Year * 1964 Olympics Women's Swimming Team Coach for the USA *

Men's Swimming Head Coach for the USA *1977 AAU Swimming Award recipient

References

External links

* *
Swimming World obituary, Swimming World Co-founder Peter Daland Passes Away
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daland, Peter American swimming coaches USC Trojans swimming coaches 2014 deaths 1921 births Sports coaches from New York City Harvard University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Yale Bulldogs swimming coaches Swarthmore College alumni Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California Deaths from dementia in California

Collegiate coaching career

Olympic coaching

Honors and awards

See also

References

External links