Dick Smith (diver)

Dick A. Smith (January 17, 1917 - January 2, 2006) was an American diver and a Hall of Fame diving coach and instructor who coached at the United States Air Force Academy, Arizona State University and The Woodlands Aquatics Center in Houston, Texas. He was an Olympic dive coach for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics where four of his divers, Patsy Willard, Jeanne Collier, Tom Gompf, and Lesley Bush received diving medals. He coached the U.S. Olympic team again in 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where two of his Male divers, Bernard Wrightson, and Edwin Young received medals. He was an Olympic coach for New Zealand in 1976, for the U.S. Air Force in 1972, and for Egypt, Finland and New Zealand in 1984.

Smith was born in Wichita, Kansas on January 17, 1917 to Marion and Edna Knierham Smith and graduated from Phoenix Union High School. He learned to swim at the Riverside Park Pool in Phoenix, and secretly continued to practice diving despite being forbidden to by his mother Edna after damaging a vertebrae at age 13. The injury occurred when Smith dove from a 48-foot tower and struck a rocky bottom, suffering a concussion, fracturing his neck and causing a four month paralysis from the waist down. After taking time to heal, Smith snuck away to a local pool, and slowly taught himself to swim again by progressing gradually with short distances. His family learned of his secretive rehabilitation program and progress three years later when at 16 he won both the Junior and Senior springboard titles in the Arizona State Championships.

Smith attended the University of Southern California where he received an athletic scholarship to train and compete on their Swimming and Diving Team. In addition to his diving scholarship, he earned extra money wrangling horses, and continued to enjoy riding horses much of his life. He was a Pacific Coast AAU and Intercollegiate Diving Champion at USC under the late Coach Fred Cady. As an amateur, Smith was an Arizona AAU Champion.

He graduated USC with a BS in Education focusing on physical education. His undergraduate majors included Biological Science, Speech and Corrective Physical Education. His Master's Degree at USC in education focused on Remedial Physical Education and included credentials for California General Administrator. He married Helen F. Johnson in 1941.

Smith taught Physical Education at his alma mater, the University of Southern California, and was a Physical Education teacher at Lodi Union High School in Lodi, CA. From 1945-1950, he was the Manager and performing diver for the Buster Crabbe Aqua Parade. The organization employed 118 people that entertained crowds throughout the United States, Canada, Hawaii and Europe. He served as a Coordinator of Remedial Physical Education and Physical Education for the Los Angeles County Board of Education.

He served as an Assistant Supervisor of Physical Education at USC in Los Angeles, beginning his career there as a Head Swimming and Diving Coach from 1950-54.

He founded the Dick Smith Swim Gym on 20th Street and Campbell in Phoenix, Arizona in 1954. The exceptional program trained many outstanding divers, but featured a broad array of programs in Physical Education, that included diving, swimming, gymnastics, martial arts, dance, SCUBA diving, and elite diving and swimming.

Smith was a diving instructor and Head Diving Coach at Arizona State University for ten years from about 1959-1969. From 1969-73, he served as an Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Diving Coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. He transferred to Williams Air Force Base near Chandler, Arizona, in 1974 as Director of Athletics and Sports. From 1975-1985, Smith served as the Director of the Swim and Athletic Center in The Woodlands, near Houston, Texas. In 1985, Coach Terry Faulkenberry took over the accomplished program. While at the Woodlands, Smith developed one of the premier diving centers in the U.S., and hosted both national and international Olympic level swimming and diving competitions. Keith Russell was one of Smith's top divers at the Woodlands as well as Olympic diver from Brazil Milton Braga, who later coached diving at the Woodlands for two years.

Continuing to serve the swimming and diving community, he served as a President of the World Diving Coaches Association from 1976-2006, and was a past president of the American Coaches Association.

Smith instructed the divers he coached, and those he judged that each dive should be a beautiful flow, a smooth blending of fast actions into a single fluid movement that displayed both elegance and grace. Similar to Hall of Fame swim and dive Coach Mike Peppe of Ohio State, Smith insisted that each of his divers maintain a continuing respect for diving fundamentals. To clean up sloppy board work, he had his divers practice the very simple front jump. He would sometimes put on a face mask and carry lead weights so he could go underwater to ensure his divers were really stretching for the bottom, rather than contorting their upper body underwater to make the appearance of the entry of their legs and feet look smoother.

Smith served as a lieutenant colonel in the US Air Force in World War II, later serving brief stints in Korea and Viet Nam. He was one of only nine passengers to survive a plane crash off Pago Pago in American Samoa by diving off a wing when an engine caught fire. Retired from the U.S. Air Force after 20 years in reserve and active duty as a Colonel in 1973, he earned a Bronze Star for meritorious service. He received the Commendation Medal and in 1977 was awarded the Franco-Britainic War Medal for contributions made during WW II in Britain and France,

His more outstanding divers included 1968 Olympic Gold medalist in the 3-meter springboard, Bernard "Bernie" Wrightson of ASU, 1964 Olympic silver medalist in springboard diving, Jeanne Collier, 1964 Olympic Gold medalist in platform diving Lesley Bush, 1964 Olympic bronze medalist Patsy Willard, and 1964 Olympic participant Keith Russell. Smith also coached 1968 Olympic Bronze medalist in diving Tom Gompf, while Gompf was a pilot at Williams Air Force Base. When he was ten years old, Steve McFarland, a University of Miami competitor, coach, and television commentator swam for Smith at the Dick Smith Swim School.

Smith retired from coaching in 1987. He lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, less than 15 miles Northeast of Phoenix, for fifty years from 1956 til his death in 2006.

Smith authored "Inside Diving", from Regionary Press and numerous articles covering physical education and diving.

He died of pneumonia at the age of 88 on January 2, 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona. A funeral service was held on January 5, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Phoenix. He had no children, but was predeceased by his wife Helen, who died on November 29, 2004. He was buried with his wife Helen in Phoenix in Section 52 at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona

Smith was admitted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale in 1979. He received the Fred Cady Award for his dedication to the sport and coaching of diving in 1971. He was a recipient of the Sammy Lee Award in 1991, presented only once in four years to a person who has brought friendship, knowledge, skill, and dedication to the sport of Diving. In his honor, the Natatorium at The Woodlands in Houston is named The Dick Smith Natatorium.

• Legacy Obituary, Dick A. Smith
• Swimming World Magazine, Dick Smith, Hall of Fame Diving Coach Dies at 88
• Phinizy, Coles, July 23, 1962, Sport's Illustrated Vault, Smith's Place in the Sun
• International Swimming Hall of Fame, Dick A. Smith