Hobart Sherwood Billingsley (December 2, 1926 – July 16, 2022) was an American

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

champion who later coached high school, college, and olympic diving teams for several decades. He was an honoree of 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 s ...

Early life

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

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, 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 organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

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

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

(OSU), where he won the NCAA one-and three-meter titles during his freshman 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 forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...

, Billingsley served in Japan during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

before going back to OSU. He subsequently undertook

postgraduate studies Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

and obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an 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 practice.

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 molded the beginnings of a swimming program that led to Allen Park eventually capturing the Michigan High School Boys State Championship. He was subsequently recruited by

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

, the head swimming coach at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

who created the position of diving coach especially for Billingsley. Billingsley served as the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Ath ...

’s diving coach from 1959 to 1989. During these three decades, he led the Hoosiers to six

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

and 23

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team championships. He also coached the United States Olympic diving team at the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

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 mean solar tim ...

, 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 Olympic champion. She represented the US at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she received a gold medal in Platform Diving.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 springb ...

(twice),

Cynthia Potter Cynthia "Cindy" 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 1 ...

, Win Young, and Jim Henry. Billingsley 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 respected as a speaker on diving history, technique and ethics, and on sports in general. His book ''Diving Illustrated'', a seminal work offering detailed technical support for coaching diving, was released in 1990, with the second edition being published in 2018.

Personal life

Billingsley married Mary Drake in 1952. They met in college, and had three children together. Billingsley was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis in July 2018 and hospitalized. He died on July 16, 2022, in Bloomington, at age 95.

Honors and awards

Billingsley was inducted into the

in 1983. 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