Eugene Bleecher Selznick (March 19, 1930 – June 10, 2012) was an American Hall of Fame former

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player, and volleyball coach. He played on world championship and Pan American Games championship teams. He was also inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

and the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

Early life

Selznick, who was Jewish, was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He also lived in

Canoga Park Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and t ...

, California. Selznick attended

Manual Arts High School Manual Arts High School is a secondary public school in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Manual Arts High School was founded in 1910 in the middle of bean fields, one-half mile from the nearest bus stop. It was the third high scho ...

in Los Angeles. He was a physical education major in college, and first began to play volleyball in 1949.

Volleyball career

Volleyball teams that Selznick played on won seven U.S. Open Volleyball Championships in 1951–53, 1956, 1960, 1965, and 1966, as well as seven runner-up titles. He was the

USA Volleyball USA Volleyball (USAV) is a non-profit organization which is recognized as the national governing body of volleyball in the United States by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). It i ...

(USVBA) MVP in 1959, 1960, and 1962. He was captain of the

United States men's national volleyball team The United States men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The team is governed by USA Volleyball. The team has won five Olympic medals, including three gold. History As the birth ...

from 1953 to 1967. His teams won the 1960 and 1966

FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship The FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship is an international volleyball competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The initial gap between championships was variable ...

s. Selznick's teams also won

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s at the

Pan-American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

. He was a member of the U.S. volleyball team at the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-sp ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, and

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

. He was an early supporter of California

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

, and was designated the “First King of Beach Volleyball”. Selznick played with Ev Keller to win the 1950 California Beach Men’s Open. He later played with partner

Don McMahon Donald John McMahon (January 4, 1930 – July 22, 1987) was a right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was signed by the Boston Braves before the 1950 season. He played for the Milwaukee Braves (1957 ...

. He won every

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

Open from 1955 to 1961. Selznick introduced

Wilt Chamberlain Wilton Norman Chamberlain (; August 21, 1936 – October 12, 1999) was an American professional basketball player who played as a Center (basketball), center. Standing at tall, he played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 14 yea ...

to volleyball, and took him on a national tour in the 1970s.

Coaching career

Selznick coached the US women's volleyball team, which won the gold medal at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted bids to host the 1963 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports O ...

and the 1964 Olympic Games. He also coached women’s teams that won six

USVBA USA Volleyball (USAV) is a non-profit organization which is recognized as the Sports governing body, national governing body of volleyball in the United States by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic ...

titles (1959–61, and 1963–65). Selznick coached Olympic athletes Carl Henkel,

Misty May Misty Elizabeth May-Treanor (; née May; born July 30, 1977) is a retired American professional beach volleyball player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and , was the most successful female beach volleyball player having won 112 tou ...

Holly McPeak Holly McPeak (born May 15, 1969 in Manhattan Beach, California) is a retired American indoor and beach volleyball player. McPeak was three-times an Olympian in beach volleyball. In the professional circuit, she garnered 72 career beach volleyba ...

, and

Sinjin Smith Christopher St. John "Sinjin" Smith (born May 7, 1957, in Santa Monica, California) is a professional beach volleyball player. He won one U.S. championship and two World championships with Randy Stoklos. He began to compete as a professional in ...

Honors

Selznick was named to the

All America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

first team 10 times, beginning in 1951. He won the 1956 international competition All-Star team MVP honor of "Mr. All-World". The FIVB named Selznick as one of the top American players of the 20th century. The U.S. Volleyball Hall of Fame honored him as the “All-Time Great Male Player”. In 1995, ''Volleyball magazine'' called him the "Karch Kiraly of his era." Selznick was elected to the

Volleyball Hall of Fame The International Volleyball Hall of Fame (IVHF) was founded to honor extraordinary players, coaches, officials, and leaders who have made significant contributions to the game of volleyball. The Hall of Fame is located in Holyoke, Massachusetts, ...

in 1988. In 1990 he was inducted into the

. He was inducted into the

in 2002.

References

Sources

External links

Gene's Team Volleyball Club
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selznick, Eugene 1930 births 2012 deaths American men's volleyball players American men's beach volleyball players American volleyball coaches Jewish volleyball players Jewish American sportspeople Volleyball players at the 1955 Pan American Games Volleyball players at the 1959 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Maccabiah Games competitors for the United States Maccabiah Games competitors by sport Competitors at the 1957 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1961 Maccabiah Games Competitors at the 1973 Maccabiah Games Volleyball players from Los Angeles Pan American Games medalists in volleyball Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games 21st-century American Jews