Robert Lewis Samuelson (born July 30, 1966) is an American 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. Samuelson won a bronze medal with the

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

. At the Barcelona Olympics, Samuelson was the central character in the controversial preliminary round match against Japan in which the United States won until the result was overturned on appeal. A jury set up by the

International Volleyball Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

ruled that by Samuelson having received his second yellow card, a red card and an automatic point to Japan should have been given, thus giving Japan the point they needed to win the match. The entire United States men's team then shaved their heads in solidarity with Samuelson.

College

After finishing high school at Westchester High School in

Westchester, Los Angeles Westchester is a neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles and the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is home to Los Angeles International Airport, Loyola Marymount University, Otis College of Art and Design ...

, Samuelson played volleyball for

Los Angeles Pierce College Los Angeles Pierce College, shortened to Pierce College or simply Pierce, is a public community college in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Woodland Hills in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College Distri ...

, leading the team to the state title in 1986. He was also selected as California's junior college player of the year. Samuelson then played college volleyball at Cal State Northridge (CSUN), where he was a two-time All-American. He set the school record with 44 kills in a match against George Mason in 1989. Samuelson was inducted into the CSUN Hall of Fame in 1994.

Japanese V.League

Samuelson left the national team to compete for the Suntory Sunbirds of the Japanese V.League in 1994, where he played for three seasons. Samuelson led the team to the championship in his first season, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player.

Beach volleyball

Samuelson briefly played

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each 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 o ...

in 1994, and then again between 2004 and 2006.

Personal life

Samuelson is a father of triplet boys.

Awards

* Two-time NCAA All-American * FIVB World Cup bronze medal — 1991 * Olympic bronze medal — 1992 * FIVB World Championship bronze medal — 1994 * CSUN Hall of fame — 1994 * Japan V.League Champion — 1995 * Japan V.League MVP — 1995

References

External links

*
Olympedia profile: Bob Samuelson
*
Volleybox.net profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelson, Bob 1966 births Living people American men's volleyball players Volleyball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball Cal State Northridge Matadors men's volleyball players People from Port Jefferson, New York Sportspeople from Brookhaven, New York Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics 20th-century American sportsmen