Hall of Fame

1957-1959 WATER POLO TEAM In the mid-1950s, the Club began putting together an elite group of water polo players from around the Bay, known as the “Black-capped Bay City Slickers.” Competitive for several years, including at the 1956 Olympic Games Trials, the team dominated from 1957 to 1959. In that three-year span, the team compiled a record of 63 wins with only six losses. They won three consecutive Northern California Water Polo League titles, three Pacific Association-AAU crowns, and two AAU National Outdoor Water Polo championships. Their domination showed in the goals; in 1957, the team scored 342 goals and had only 103 enter their own net. At the 1959 AAU Outdoor Nationals, the team became the first team in five years to go through the round robin competition undefeated, beating not only the Club’s long time nemesis the New York Athletic Club, but also Lynwood, the team that delivered three of their six defeats. Coach Rudloff attributed their success to “team spirit and team play,” and this tight-nit group of 22 people, including 19 players, two coaches and one commissioner are honored here tonight. Many have garnered additional honors in aquatic sports as players, coaches, architects and national leaders. Included among them are three Olympic athletes (John Bordy (1956) and Zoltan Hoszpodar (1952 & 1956) from Romania and Jim Gaughran from the USA (1956)), an Olympic coach, Art Lambert, and Olympic manager, Andy Burke. Six have been inducted in the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame: Burke, Jay Flood, Jim and Bob Gaughran, Lambert and Ed Rudloff, Sr. Team Members: Paul Aehnlich Bill Augenstein John Bordy Andy Burke Sam Citron Rich Donner Jay Flood Jim Gaughran Bob Gaughran Zoltan Hozspodar Ivan Jasko Bob Kahl Art Lambert Jim Lee Roger McCandless Jack McNees Boyd Mickley Don Peterson Ed Rudloff, Sr. (Coach) Don Smalian Bob Ward (Commissioner) Winston Woodman (Assistant Coach)  

The 1982–1986 water polo teams won five straight AAU Indoor National Championships and three Hawaiian Invitationals, while competing against the best collegiate teams. These OC teams reinstated a long tradition of water polo excellence at the Club, and set a bright course for the future. In 1980, Bill Purcell had the idea to recreate a Club water polo team. He wanted a place for his friends, two brothers, and himself to compete now that they were out of college. Bill, serving as a player/coach/commissioner, built a team of veterans and existing Club members. Within a year, the team established itself on the local and national stages. The team finished fourth at Nationals in both 1980 and 1981, winning their first major tournament, the Northern California Invitational, in 1981. As the squad welcomed new members, the team still remained significantly older than their competition — and the “old men” were the surprise winners of the 1982 Indoor National Championships. The next summer was the turning point for the program. The team won their first Hawaiian Invitational, an international tournament. But it was the summer play at the Outdoor National Championships that was significant, with a comeback win over Pepperdine after a derisive remark from their coach about how “you old guys” did not belong. That game became the impetus for taking the program to the next level, and they used the momentum to win a second National Indoor title in the fall. The team’s reputation grew and, in 1984, they brought home another Hawaiian Invitational and their third Indoor National Championship. The Club also hosted the U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The growing rivalry between the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) and the OC led to the creation of the “Corporate Cup,” named so because NYAC and the OC were the only teams fielding businessmen instead of college students. The Cup was a perpetual trophy giving bragging rights to whichever team won the most recent match. The OC won the first match, so NYAC had to buy the trophy and have it engraved with the OC name. The tradition continues today. The teams continued their dominance with national indoor championship titles in 1985 and 1986, as well as winning their third straight Hawaiian title in 1985. The team now fielded All- Americans, collegiate champions, and national team members. The legacy of these teams shines on today — the Club now has six competitive teams, mens and womens, Open and Masters, that have won numerous national and world championships, as well as a growing junior program.

Headed up by former US Olympic Team coach Peter J. Cutino, the Olympic Club poloists never lost to a US college team from 1992 through 1995. This record included wins over such varsity powerhouses as Stanford, CAL, UCLA, Pepperdine, UCI, USC, UCD, and UCSB. On a National Level, the team won three US Men’s Open National Championships and earned one 3rd place finish. During this same period they won three Hawaiian Invitational Championships as well. The team included 8 former USA Olympic Team members, 2 Olympian Award winners, 3 former NCAA Players of the Year & 4 members of the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame. Most of these accomplished athletes are still members of the Olympic Club and many participate in the Club’s Masters program. Of note, twelve team members went on to win three FINA World Championships for the club (held at Sheffield in 1996, Casablanca in 1998 and Christchurch in 2002). The Olympic Club members who played for these teams were: Doug Norton Russ Hafferkamp Craig Klass Jim Slatton Chris Humbert Rick McNair Jeff Stiling Bill Schoening Andre Weiglein Pat Reid Rob Solomon Michael Haley Bennett Indart Rich Ambidge Mat Murphy Noel Murphy Pat Murphy Alan Mouchawar Marvin Mouchawar Rick Solomon Kirk Everist Brian Busalacchi Troy Barnhart Chris Thompson Kirk Jenson Ken Candilaria Coach Peter Cutino

For almost 75 years, Andrew “Andy” J. Burke (1929–2020) has served the water polo community as a player, coach, team leader, organizer, advisor, board member, administrator and referee. He joined The Olympic Club as a junior member in 1945. His swim coach, fellow OC Hall of Famer George Schroth, introduced Burke to water polo and the rest, as they say, is history. Burke swam and played water polo at Stockton College, and then joined the competitive club team. The OC squad finished second at the Pan American Trials in 1955 and 1959, the Olympic Trials in 1956 and 1960 and the AAU Outdoor Championships in 1952, ‘55, ‘56, ‘58 and 1960. They brought the outdoor title home in 1957 and 1959, while amassing 63 wins to only six losses in that three-year span. The 1957–59 team was inducted into the OC Hall of Fame in 2011. He retired from competition in 1960, but took over as coach from 1961 to 1970. The team finished second in the AAU Indoors in 1962 and 1963. Burke continues to be an organizer for our growing OC water polo program, including serving as team leader for the OC teams at the FINA World Masters Championships since 1998, helping the Club bring home 18 medals. In addition to water polo, Burke was active in the Spin & Swim and OC basketball leagues for over 40 years. Not only did he play basketball in all the leagues, but he helped expand the basketball program into several Masters age brackets. He continues to assist the new Platinum team. He served on numerous standing committees, including Junior, Building, Properties and Athletic committees. He helped establish both the History & Archives committee and the Hall of Fame. He joined the Board of Directors in 1992 and served as the Vice President in 1994. Burke was one of the seven original directors of what is now the Olympic Club Foundation, serving on the Board for over a decade. He is currently a trustee for the Peter J. Cutino Award. He also received the President’s Award in 1999, for outstanding service, and the Olympian Award in 2016, for athletic achievement and contribution to the Club. His tireless enthusiasm and remarkable administrative skills have led to his involvement in numerous national and international championships, committees and boards for six decades. He has been active in all aspects of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), Pacific Coast water polo, and the United States Aquatic Sports (USAS). Burke has been a member of the Amateur Swimming Union of the America’s (ASUA) water polo committee or executive board for almost three decades, in USA Water Polo leadership for four decades and was a member of the U.S. Olympic House of Delegates for four terms between 1977 and 1990. As tournament director and later a consultant, he helped run the water polo portions of the FINA World Masters Championships from 2004–2012. Other highlights of his contributions to the sport include chairing the water polo sub-committee for the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1960–64, serving as team manager for the 1964 U.S. Olympic team and the U.S. water polo team at the first FINA World Championships in Belgrade in 1973 and serving as Chef d’Mission to lead the U.S. delegation at the 1991 FINA World Championships. His knowledge, commitment and integrity have made him an invaluable part of the water polo community. He has been honored by the International Swimming Hall of Fame three times, most recently as a contributor in May 2018. He continues to support the Club, referee for local high schools and spend time with his wife, Carolyn, four children and 14 grandchildren.

Born into a family of famous swimmers, Sidney Cavill (1881–1945) traveled the world for competition before moving to San Francisco to take on the job of swimming instructor at The Olympic Club in 1899. He taught the “Australian Crawl” – what we now just call the crawl and Olympians like J. Scott Leary were among the first to compete using the stroke. It was powerful tool; Leary won seventeen consecutive sprint races in 1902. Leary also became the first American to swim 100 yards in 60 seconds in July 1905. Under his tutelage, Olympians won national and international titles throughout the early 20th century. Cavill also coached the Club’s water polo teams. The Club won its first national AAU title in 1920. After the championship, the commissioner wrote, “Sid worked days and nights and overtime to keep the team up to its maximum playing ability. His coaching was just the sort that was needed, and his experience rendered him capable of giving the nice balance that was necessary to the development of the Club team’s famous play.” He retired from coaching at the Club in 1923. In 1970, “The Cavill Family,” including Sidney, was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Peter J. Cutino played a legendary role in the world of aquatics. Specifically with the Olympic Club, he coached from 1991 through 2003 winning 4 US Open Men’s USA Water Polo Championships, 12 USA Master National Champions and 2 World Masters Championships. He was inducted into 8 Halls of Fame and named National Coach of the year by different organizations 17 times, winning 8 NCAA Championships while coaching at CAL. He served as U.S. National Coach in the Pan American Games, World Championships, World University Games, Maccabein Games and many other International Tournaments. Pete had been selected as the Olympic Coach for the 1976 Olympic Games, but the U.S. Team failed to qualify for the Olympics. In 1990 he received the U.S. Water Polo Award, the highest honor bestowed by USA Water Polo. He was honored as an educator and coach and was presented with the U.S. Congressional Award. Pete received the Distinguished Alumni of the Year from Cal Poly. The AIA Gold Pin Award from the Internationale des Arbitres de Water Polo; the FINA Silver Pin from the Federation International de Natation; and The Master Coach Award. In 1999, The Olympic Club established the prestigious Peter J. Cutino Award in his honor. Presented annually to the top male and female water polo players in the collegiate game the award ceremony is held every year at the Club and the Cutino Trophy is recognized as the sport’s equivalent to football’s Heisman. Pete was born in Monterey on April 3,1933, and started his water polo career at Oxnard High School and then went on to swim for Cal Poly. In 1963 Pete accepted the job of water polo and swimming coach at the University of California, Berkeley. When Nort Thornton was brought in to coach Swimming, Pete concentrated on Water Polo. During his 26 years at Cal, his team won eight NCAA Championships, plus his Concord Water Polo team (made up of Cal players and outstanding graduates from the area) captured 13 U.S. National Championships. He not only demanded the best of his athletes but also inspired it, and it could be tough on the swimmer whose efforts fell short. Pete could clandestinely observe what went on in the pool from the balcony outside his office. One of his usual punishments was a requirement to swim 50-meter sprints on the minute for an extended period of time. The duration varied depending upon his interpretation of the severity of your offense. One hour (60 sprints) was the usual punishment, but one athlete received an eight-hour sentence. There was apparently no one there to oversee that you were doing your penance, but all knew that Pete was watching, and if you didn’t do it, there were probably worst punishments in store. Pete’s admonitions were well known, as they were repeated to every new team: Have a clear, vivid and precise picture of where you want to go and what you want to be. Be willing to change, willing to grow, willing to improve. Training for excellence is hard and physical, demanding work and time. To compete is to eliminate the comfort zone. Have mental toughness and discipline. Be internally motivated. Pay a price to get there—Pay a price to stay there. If you are a Champion, you become the standard, the target. Winning is a worthy goal. Do not trade long-term values like character and dignity for temporary bravado and the in-your-face mentality. Sports don’t just build character, they reveal it. Those with the most passion to achieve a goal are the happiest people. Some day is not a day in the week.”