The
most successful water sport coach prior to World War II,
William Bachrach
was head coach of the 1924 and 1928
United States Olympic Teams. His men
and women swimmers captured 13
gold medals in Paris in 1924 and 10 gold
medals at the Amsterdam Olympics of
1928.
Bachrach himself developed four
swimmers who won gold medals at the
1924 Games: Johnny Weissmuller (100
and 200-Meter Freestyles, and 800-Meter Relay), Bob Skelton
(200-Meter
Breaststroke), Ethel Lackie (100-Meter Freestyle and 400-Meter
Relay), and
Sybil Bauer (100-Meter Backstroke).
Weissmuller also won a pair of gold
medals at the 1928 Olympics, in 100-Meter Freestyle and 800-Meter
Relay.
Other champions developed by
Bachrach are American champion Mike
McDermott and Olympic star Norman
Ross, Sr., winner of gold medals in the
400 and 1,500-Meter Freestyles and 800-Meter Relay at the
1920 Games in
Antwerp.
As a coach, Bachrach was called “the beloved tyrant.” Starting
out as a swimming instructor at the Chicago
Central YMCA, he later moved to the
Illinois Athletic Club (IAC) and reigned
there as coach of swimming and water
polo from 1912 to 1954. His 1914 to 1917
IAC water polo teams captured the U.S.
national championships for four consecutive
years.
Bachrach was one of 16 children and
served in the Spanish American War.
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