May 2, 2006
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)- George F. Haines, Stanford's head women's swimming coach from 1982-88, died Monday at age 82. A native of Huntington, Ind., Haines coached three U.S. Olympic swim teams and guided such 1960s and '70s stars as Mark Spitz, Don Schollander and Donna de Varona. He coached Stanford to the NCAA Championship in 1983.
Haines died in his sleep Monday (May 1) at a nursing home in Carmichael, Calif., where he had stayed since suffering a severe stroke a few years ago.
In seven years as Stanford's head coach, Haines' teams never finished lower than third in the nation. He led the Cardinal to one NCAA championship, two second place finishes and two third place finishes.
He founded the Santa Clara Swim club in 1950 that became home to many of the 53 Olympic swimmers produced by Haines from 1960 to 1988. They won 44 Olympic gold medals, 14 silver and 10 bronze.
It was considered one of the nation's first large "super clubs," with Haines taking as many as 40 swimmers to national meets.
Spitz won a record seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics; Schollander became the first person to win four swimming golds at a single Olympics at the 1964 Toyko Games; and de Varona won two golds in Toyko.
The nine-lane pool at the Santa Clara complex is named after him.
Haines served on the support staff of four other Olympic teams and is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He also coached football during a 24-year tenure at Santa Clara High, and later coached swimming at UCLA and Stanford.
Haines became interested in swimming when he joined a local YMCA in his hometown of Huntington, Ind.
He is survived by his wife, June, four daughters and a son.
No services were planned.--