Counsilman, "Doc" (James E.)
Swimming
b. Dec. 28, 1920, Birmingham, AL
After he won the 1942 AAU outdoor 220-yard breaststroke championship, Counsilman's competitive swimming career at Ohio State was interrupted by World War II, in which he served as a bomber pilot. He returned to school as a junior after the war and was captain of the swim team in 1946 and 1947.
Counsilman received a master's degree from the University of Illinois in 1948 and a doctorate from the University of Iowa in 1951, then became swimming coach at Cortland State College in New York (now SUNY College at Cortland).
In 1957, he went to Indiana University, where his teams won six consecutive NCAA championships, from 1968 through 1973, and twenty straight Big Ten titles, from 1961 through 1980. Indiana once won 140 dual meets in a row. Counsilman coached the U. S. Olympic swimming teams in 1964 and 1976.
The scholarly Counsilman carefully analyzed all swimming strokes for his 1969 book, The Science of Swimming, and designed many types of training equipment for the sport. He also helped plan and design the Indiana University Natatorium, where the 1984 Olympic Trials and the 1987 Pan-American Games swimming competition took place.
On September 14, 1979, Counsilman became the oldest person ever to swim the English Channel, at 58 years and 260 days.
Counsilman retired in 1990 with a record of 267 victories, 36 losses, and 1 tie in dual meets.