Hyman, "Flo" (Flora)
Volleyball
b. July 29, 1954, Inglewood, CA
d. Jan. 24, 1986
An All-American volleyball player at the University of Houston from 1974 through 1976, the 6-foot-5 Hyman left school in 1976 to concentrate on playing for the U. S. national team. She helped lead the team to a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics, the highest finish ever for an American women's national team.
Hyman was voted best hitter at the World Cup Games in Tokyo in 1981 and became the first American woman to be named to the All-World Cup team. Her coach, Arie Selinger, called her "a leader on the court," adding, "If Flo plays well, the team follows."
In 1986, Hyman was playing professionally in Japan when she collapsed on the bench and died of Marfan's Syndrome, a congenital defect of the aorta.
Since 1987, the Women's Sports Foundation has presented an annual Flo Hyman Award to the to the woman athlete who, in the course of her career, has exemplified Hyman's "dignity, spirit and commitment to excellence."