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A Brief Biography of John Galvich - Swimming and Diving Coach.
John was born on July 15th, 1917 in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia). He came to the United States via Ellis Island, New York with his mother Barbara, when he was six years old. His father had died in the war of 1917..the same year Johnny was born. Johnny's mother traveled to America as a war bride. Here Johnny attended Catholic church and schools and learned the English language. As a teenager, John became a gymnast and diver, life guarding at the beach in Kenosha during the summers. I believe he won the Wisconsin State Diving Championship in 1934, 1937 and 1940. He also dove for the Chicago Lakeshore Club. John spent 15 years at the Kenosha Youth Foundation (KYF) coaching swimming & diving, running the men's gym and his Learn-To-Swim program; teaching thousands of children to swim and was given the title of Athletic Director. While at the KYF, he coached many championship swimmers; such as Robert Kueny, Sue Maloney, Dorothy Schwartz, Paul Shutt, Kelly Brown, Sally Roberts, Sandy Snow, Bob Baker, Rusty Garst, Richard and Kathleen Daum, Kathryn & Janie Schulte, Myrna Hickman & Joan Normington. He produced ten Wisconsin State Women's AAU Championship Teams and seven Wisconsin State Men's AAU Championship Teams. He coached several National AAU Junior and Senior Champions. In the 1940's, only the men were using the flip turn. When John took his women's team to the Nationals, he instructed his swimmer, Dorothy Schwartz, to use the flip turn. She did and the officials attempted to disqualify her. Johnny had to fight to prevent Dorothy from being disqualified. John won the battle and women have been using the flip turn ever since!!! John spent 3 years in the United States Navy. During this time, he was a swimming instructor, diver and coach. In 1944, John placed 3rd in the Men's National Diving Championship. After his discharge from the Navy in 1945, John returned to the KYF where his women's long distance team won the Women's National Senior Long Distance Team Championship in 1950 and 1951. In 1952, John became the Coach at Riviera Club in Indianapolis, Indiana. During his eight years at Riviera, his team won several hundred championships and acquired 'over' 400 team trophies. He coached world record breakers such as Becky Collins in the butterfly and Donna Graham in the freestyle. His Riviera long distance team won four (4) Women's National Senior Long Distance Team Championships. One in 1955 and the other three in 1958, 1959 and 1960. The 1959 and 1960 teams included his daughter, Nancy. This gave John a total of 6 (six) National Senior Women's Long Distance Team Championships...all within the last nine years of his coaching. John produced Indiana State and National Diving Champions such as Niegel Henry, Jan Clarke and Susan Rothert. John took great pride and pleasure in presenting to the public, his annual Riviera Aquatic Variety Show. Here he introduced his outstanding swimmers, divers and synchronized swimming team (Riviera Aquabelles). John's Water Shows would not have been complete without the Exceptional Guest Appearance of outstanding divers, such as Tom Gompf and Johnny Bori. John's friend Adolph Kiefer, former Olympic Swimmer and Multi-World Record Holder, also made a guest appearance in 1957. Johnny packed the audience in for two shows each night. Each performance was a great success and will be remembered by many for years to come. John's Riviera Swimming and Diving Team won 94 consecutive dual swim meets before losing in 1960.
John's Riviera Swimmers, Becky Collins and Donna Graham were participants in the 1959 Pan American Games. Becky bringing home a Gold Medal in the Butterfly Several of Johnny's swimmers were selected to represent the United States in the Canadian American All Star Swim Meets. John produced 33 All American Swimmers. He was a member of the American Athletic Union's Diving Committee and the American Coaches Association. John was always an avid promoter of age-group swimming with most of his best swimmers coming from his Learn-To-Swim program. In 1960, he was quoted in a swimming magazine as saying, "Age Group Swimming played an important factor in the surge of our swimmers to International glory. The program has only scratched the surface of our potential and I am sure that with the wide interest in Age Group Swimming, by 1964 it will provide the United States with the greatest team ever assembled." Unfortunately, Johnny did not live to see 1964 or any year thereafter. At the time of his death, there were over 200 age group swimmers on the Riviera Swim Team...all 6 to 18 years of age. In 1960, that was considered a very large team. John was the swim coach, the diving coach and the synchronized swimming coach. He did it all. If you swam for Galvich..."HE" WAS YOUR COACH. In 1960, John went to see the Olympics in Rome, later traveling throughout Europe with his friend "DOC" Councilman from Indiana University and Adolph Kiefer, his friend from Navy years, and Glen Hummer, Coach of Huntington Swim Club. Shortly after returning home, he became ill from a complicated ulcer and died on December 1st, 1960 at the young age of 43. His wife, known to everyone as "Brownie" passed away in June of 1981.
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