Robert Horn (water polo)

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Robert “Bob” Horn (November 3, 1931 – January 11, 2019) was a pioneering American water polo player and a longtime UCLA coach.

Early life and playing career
- Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Horn grew up in Whittier, California.
- In high school, he played water polo for Whittier Union and competed with the Whittier Swim Club, helping win national championships in 1949–1950.
- He played at Fullerton College (1950–1952) and Long Beach State (1957–58), earning All-American honors and being named student-athlete of the year.
- Horn was a standout goalkeeper for the United States. He captained the U.S. team at the 1955 Pan American Games, played in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and was a member of the 1960 Rome Olympics team.
- He served in the Naval Air Force during the Korean War and trained with the U.S. Olympic team during his service.

Coaching career
- Horn began coaching at Cerritos College (1959–1961).
- He led the swimming and water polo program at Cal State Long Beach (1959–1965).
- In UCLA, he became the university’s first full-time aquatics coach, overseeing swimming and water polo from the mid-1960s and focusing on water polo from 1973 onward, until 1991.
- Under his leadership, UCLA won three NCAA water polo championships (1969, 1971, 1972) and seven Pac-8 league titles (1964–1971). The 1969 team went 19–0, the first NCAA championship for UCLA water polo.
- He coached numerous star players, including 36 first-team All-Americans and 26 Olympians.
- Horn also spent time on the U.S. Olympic coaching staffs for 1968 and 1972; the 1972 team won bronze.

Honors and later life
- He was named NCAA Water Polo Coach of the Year in 1965 and NCAA Swimming Coach of the Year in 1972.
- Horn was inducted into several halls of fame: UCLA Hall of Fame (1999), Long Beach State Hall of Fame (1988), Fullerton College Hall of Fame, and the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame (1977). He also served as President of the Southern California Water Polo & Swimming Association.
- In retirement, he enjoyed lifeguarding, surfing, horseback riding, and playing the ukulele and violin. He passed away on January 11, 2019, after a long illness. He is survived by his wife Dorothy, five children, and seven grandchildren.