Eugene Selznick

Eugene Bleecher Selznick (March 19, 1930 – June 10, 2012) was an American volleyball player and coach. He played on world championship and Pan American Games championship teams. He was also inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Early life Selznick, who was Jewish, was born in Los Angeles, California. He also lived in Canoga Park, California. Selznick attended Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. He was a physical education major in college, and first began to play volleyball in 1949.

He was captain of the United States men's national volleyball team from 1953 to 1967.

Selznick's teams also won gold medals at the Pan-American Games in 1955 and 1959.

He was an early supporter of California beach volleyball, and was designated the "First King of Beach Volleyball". Selznick played with Ev Keller to win the 1950 California Beach Men's Open. He won the 1956 international competition All-Star team MVP honor of "Mr. All-World". He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.