Robert A. Royer

Robert A. Royer was an American competitive swimmer for Indiana University Bloomington in the 1920's and later served as Head Coach of their swim team from 1931 to 1957, leading them to a fourth place finish in the NCAA Championship in 1957, and a third place in the competitive Big 10 Conference in 1956. He coached Indiana University's first NCAA swimming champion, Bill Woolsey, and their first two Olympic swimmers, Woolsey, and Sonny Tanabe who competed in 1956.

Early life

Royer was born to Reuben and Nerla A. Hoffman Royer in a log cabin in Akron, Indiana on September 22, 1902. He swam for Indiana University from around 1924-1928 under Coach Paul Thompson, and received a Varsity letter, graduating in 1928 with an A.B. in English. In competition at Indiana, Royer was a consistent winner in the backstroke, and had beaten backstroke competitors from University of Chicago, University of Illinois, and Perdue.

At 33, Royer married his wife Catherine Edwards, 21, an Indiana native, on Sunday, August 17, 1936 at the home of Catherine's parents in Windfall, Indiana. At Indiana, Catherine served as the alumni advisor to Theta Sigma Phi, the national professional journalistic society for women.

Coaching Indiana After teaching and serving as an Assistant Principal at Akron High School in his hometown of Akron, Indiana for three years, he began coaching the University of Indiana in 1931 and continued through 1957 when his coaching years ended following an eight month illness after a surgery. One of Royer's greatest achievements was briefly mentoring Assistant Coach Doc Counsilman, and recruiting and training a talented team that had steadily improved in the years before Cousilman assumed head coaching status. On the evening of January 11, 1954, sharing tips on his second career, he gave a lecture on free lance writing for magazines at Aterbury Center as part of their cultural lecture series.

Royer's swimmer Sonny Tanabe, another outstanding Hawaiian, was on the Silver medal 4x100 meter freestyle relay team in the 1956 Olympics, but did not medal, as he did not swim in the finals.

Royer's Fall 1957 Freshman recruits included Frank McKinney Jr., with near world record times in the 200-meter backstroke, one of Royer's former strokes. At 18, prior to swimming for Indiana, McKinney won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics in the 100-meter backstroke, and a silver in the 100-meter backstroke in the 1960 Olympics, as well as taking a gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay. Royer was unable to provide multiple years of coaching to McKinney due to his illness, but likely was involved in recruiting him. McKinney, who was coached primarily by Doc Counsilman as an Upperclassman at Indiana won titles with the American Athletic Union and took two NCAA championships for Indiana. In 1959 he twice set a world record for the 200-meter backstroke, and in 1960 he was a member, on two occasions, of teams which posted new world records in the medley relay.

Royer also served as Men's Assistant Dean at Indiana during his tenure with the University. He wrote as a hobby and submitted many articles to wide-selling magazines. He resided on a farm near Bloomington. He served as a top official and starter with University of Michigan swimming Coach Charles McCaffree, Jr. at the annual YMCA Swimming and Diving Championships in Richmond, Indiana, in April 1957.

The Robert Royer Pool on 7th Street in Bloomington was dedicated to Royer in his honor by the University's Board of Trustrees. Built around 1960, the pool is housed in the School of Public Health and is used recreationally by students and faculty, though it was once used for competition as it has a viewing area with a 500 person seating capacity. In March, 1962, the pool hosted the Big Ten Championship, and was officially dedicated by President Herman Wells, Indiana's Athletic Director Bill Orwig, and other speakers during the weekend of the event. It is a six-lane pool, 75-yards in length, with a separate diving well, and features many photos of Indiana swimming teams.