Robert Hughes

Robert Earl Hughes (December 15, 1930 – October 11, 2012) was an American water polo player and breaststroke swimmer for the University of Southern California who competed in both the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics.

El Segundo High School Hughes was born in Lennox, California in December, 1930. He attended El Segundo High School and swam for their team under U.S. Water Polo Hall of Fame Coach Urho Saari, where in May, 1948, Hughes won the 50 and 100-yard freestyle to help lead his High School team to the CIF Team Championship. During Coach Saari's time as Head Coach, El Segundo High School won the Southern California Championship twelve times.

El Camino College After High School, he attended El Camino College in greater Los Angeles where he was again coached by Urho Saari in both swimming and water polo. At the Southern California small college water polo championship on December 3, 1948, Hughes scored seven goals leading El Camino College to a 13-8 victory over Loyola University in the final game. By November, 1948, Hughes, who was a top scorer in his position as Center Forward, had tried out for the 1948 Olympic team in St. Louis. During his 1949-50 swimming year at El Camino, Hughes was selected by the Junior College All America Swimming Board to receive All America honors from the Helms Athletic Foundation. He was recognized for his performances in the 50, 100, 220, and 440-yard freestyle, and the 100-yard breaststroke events.

University of Southern California After attending El Camino, and serving with the U.S. Coast Guard, Hughes attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he swam for the USC Trojans swimming and diving team from 1955-56 in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition under Head Coach Fred Cady and also played water polo. Cady was USC's first swim coach and served from 1920-1956, though he also excelled as a diving coach, coaching the US Olympic team divers for four consecutive Olympics beginning in 1928. Hughes continued to attend USC from 1954-1957, though he did not complete a degree.

1952 Olympic trials Playing with the El Segundo team under Urho Saari, at the 1952 Olympic trials at New York's Astoria Pool, in early July, 1952, Hughes's El Segundo team defeated the "B Team" of the New York Athletic Club 15-2, then defeated the Fullerton-Whittier Team 6-5, and on July 3 defeated the strong New York Athletic Club's A-team 5-2, qualifying them to represent the U.S. at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. In the close game with the highly favore Fullerton-Whittier team, Hughes's teammate Bill Dornblaser scored a late goal with only nineteen seconds left in regulation play, breaking a 5-5 tie, to win the game 6-5. With most of the El Segundo members selected to participate in the Helsinki Olympics, the El Segundo team had had to raise money to finance the trip to New York for the trials. Esther Williams helped host a fundraiser, and the local Standard Oil Company in El Segundo contributed to the effort as well.

In high level National and International competition, Hughes was on the American Athletic Union Sr. Outdoor National Championship Team in 1953, and in water polo was on the American 1951 Buenos Aires Pan American Team, taking a gold medal. He also competed with the 1955 US Mexico City Pan American Team taking a silver medal. The American Water Polo team at the 1952 Olympics was coached by Hughes' former High School and Junior College Coach Urho Saari.

Benefitting from his earlier training in both water polo and swimming at USC, while at the 1956 Olympics, he became the first American athlete since Johnny Weissmuller in 1924 to compete in two different Olympic sports in one year. As a swimmer, in 1956, he broke the American world record in the 100-meter breaststroke with a 1:11.2. Hughes played the two-meter position also known as Center Forward at the Olympics, and in collegiate competition. His outstanding play at the position made it far better known to the public, as the Olympics garnered a large audience and wide press coverage. The two meter position is played on offense and is also known as the Hole set or hole, which is usually in the area of the two meter (2M) marker in the center of the opposing team's goal, making it an excellent spot for scoring. Hughes's height may have been used to its best advantage in this position as he was harder to block and could shoot and receive passes above the heads' of opponents.

Later life careers Hughes later worked as a coach, school teacher and artist, specializing as a sculptor. The recipient of many honors, Hughes was also a member of the El Camino College Hall of Fame, the California Community College Coaches Hall of Fame, the United States Swimming Hall of Fame and the USC Hall of Fame.

Hughes died October 11, 2012 in Arroyo, Grande, California, though few obituaries were published to verify his passing.