Dick Kimball, the legendary University of Michigan and Team USA Diving coach died at age 91.
Wolverine Diving posted a tribute to the late coach on social media.
“With saddened heart, we lost a diving great today, Dick Kimball. Our coaches at Wolverine Diving have so many fond memories of Kimball, and it was an honor to be coached by him. He was truly one of a kind. We are proud and honored to have our club train at the Dick Kimball Diving Well at the University of Michigan. Kimball’s legacy will continue to inspire generations of divers in the pool. May his memory live on. Rest easy, and forever Go Blue.”
Dick Kimball was born in Rochester, Minnesota, and was a four-time Minnesota high school diving champion. After attending the University of Oklahoma for one year, he transferred to the University of Michigan and helped the Wolverines to three NCAA Swimming and Diving championships
Kimball served 43 years as Michigan head diving coach, winning five NCAA championships and 33 Big Ten championships. As a student, he competed on three of the Wolverines’ NCAA champion dive teams and won two individual titles in the 1957 competition. He also helped coach the 1964, 1984, 1988, and 1992 U.S. Olympic teams.
Part of his legacy was the fun be brought to the sport. At some swim meets at Canham Natatorium, including Big Ten Championships and high school championship meets, Dick Kimball would belly flop fully clothed from the platform. He even got former Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh to do it once with him.
That started when Kimball and Hobie Billingsley started a “comedy and acrobatic show” of diving in 1960. They gave more than 1,000 performances on their 1962 world tour and also appeared on TV shows including Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town.”
And that was well after he was retired as head diving coach.
The 2001-02 season marked his 43rd and final as the head diving coach of the men’s program and 27th for the women’s team, although he has coached women divers at Michigan even before they officially became a program.
During his time as head diving coach, Dick Kimball helped the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams win five NCAA championships and 33 Big Ten championships. In 1984, he was named NCAA Diving Coach of the Year for both the men and women, while earning the same honor in 1988 (for women only). At the Big Ten level, Kimball was a four-time Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year.
Kimball mentored nine Olympic medal winners, including gold medalists Bob Webster (1960, 1964 -Platform), Micki King (1972 – Three-Meter), Phil Boggs (1976 – Three-Meter) and Mark Lenzi (1992 – Three-Meter). He was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Team at five Olympic Games (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992), while coaching international divers at the 1968 and 1996 Olympic Games.
He also coached three Big Ten Women’s Divers of the Year: Diane Dudeck (1984), three-time NCAA champion Mary Fischbach (1988) and Carrie Zarse (1995). In addition, he coached 16 divers (nine men, seven women) to Big Ten titles during his tenure.
Kimball was a three-time NCAA champion at Michigan, helping the Wolverines win three consecutive national championships, while winning individual titles on one-meter and three-meter in 1957.
While at Michigan, Kimball also competed on the gymnastics team and won the national trampoline title.
He has received numerous awards and honors recognizing his contributions to the sport of diving. He was presented the Fred Cady Memorial Award following the 1972, 1976 and 1992 Olympic Games for “sincere dedication in achieving the ultimate in coaching the sport of diving.” He was also the first diving coach to receive the Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy from the CSCAA in 1986. He was inducted into both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in 1985.
Dick Kimball was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
