Craig Wilson (water polo)
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Craig Martin Wilson | |||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Willy | |||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||||
| Born |
February 5, 1957 Beeville, Texas, United States |
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| Alma mater | UC Santa Barbara | |||||||||||||||
| Years active | 1980–present | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | |||||||||||||||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | |||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Nicole Wilson | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||||
| Sport | Men's water polo | |||||||||||||||
| Position | Goal | |||||||||||||||
| University team | UC Santa Barbara men's water polo | |||||||||||||||
| Club |
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| Turned pro | 1980 | |||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| Updated on 21:55, September 19, 2014 (UTC). | ||||||||||||||||
Craig Martin Wilson (born February 5, 1957) is an American former water polo player who was a member of the United States men's national water polo team and two-time Olympic silver medalist. He is considered to be the best goalkeeper in the history of the sport.
Wilson moved to California at the age of four, eventually settling in Davis, California where he played at Davis Senior High School and was named a high school All American in 1975. Wilson then enrolled at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
At Santa Barbara, Wilson had to walk on to the varsity team. Upon arrival, he started as the 5th string goalkeeper, eventually becoming a member of the UC Santa Barbara men's water polo for the 1978 and 1979 seasons. The Gauchos won the 1979 NCAA Division I Men's Water Polo Championship with Wilson named to the All-Tournament Team and as a Second Team All American.
Wilson joined the now-defunct Industry Hills club, where he played in 1981 and 1982, playing alongside former Gaucho teammate Greg Boyer. Industry Hills were named the USWP National Outdoor Champions in both seasons he was a part of the club.
He also played for Harvard Water Polo Foundation, based out of Los Angeles, and was the goalkeeper for the club's first championship in 1989. This was the first of three straight championships to which he led Harvard Water Polo Foundation, the last over Sunset Water Polo Club, which consisted of seven of his former 1979 UC Santa Barbara teammates.
Wilson went on to win five USWP National Championships, both outdoors and indoors. He was named the US Water Polo Athlete of the year four times (1983, 1987, 1988, 1991) and the Most Valuable Player in 1990.
Wilson also played overseas, joining Barcelona-based club CN Barcelona for one season before joining Syracuse, Sicily-based club CC Ortigia where he stayed for a further two seasons.
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