James Counsilman
James Counsilman in 1963
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| Sport(s) | Swimming |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
December 28, 1920 Birmingham, Alabama |
| Died | January 4, 2004 (aged 83) Bloomington, Indiana |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University |
| Playing career | |
| 1940–1942 | Ohio State Buckeyes |
| Position(s) | Breaststroke |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1952–1957 | Cortland State Red Dragons |
| 1957–1990 | Indiana Hoosiers |
| 1964, 1976 | U.S. Olympic Swim Team |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973) | |
| Awards | |
| International Swimming Hall of Fame (1976) | |
James Edward "Doc" Counsilman (December 28, 1920 – January 4, 2004) was an Olympic and hall-of-fame swimming coach from the United States. He is perhaps best known for being the head swimming coach Indiana University (IU) from 1957 to 1990. He served as head coach for the USA's swim teams to the 1964 and 1976 Olympics; and was inducted as an Honors Coach into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1976.
Counsilman was born in Birmingham, Alabama, but grew up and learned to swim in St. Louis, Missouri. He swam collegiately for the Ohio State University under coach Mike Peppe; and while in college set world-bests in the 50 and 300 yard breaststrokes. During World War II, Counsilman served in the United States Army Air Forces in Italy as a B-24 Liberator pilot with the 455th Bomb Group of the Fifteenth Air Force.
Post Ohio State, Counsilman went on to earn a master's degree at the University of Illinois (1947), where he also served as an assistant coach, before pursuing doctorate degree in physiology from the University of Iowa (1951). Following getting his doctorate, the now-dubbed "Doc" began teaching and coaching at Cortland State University, where he would remain from 1952 to 1957 leading into his time at Indiana University.
At IU, Counsilman coached the men's team to 6 consecutive NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships (1968–1973), and 20 consecutive (1961–1980) and 23 total Big Ten Conference titles. While at IU, Doc coached over 60 Olympic swimmers, including Mark Spitz,
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