Tex Robertson
| Julian "Tex" Robertson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 23, 1909 Sweetwater, Texas |
| Died | August 27, 2007 (aged 98) Burnet, Texas |
| Resting place | 30°44′23″N 98°23′04″W / 30.739785°N 98.384538°WCoordinates: 30°44′23″N 98°23′04″W / 30.739785°N 98.384538°W |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Known for | Inventor of the flip turn 1932 Olympic Water Polo bronze medalist |
| Spouse(s) | Pat Robertson |
Julian "Tex" Robertson (April 23, 1909 – August 27, 2007) was an Olympic bronze medalist for the 1932 US Water Polo team and former swimming coach for the University of Texas. He is best known for inventing the flip turn. Tex is also recognized as a founder of Camp Longhorn in Burnet,TX and for the creation of a flying disk game similar to the Frisbee.
Tex Robertson was born April 23, 1909 in Sweetwater, Texas. He later moved to California receiving the nickname “Tex” When he was thirteen, he learned to swim in a nearby creek and often practiced his technique in a horse trough. The next year he won his first race. He attended the University of Michigan, where he swam for the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving teams in NCAA and Big Ten Conference competition. While attending Michigan, he participated in the 1932 Summer Olympics as an alternate member of the U.S. Olympic Water Polo team winning a bronze medal. Between 1934-1935 Tex set new collegiate and Amateur Athletic Union records while continuing to win individual and team events for the University of Michigan. The International Swimming Hall of Fame credits Tex with the invention of the flip-turn, a pivotal technique used by all modern swimmers, while he was training Adolph Kiefer for the 1936 Summer Olympics in which Kiefer went on to win a gold medal for the back stroke. In 1935, Tex founded the swimming team at the University of Texas. Tex had to convince UT that they needed a coach since the job was previously a student volunteer. Although he did not get paid he made it work being the lifeguard of the university pool, servicing Coke Machines, and working at a camp in Michigan during the summer. He brought attention to the UT swim team by recruiting incredible swimmers that ended up going to the Olympics. While he coached from 1935–1950, the University of Texas swim team won every Southwest Conference Swimming Championship. In 1950 Tex retired as the UT Coach but not before winning the NCAA Coach of the Year. ” Tex continued to improve Texas Swimming by creating WETS (Working Exes for Texas Swimming), and TAGS (Texas Age Group Swimming)
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