Dick Hanley (swimmer)
Not to be confused with Richard Edgar Hanley, Northwestern Football Coach
 Hanley at Michigan in 1957. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Dennis Hanley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | "Dick" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 19, 1936 Evanston, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | May 11, 2022 (aged 86) Skokie, Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Freestyle | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Michigan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Gus Stager | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Richard Dennis Hanley (February 19, 1936 – May 11, 2022) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic medalist, and former world record-holder.
Early life and swimming[edit]
Hanley was born in Evanston, Illinois, on February 19, 1936 to Jane Hunter Hanley and Myron "Mike" Hanley, and attended and swam for the Evanston Township High School "Wildkits", an Illinois swimming dynasty. Competing for Evanston High in February 1954, he qualified for the Suburban League varsity swimming meet in both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle.[1]
As a high school junior in February 1954, he held the record in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 54.8. Swimming the freestyle leg in 1955, he was part of a 150-yard medley relay team that lowered their own interscholastic record to 1:18 in the finals of the Suburban League meet.[2]
In 1955, at around 18, Hanley also set and held the Illinois state record for the 50-yard freestyle.[3]
Under coach Dobbie Burton, Evanston High won state championships each year from 1952 to 1956 and won 52 straight dual meets over a three-year period.[4][5]
Swimming for Michigan[edit]
He attended the University of Michigan, where he swam for Hall of Fame Coach Gus Stager and was a varsity swimmer for the Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 1955 to 1959.[6][7]
He was a member of the Michigan Wolverines' NCAA national championship teams in the 400-yard medley relay in 1957 and 1959 and the 400-yard freestyle relay in 1959. In the same year, he won an individual NCAA national championship in the 200-yard freestyle.[6][8]
1956 Melbourne Olympic medal[edit]
At the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, he received a silver medal for swimming the lead-off leg for the runner-up U.S. team in the men's 4×200-meter freestyle relay.[6][8]
After college, he continued to swim and trained and competed in Masters Swimming for Evanston Masters. Hanley worked as a professor and swimming coach at the Chicago City Colleges.[9]
He died May 11, 2022 in Skokie, Illinois. He was married to Judy Loftus, had one son, and was a grandfather.[10][9]
See also[edit]
- List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men)
- List of University of Michigan alumni
- World record progression 200 metres freestyle
References[edit]
- ^ "Evanston Tops Qualifiers for League Swim". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. February 13, 1954. pp. 2–4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Evanston Trio Lowers Own Swim Record". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. February 13, 1955. p. 2-2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Prep Swim Records". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. February 25, 1960. p. 5-4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Record Feats?, Prep Swimmer Have 'Em Too", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, 4 February 1954, pg. 55
- ^ "Team Titles: Evanston (Twp.)". Team Champions and Runners-Up. IHSA. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ a b c MGoBlue.com, Men's Swimming & Diving, Michigan Men's Swimming and Diving All-Time NCAA Champions Archived 2017-06-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ "Hanley Eyes Best swim Year; Tries To Regain Record Form". The Michigan Daily. December 14, 1958. p. 12 – via Bentley Historical Library.
- ^ a b HickokSports.com, Sports History, NCAA Men's Swimming & Diving Champions Archived 2002-02-23 at the Library of Congress Web Archives. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ a b "Richard D. Hanley Obituary". www.tributearchive.com. Retrieved 2023-09-18.
- ^ "Richard Hanley Obituary (1936 - 2022)". Legacy.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
External links[edit]
- Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Dick Hanley". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
| Men's Team |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Team | ||
- 1936 births
- 2022 deaths
- American male freestyle swimmers
- World record setters in swimming
- Michigan Wolverines men's swimmers
- Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming
- Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois
- Swimmers at the 1956 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics
- 20th-century American people