Cal State LA Athletics

Don Gambril was a center and linebacker on Cal State L.A.’s 1956 football team, but his greatest triumphs came in the swimming pool. He was the head coach of the U.S. Olympic team that won 21 gold medals at the 1984 Olympic Games. He was also an assistant coach for U.S. Olympic teams in 1968, 1972 and 1976.

In 1983, Gambril was the head coach of the U.S. team that won 25 gold medals in the Pan American Games. That same year, he became the first recipient of the United States Swimming Award and he was also inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

He was later the head coach at Alabama for 17 years following head coaching stints at Long Beach State and Harvard. He became the head coach at Alabama in 1973 and coached the men’s team for 17 years and the women’s team for 11 years before retiring from coaching in 1990.