UCLA Alumnus Stan Cole Passes Away

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LOS ANGELES – Stanley Clark "Stan" Cole, a three-time Olympian and a three-time All-American water polo player at UCLA (1963-67), passed away last week at the age of 72.

He was born on Oct. 12, 1945 in Dover, Delaware and would later graduate from Whittier High School (Calif.) in 1962 where he was a high school All-American. In 1963, he arrived on the UCLA campus and led the Bruin freshmen in scoring with 53 goals in 10 games. It was in that season that he would lose the only game of his collegiate career, an 8-7 setback to the USC freshman squad. He would never lose to the Trojans again, going 4-0 in the rest of his college days.

In 1964, Cole was chosen as a member of the United States Olympic Water Polo Team along with Bruin teammate Dave Ashleigh. The 6-foot-1-inch, 186-pounder went on to become the leading scorer on the U.S. squad in Tokyo, Japan as the Americans finished in a tie for ninth place.

Returning to UCLA as a sophomore in 1965, Cole led the Bruin varsity squad to a perfect 15-0 record, leading the Bruins with 51 goals and being selected to both the All-AAWU and All-America teams.

His junior season in 1966 went the same with the Bruins going 15-0 on the season and Cole leading UCLA in scoring with 64 goals. He was again selected as a unanimous choice for the All-AAWU and All-America teams.

During his junior season, his legendary head coach at UCLA, Bob Horn, said of Cole, "He is the best shooter I've ever had. He is extremely difficult to guard due to his strength and amazing speed."

Cole complemented his water polo skills by competing on the UCLA varsity swimming team as well. He originally turned out for the team to stay in shape for the water polo season, but developed into an outstanding butterfly sprinter, causing Horn to say, "Stan has the potential to become the top sprinter in the United States."

Another undefeated season followed in 1967 as the Bruins went 14-0 with Cole again earning unanimous selections to both the All-AAWU and All-America squads.

He would win a gold medal at the 1967 Pan American Games and would again represent his country at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. Team USA finished in fifth place after a 6-3 win over the Netherlands in the 5-8 Classificiation and a 6-4 win over East Germany in the fifth-place game.

After graduating from UCLA in 1968, he went on to work in commercial construction. Then in 1972, the Olympics came calling again as Cole was the only member of the squad that also played on the 1964 and 1968 teams. He scored six of his career 11 Olympic goals at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, leading the Americans to the bronze medal,

He was elected to the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1984 and to the International Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1986 and has the distinction of becoming the first-ever water polo player inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1990.

On Oct. 13, 2015, he was one of six Bruins and 16 players named to the Pac-12 All-Century Water Polo Team. He left UCLA as an NCAA record holder in swimming, earning All-American honors all four years. He won the 1965 Pac-10 Conference 100-yard butterfly championship and during collegiate competition, won eight All-American awards during AAU competition. He was also named the AAU American Water Polo Player of the Year in 1967.

For an interesting read on Cole's Olympic career, check out an article written by Rich Foster for Water Polo Planet on March 1, 2014, by clicking here.

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UCLA Alumnus Stan Cole Passes Away

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

UCLA Alumnus Stan Cole Passes Away

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