The Legacy of Harvard’s 1975 Men’s Swim Team

In 1975, the Harvard men’s swim team dominated its dual meet season with a 9-0 overall record. The team glided through the pool to success, thwarting fierce competitors including Navy, Princeton, and, of course, its historic rival Yale.

Now, fifty years after its incredible season, the team remains one of the most iconic in the program’s long history. Coached by Ray Essick, the small roster of swimmers brimmed with talent. In addition to Americans, the group included two Canadians, two Aussies, one South African, and Francisco Canales ’78 from Puerto Rico. Captained by Richard Baughman ’75 and David Brumwell ’75, the team was very inclusive, promoting a community in which foreign and American students alike could thrive.

After meeting the 1973-74 team during its training trip to Puerto Rico, Canales, who had never visited Harvard’s campus, decided to join the ranks of the Crimson. Upon arriving in Cambridge, Canales had never spoken English full-time before, which made the already challenging transition to collegiate life difficult.

“They quickly welcomed me into the family,” Canales said, describing his teammates. “Road trips to other Ivies gave us bonding time, and over the years we consumed massive quantities of McDonald’s food on the bus rides home, led by Tom Wolf ’77.”

Despite the sense of camaraderie that the team fostered, the group was intensely competitive.

“We had world-class swimmers every day in the pool, led by Hess Yntema ’76,” Canales said. “It was easy to be motivated.”

Baughman, a Captain and distance freestyler on the team, credits the motivational aspect of the team to Don Gambril, who held the head coaching position before Ray Essick. Before attending Harvard, Baughman, like many of his teammates, was torn between the chance to swim for a more competitive program – like the University of Michigan or USC — or to attend a less athletically focused, but more academically rigorous institution like Harvard.

“As a 17-year-old whose life was largely swimming competitively year-round on AAU, high school, and club teams, I was concerned about the current Harvard program and whether or not I’d be throwing away my swimming career with a less-than-competitive national program,” Baughman said. “I got a call from Don Gambril shortly before decisions were due. He was very persuasive in his own low-key manner, and his amazing record spoke for itself, making the decision easy for me.”

Gambril was clearly inspirational for Baughman as well as the other recruits, for out of the 11 students he recruited that year, nine of them made the choice to attend Harvard.

“Don was probably the best swim coach I’ve ever had,” Baughman added. “His low-key but highly motivational approach worked very well for me.”

In April of 1973, Gambril shocked Baughman and the other Harvard swimmers by announcing his departure from the program. Ray Essick was then hired as the new head coach.

“When Ray Essick arrived, the tone of the program changed noticeably, and I was also beginning to burn out,” Baughman explained. “He was not the motivator that Don was.”

Under Essick’s tutelage, the program succeeded.

Members of the 1975 swimming team share a laugh. By COURTESY OF KEVIN B. O’CONNELL

“We all always did very well,” shared Kevin O’Connell ’78, a freshman backstroker on the 1975 team. “You might call us a powerhouse at the time.”

In fact, it was not until mid-March, when the team kicked off its postseason with a trip to Hanover, N.H., for the Eastern Seaboard Championships, that it faced its first defeat of the year. After a disappointing first day in the pool, the Crimson secured third place, an unsatisfactory but still undoubtedly respectable finish for a group that dominated all season.

From the opening splash of the season, the Harvard swimmers had been unbeatable.

Harvard tallied victories against all its formidable opponents, which spurred Coach Essick to give each of his athletes a T-shirt with a big red target printed on the front. Rather than a typical bullseye, these tees were adorned with a big red H in the middle. Before facing off against the Cornell Big Red, Essick shared that he felt as though everyone was aiming to beat Harvard. The shirts served as formal reminders, just in case any of the Harvard swimmers forgot that their success poised them as targets.

Despite the rise in pressure, the Crimson continued its reign of dominance in the pool, easily thwarting the Big Red 77-36. Its victory was powered by diver Dave English and Yntema’s rapid 1:44.8 time in the 200m freestyle. To wrap up the competition, Brumwell nabbed first place in the 200m individual medley.

Harvard then faced off against Princeton. The Tigers put up a close fight in their home pool. The meet’s deciding race came down to the 400-yard freestyle relay, where Harvard’s Steve Baird tested Princeton’s star sprinter, and was able to successfully protect his team’s undefeated record.

Knowing that nobody on his team could defeat Princeton’s formidable Joe Loughran, Essick strove for a close second-place finish from freshman Canales to secure the 62-51 victory. Canales delivered for his team, earning second in both the 500 and the 1000-yard freestyle races.

He “was up against the Princeton captain in the biggest meet of the year in front of the noisy Princeton crowd," Essick said while describing Canales’ race in February 1975. "He just turned it on in the final 25 yards in a very, very exciting race."

The success of Canales, who then raced for Puerto Rico in the 1976 Olympics, and the team carried them to the Eastern Seaboard Championships.

After a perfect regular season, Harvard opened up its postseason disastrously. The first day of the meet was later dubbed “Black Thursday.” Flukey and unforced errors, including missing turns, running out of stamina, and falling far behind expectations, plagued the team.

Shocked by the lackluster performance, Tom Wolfe, Ted Fullerton, Hess Yntema, and Steve Baird quickly ignited momentum for Harvard late on Thursday afternoon. The four swimmers set a new Harvard record of 3:29 in the 400 medley relay, propelling the team to 6th place.

Notably, Baird swam a 46 to power his team in the last leg of the relay. If Baird’s race had stood alone, it too would have set a new Harvard record.

Inspired by the grit demonstrated by the relay group, Harvard spent the rest of the competition scratching up through the rankings. Keim earned first in the 100 fly, Fullerton won the breaststroke, Brumwell nabbed 2nd in the 400 IM, and the Crimson slowly rose to third place.

On the final day of racing, fueled by momentum, Harvard continued its push for first, as the divers outscored all competitors, including Princeton and NC State, in the three-meter. Despite successes across the board, the Harvard team fell just short of the championship title, taking third behind both Princeton and NC State.

The 1975 swim team proved that success was not merely determined by the times on the clock.

“I have fond memories of that ’75 team,” Canales said. “Harvard can be a hard place to acclimate to, but the swim team was a perfect environment for me to adjust to college life and make lifelong friendships.”

In an age where collegiate sports are increasingly marked by specialization and transfer culture, the 1975 swim team stands out not just for its athletic achievements, but for its authenticity. They were not just fast swimmers. They were friends, roommates, and each other’s family in Cambridge.

In fact, many of them continue to stay in touch and some of them even still race together, 50 years later.

In August, four members of the team, Baughman, Wolf, Yntema, and Canales, are swimming a relay at the Masters Long Course Championships, where they will try for a record in the 280+ age group.

–Staff writer Isabel C. Smail can be reached at isabel.smail@thecrimson.com.