Wally Wolf (2009) - USC Athletics Hall of Fame

Wally Wolf

Induction:
2009
Class:
1951

Wally Wolf, a true aquaman, participated in 4 Olympics in 2 different aquatic sports. He was a member of the USA 800-meter freestyle relay teams at the 1948 London Games, helping the squad win a gold medal in world record time, and the 1952 Helsinki Games (competing only in the prelim heats). He then switched sports and played for the U.S. water polo team at the 1956 Melbourne Games (finishing fifth) and the 1960 Rome Games (placing seventh). He also helped the U.S. water poloists to a silver medal at the 1955 Pan-American Games. At USC, he was a 4-year All-American swimmer (1948-51) and captured 8 Pacific Coast Conference titles, plus he was an All-Conference performer on Trojan water polo teams that shared the PCC title in both 1948 and 1951. He was inducted into the International Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1976, the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2014. After earning his undergraduate and law degrees from USC, he became an entertainment attorney and producer, and he also co-founded a bank. He died on March 12, 1997, at age 66.