Bill Bachrach

William ("Bill", "Big Bill", or "Bach") Bachrach (May 15, 1879, in Chicago, Illinois – July 1959) was an American swimming and water polo coach.

Early life

Bachrach was Jewish, and one of 16 children. In the 1890s, he was a competitive swimmer. He served in the Spanish American War. Later in life, the 6 foot tall Bachrach weighed 300 pounds.

Coaching career

As a coach, Bachrach was called “the beloved tyrant.” He began as a swimming instructor at the Chicago Central YMCA. He coached his swimmers to pull and to push through to their hip at a time that other swimmers were using a half stroke.

He later moved to the Illinois Athletic Club (IAC). There, Bachrach coached swimming and water polo from 1912–54. His 1914–17 IAC water polo teams won the U.S. national championship for four straight years. At the IAC, he coached Jam Handy, Harry Hebner, Mike McDermott, Perry McGillivray, Norman Ross, Bob Skelton, Johnny Weissmuller (later famous in Hollywood as "Tarzan"), Arne Borg, Sybil Bauer, Ethel Lackie, and others. His swimmers won 120 National AAU Championships. He is the only coach whose swimmers and divers won every Men's National AAU championship event in one year (1914).