By Charlotte Wells on SwimSwam
Carl Samuelson, the former head coach of the swimming and diving program at Williams College in Massachusetts, died on February 24th following complications from kidney disease. He was 94.
Samuelson served as the head coach at Williams for 33 years from 1966-1999, building a hugely successful Division III program. During his time at the helm, the men’s and women’s teams collectively won 39 individual and 23 relay NCAA titles and earned 340 All-American honors.
He also guided the programs to 27 New England Championship titles, including an 11-year streak during which both the men and women went undefeated at the conference championships.
Born in 1931, Samuelson was raised in Middletown, Connecticut. While growing up, he participated in YMCA junior swimming, and as a freshman, he helped found Middletown High School’s inaugural swim team.
After high school, Samuelson headed to Massachusetts to swim for Springfield College, where he competed from 1950-1952 and 1954-1956 with a two-year break to serve in the military. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1957. He took up a position coaching Springfield’s freshman swim team while pursuing a master’s in physical education and remained there for nine years.
In 1966, Samuelson joined Williams College as the head coach of men’s swimming and diving. Four years later, the school began admitting women for the first time, and he rewrote Williams’ physical education programs to include women in previously all-male activities. Samuelson also launched new programs in dance and yoga.
Samuelson was named the coordinator of aquatics in 1975 and oversaw the implementation of a lifeguard program. That same year, he led the establishment of women’s swimming as a varsity sport at Williams. Less than a decade later, the Ephs won the inaugural women’s NCAA Division III Championship in 1982 before defending their title in 1983.
Samuelson was named the CSCAA Division III Coach of the Year in both 1982 and 1983. He picked up the honor one more time in 1995, which was the same year he was featured in Sports Illustrated.
As part of his role as the coordinator of aquatics, Samuelson helped design a new pool, and at the facility’s opening in 1988, he celebrated the occasion by jumping off the 3-meter diving board in a tuxedo.
Samuelson’s wife, Nancy, served as Williams College’s health center’s medical secretary, and both she and Samuelson retired in 1999. After the pair left the school, swim and dive alums created a scholarship fund in their name.
In 2000, the Williams College pool was officially renamed to the Carl R. Samuelson and Robert B. Muir Pool.
Outside of coaching, Samuelson was an active member of the local community. He was elected President of the New England Intercollegiate Swimming Association in 1968, acted as Chairman of the Williamstown American Red Cross Bloodmobile Drive from 1972-1982, and served on the Williamstown Community Chest Board of Directors from 1975-1983.
Samuelson sought to share his philosophies on developing competitive men’s and women’s swimming programs, lecturing in Florida and Rhode Island as well as internationally in Beijing and Shanghai.
Samuelson was featured on the CSCAA list of the 100 best coaches in 2022 before being inducted into the inaugural class of the organization’s Division III Hall of Fame in 2024.
Former Williams College swimmer Elizabeth Jex (‘83) commented on the impact that Samuelson had on his athletes.
“He was like a father and a swim coach rolled into one,” Jex said. “And each of us swam or dove to make him and our teammates proud.”
Samuelson was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy, in 2020. The couple is survived by their three children, as well as several grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
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