Charles McCaffree

Charles McCaffree Jr. was a collegiate swimmer for Michigan University and their Head Coach from 1941-1969, where he led the team to 8 Central Collegiate Conference championships, a National AAU title, and a Big Ten Conference Championship in 1957. He was an Asst. Manager to the U.S. Olympic swim team in 1972, and as a major contributor to the swimming community in the 1960's, served as President of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America and Secretary of the U.S.Olympic Swim Committee.

Charles McCaffree Jr.

Biographical details
Born	October 16, 1907 Canova, South Dakota
Died	December 13, 1980(1980-12-13) (aged 73) Austin, Texas
Alma mater	Michigan University
Playing career
1926-1930	Michigan University
Position(s)	Swimming, Freestyle
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1930-1936	Battle Creek High School Head Swim Coach
1936-1937	Michigan University Asst. Swim Coach
1938-1941	Iowa State University Head Swim Coach
1941-1969	Michigan State University Head Swim Coach
1959	U.S. Pan American team
1969-74	Michigan State University Director of Aquatics
1972	U.S. Men’s Olympic team Asst. Manager
Head coaching record
Overall	191-58-2 (Michigan State)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4 Big Eight Conference Championships (1938-41 Iowa State) 8 consecutive Central Collegiate Conference championships 2 Michigan AAU titles 1 National AAU title 1957 Big 10 Conference Championship (Michigan State)
Awards
Michigan State Athletic Hall of Fame 1965 National Colleg. and Schol. Swimming Trophy 1976 International Swimming Hall of Fame

Education

McCaffree was born October 16, 1907, in Canova, South Dakota, to Charles and Ethel McCaffree and began swimming at the Sioux Falls South Dakota YMCA. He swam for Michigan State University under Hall of Fame Coach Matthew Mann from 1926-1930.

Coaching

After graduating Michigan, McCaffree coached swimming for Battle Creek Central High School from 1930-1936. Beginning a winning tradition, his High School teams at Battle Creek Central won six consecutive Michigan State Titles, and earned a remarkable record of 53 wins and 3 losses.

Looking to coach at the collegiate level, he briefly returned to his alma mater Michigan University as an Assistant Coach for the 1937-38 season, where he was mentored by his former Hall of Fame Coach Matthew Mann. Becoming familiar with championship teams early in his career, while serving as Michigan's Assistant Coach in 1937, the team won the NCAA Championship. McCaffree coached at Iowa State from 1938-1941 as Head Swim Coach, and led the team to four consecutive Big 8 Conference Championships.

Michigan State

With McCaffree's success at Iowa State, Michigan State Athletic Director Ralph Young invited him to view MSU's new facilities. McCaffree accepted the Head Coaching position at Michigan State in 1941, and remained as Coach through 1969. In 1946, Michigan State won a Canadian National Championship. McCaffree's swim teams at Michigan State won eight consecutive Central Collegiate Conference championships and a National American Athletic Union Title. On the state level, MSU captured two Michigan AAU titles. After joining the Big 10 conference, the team won their first conference title in 1957. McCaffree served as the Director of Athletics at Michigan State. On an individual level, throughout his career his swimmers won 55 individual Big 10 Championship titles at the Big 10 tournament and he coached a total of 293 Collegiate All-Americans.

In their more outstanding National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) National competitions, MSU had two second place finishes and three third place finishes. In his coaching retirement, he served as the MSU Varsity-Alumni "S" Club manager. Outstanding swimmers coached by McCaffree included Olympians Howard Patterson (MSU), George Hoogerhyde, who qualified but did not compete, Clarke Scholes, Gary Dilley, Ken Walsh, and Pete Williams.

After retiring from coaching the swim team at Michigan State in 1969, McCaffree served as MSU Athletic Director from 1969-1974. He later served as the MSU Varsity-Alumni "S" Club manager, continuing to reside in East Lansing, Michigan.

Swimming community roles

From 1961-1962, he served as the President of the American Swim Coaches Association and from 1960-1961, was the President of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. In the 1960's, he served as the Secretary of the U.S. Olympic Swim Committee, and in a higher profile role, served as the Assistant Manager for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team in 1972. He also held a position as the secretary of the NCAA swimming rules committee, and edited the Swimming Guide for the NCAA. He served as a member of the National AAU Swimming Committee for men.

Honors

McCaffree was a recipient in 1965 of the National Collegiate Swim Trophy and in 1976 was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame, and was a recipient of the National Colleg. and Schol. Swimming Trophy in 1965. In 1969, he was inducted into the Michigan State University Athletic Hall of Fame.

McCaffree died in Austin, Texas at the home of his daughter on December 13, 1980. His health had been affected by a stroke earlier in the Fall of 1980, and he had been receiving treatment at an Austin medical facility.