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Mike Miazga |
Mike O'Hara has packed plenty into 72 years of life.
The 1964 indoor volleyball Olympian once had an equity interest in the old
ABA Dallas Chaparrels pro basketball team. That team was sold and moved to
San Antonio and re-named the Spurs. Their NBA success speaks for itself.
O'Hara was no longer involved with the team when it moved to San Antonio.
He was also involved for a stretch with a hockey team called the Quebec
Nordiques in the WHA, who later moved to Denver and won a Stanley Cup in 1996
as the Colorado Avalanche.
"My teams have faired well along the way," laughed O'Hara.
Back to the volleyball accomplishments. Besides the Olympic run, O'Hara
was part of the 1954 UCLA men's team that won a national championship in the
days prior to the NCAA. O'Hara didn't play the sport in his high school years
(he entered high school at 4'10", but enjoyed a huge growth spurt in the span
of two years). He wanted to play basketball at UCLA but was told certain
pine-riding would await him. He was bit with the volleyball bug through his
fraternity.
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Mike O'Hara |
"We went to the athletic director and said we heard about the national
championships in Omaha," said O'Hara. "He gave us some game-used basketball
jerseys and said good luck. Six of us got into the car and drove to Omaha and
came back with the cup. The AD later said he was in the business of national
championships."
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Mike O'Hara |
O'Hara later went on to coach at Santa Monica City College in the days
where two-year schools were still able to play the four-year schools.
"One of my greatest joys was coaching Santa Monica in the late 1960s," said
O'Hara. "We knocked off UCLA 15-3 in the finals one year. A year later they
told the two-year schools they were no longer welcome to play with the big
boys. Thus, I retired gracefully."
Last spring O'Hara returned to the bench at Santa Monica as an assistant
men's coach under head coach Mark Lee. Santa Monica tied for the conference
championship—ending a title drought that stretched back to 1983.
But volleyball is just one of many things that keeps O'Hara busy. He's
also an avid tennis player, traveling to tournaments all over the nation. He
was actively involved with the United States Olympic Committee's efforts to
bring the 2012 Olympics to New York City. O'Hara headed to Singapore for a
week in July as part of those efforts.
O'Hara is scheduled to be inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame Sept. 30,
joining some elite company in that fraternity.
We're not done yet. O'Hara also gives speeches, combining his volleyball
experiences with talk about prostate cancer. He is a survivor of the
disease.
"I give them the inside scoop on the Olympic Games and prostate cancer
communities," said O'Hara. "One everybody would want to be part of, the other
nobody wants to be part of."
Looking back, O'Hara is glad he made the decision to get back to the
bench.
"Mark Lee has been good to me and the kids we had were talented," said
O'Hara, a 1989 Volleyball Hall of Fame inductee. "It's been great fun to be
back."
Mike Miazga
Editor in Chief
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