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Profile of a Pioneer

AASC Retrospective: Part Two

By Linda Hass

Friends of RoseMary Dawson used to joke that she was a "Mann" before she was a woman. Indeed, RoseMary, daughter of legendary swim coach Matt Mann II and founder of the Ann Arbor Swim Club, could be tough as nails when it came to swim practice.

But RoseMary also had a soft side. "She was a hard task master, but she also gave us a lot of love. It was a potent combination for bringing out the best in athletes," said Pioneer High School Hall of Famer Marty Sinn Catalano, Bloomfield, who swam with the club in the mid-1950s and early 1960s.

This combination of traits not only produced top-notch athletes, it also bucked the status quo and built clubs. In fact, RoseMary founded the Ann Arbor Swim Club as a challenge and used it as a springboard to blaze trails for female swimmers. "She laid the groundwork for the quality club we have today, in spite of the fact that women were discouraged from swimming competitively," said Liz Graziano, AASC president.

"When you're working physically with children, teaching them a skill, and they learn that skill, there's an exuberance between you that's unmatched."

RoseMary Dawson

RoseMary, who coached 40 Olympians and 350 All-Americans with her father, died in 2003 at the age of 81. But her legacy lives on in the lives of those she touched and the club she founded. This is the story of her life and her impact on the sport.

The Early Days

RoseMary was born to Lea and Matt Mann in 1921. When she was young, her family moved from Duluth, Minn., to Ann Arbor, where her father accepted the position of head swim coach at the University of Michigan. Although Mann enjoyed many successes during his 30 years as coach, including his induction in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, he considered a Canadian sports and wilderness camp one of his enduring accomplishments.

Ironically, she did not compete in club swimming as a girl, since swimming was not a sport for women, but she often practiced with groups at the Canadian swim camp, and beat many of them, said Buck Dawson.

Through her father, RoseMary met many famous swimmers, including Johnny Weissmuller, swimming star of the 1924 and 1928 Olympics and later star of the "Tarzan" movies. She wrote about one experience when she was an impressionable young girl. According to her account, Weissmuller was feeling playful after a good meal at the Mann home in Ann Arbor. He picked her up, bounced her on his knee, then went to the Michigan Union Pool where he swam his famed 51-second, 100-yard freestyle. It was the fastest time in the world at that time. (The Michigan Union Pool was the predecessor of Canham Natatorium.) Weismuller holds eight Olympic medals; five of them Gold.

In the 1930s, RoseMary attended Ann Arbor University High School, which no longer exists. She graduated from the University of Michigan as a speech major in 1943. This background proved especially useful, since she maintained a commanding presence and often spoke with authority, former swimmers recalled.

Sometime after her college graduation, she married her first husband, Bruce Corson. The couple had three children: Bruce Corson Jr., Marilyn Corson Whitney and Connie Corson. All were competitive swimmers. Corson Whitney went on to win a bronze medal swimming for Canada in the 4 x 100 freestyle relay at the 1968 Olympics.

Bruce Corson Sr. died in an automobile accident in 1953. RoseMary remarried Buck Dawson, a self-proclaimed swimming fan and walking encyclopedia of swim facts, in 1955. The couple had one child, Marci Dawson Williams, who predeceased RoseMary in 1999 due to complications from diabetes.

Club Coaching

RoseMary honed her coaching skills at Ak-O-Mak, but she often claimed that she came by them naturally. "What choice do I have when my father is a coach who met my mother in a pool?" she wrote in an article. However she acquired her skills, the fact remains that she was an effective coach who earned the respect of her swimmers.

"I really like working with children, particularly those between 11 and 15, which is the time most people would like to give them away. I like watching their minds and bodies grow as they become young adults."

RoseMary Dawson

So much so, that Camp Ak-O-Mak prodigies from Ann Arbor encouraged her to start her own club after summer camp ended. In 1955, RoseMary submitted an application to the Michigan Association of the Amateur Athletic Union, which was the governing body of competitive swimming at that time. The application was granted, and around 1956, the Ann Arbor Swim Club held its first practice, said Buck Dawson, adding that young club went on to win several state and national championships.

Matt Mann, RoseMary and Buck Dawson

After the girls swim season ended, RoseMary filled the void by offering water polo training for women, coordinating polo tournaments and ultimately reviving women's AAU Water Polo.The contribution is especially significant since the sport had been dormant for 30 years, said Eric Velazquez, spokesperson for USA Water Polo and editor of USA Water Polo: the Magazine at the time of this writing.

"Women's water polo is indebted to RoseMary and the women who followed her," he said. "To captain the revival of a dormant sport takes great courage and passion. RoseMary was suffering from a shortage of neither. Her example is pertinent to us today because it shows what you can accomplish when you try. I wish more people know about her."

RoseMary's golden touch also prevailed in water polo, propelling her team to win the first three National Championships. One of her goalies, Micki King, who dove for the University of Michigan, went on to win an Olympic gold medal in diving. Another goalie, Marcia Smoke Jones, won a bronze Olympic medal in kayaking.

College Crusade

Inspired by her club's promise, RoseMary established a women's competitive swimming program at the University of Michigan in 1958. It was a move that tested her mettle. "People didn't think women should swim competitively in those days, so they gave RoseMary the title 'Adviser to the Ladies Speed Swim Club' rather than the title of coach," said Buck Dawson.

Jim Richardson, current head coach of women's swimming at U of M, praised RoseMary's pioneering efforts and said times were indeed tough for female athletes and coaches in the early days of the sport. "There was a lot of tradition built into male sports, plus most college administrators at the time were male. For these reasons and more, it was difficult for people to understand and identify with this new thing called women's sports," he said.

But change was only a matter of time. All it took was the right person to jumpstart the process. RoseMary was equal to the task.

"She was a true pioneer. She had the tenacity to create opportunities for women in a sport dominated by men."

Bob Duenkel , Executive Director,
International Swimming Hall of Fame

RoseMary took her crusade to Junior Swimmer and Swimming World magazine, where she wrote an article promoting women's entry into college sports. "With the national emphasis now placed on physical fitness, we cannot go on blindly believing that college girls do not want to compete until we try it," she wrote in the January 1963 issue.

The article, titled "Crusade in the Colleges," continued: "There is little question that the traditional viewpoint opposing extramural competitive sports for college girls is still firmly entrenched in many colleges. The enthusiastic response to varsity sports for girls . . . and the competitive nature of the American way of life make it inevitable that extramural sports for high school and college girls must come."

Her crusade reached a climax when she helped establish the first women's National Collegiate Swimming and Diving Championships, which were held at Michigan State University, East Lansing, in December 1962. "There were a few meets for women on the college level before this championship, but they were more like club swimming than intercollegiate swimming," said Duenkel.

University of Michigan Girls' Team - Winners of the 1st Intercollegiate Championships on Dec. 1 at East Lansing and winner of 7 dual meets prior to the championships. L to R - (Top) Pam Swart, Janice Snavely, Jill Schuette, Linda Hutton, Micki King, Peggi Wirth, Cynthia Osgood. (Bottom row) June Mori, Anne Huntzicker, Donna Conklin, Coach RoseMary Dawson, Suzy Thrasher, Nancy Wager

RoseMary's team set the standard by winning the championships for three successive years. It was the kind of success that lent momentum to the eventual passage of Title IX, said Buck Dawson, referring to the 1972 law that bans sex discrimination in schools.

Liz Graziano, president of the Ann Arbor Swim Club, agreed. "Female swimmers of today owe her a debt of gratitude for opening doors and eliminating obstacles so they can pursue their dreams," she said.

Some of RoseMary's other accomplishments during the 1960s include her selection as coach to take the first-ever age group swim team overseas, and the publication of several articles and books, including Age Group Swimming.

She continued coaching at the Ann Arbor Swim Club and at the University of Michigan until 1963, when she was offered the women's swim coach position at the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She eagerly accepted, since Union Pool was scheduled to close and since her new job brought her closer to Camp Ak-O-Mak. The family moved to London, Ontario, that year, recalled Marilyn Corson Whitney.

A Lasting Mark

In 1965, Buck Dawson was offered a job as executive director of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale. "It was his dream job, given his encyclopedic knowledge of swimming information," said Corson Whitney. RoseMary quit her job at the university and the couple moved to Ft. Lauderdale, where both ended up working to establish the Hall of Fame, which includes a museum, library, and archives.

In 1976, she was named Florida Coach of the Year.

"Stroke perfection was extremely important to Mom, and her drills emphasized that," said her daughter, Marilyn Corson Whitney, who is studying for her Ph.D. in interior design at Virginia Tech University.

Whitney, a bronze medal winner for Canada, competed in two Olympics. She attributes much of her athletic success to her mother. "Mom knew how to bring out the best in her swimmers at a time when women were discouraged from competing in anything but cheerleading. She was a dedicated visionary," she said.

RoseMary's Reflections

RoseMary became head coach at Pine Crest for a few years, then retired. Shortly before retirement, she reflected on the rewards of her career in an article published in the April 27, 1978 issue of the Ft. Lauderdale News: "I really like working with children, particularly those between 11 and 15, which is the time most people would like to give them away. I like watching their minds and bodies grow as they become young adults. Hopefully, I can feel I had a little to do with the end results," she said.

Her quote continued: "When you're working physically with children, teaching them a skill, and they learn that skill, there's an exuberance between you that's unmatched. You form a very special relationship."

RoseMary, known for her engaging smile and tough style, is perhaps best remembered as a trailblazer. "She never thought about how posterity would view her efforts to help women athletes, or what lasting impact the first National Collegiate Swimming and Diving Championships would have," said Janice Weber of Ann Arbor. Weber, an AAU national medalist, swam with the Ann Arbor Swim Club in the 1950s and 1960s.

"All RoseMary knew was that there was a need for this kind of breakthrough, and she was willing to step forward to make it happen," said Weber. "It's only now, in retrospect, that we can see the tremendous impact she had."

RoseMary died in Ft. Lauderdale following a 40-year battle with diabetes. A memorial service was held at Camp Ak-O-Mak and an oceanside service was held in Ft. Lauderdale.

Her legacy lives on, as the club she founded celebrates its golden anniversary and prepares for the future.

Look for the anniversary book, 50 Years of Memories: 1956-2006, at the Holiday Invite this December. The winning cover design by 10-year-old Lucas Allen of AASC's Sr. Development group captures the exuberance of our club's anniversary celebration and our competitive program. Congrats, Lucas!

Creative cover entries by finalists Anna Riegger, 7, of our Intermediate group and Sr. D swimmers Willa Wang, 10, and Jeffrey Krasnow, 12, are also featured. Great job!

Roam the cosmos without leaving your comfy chair. View asteroids, nebulae, Northern Lights, the awesome force of Hurricane Katrina, and 50+ Astronomy Pictures of the Day.

Next Issue: AASC swimmers have set new standards in our sport. Learn about them in the last of our three-part "AASC Retrospective."