Bowen Dow Stassforth (August 7, 1926 – November 22, 2019) was an American competition swimmer who swam for the University of Iowa and won a silver medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the 1952 Olympics. He set two world records in the 200-yard (long course) breaststroke,Iowa City Press-Citizen 27 February 1952 Page 18Escanaba Daily Press February 25, 1952 Page 8 and one world record in the 100 meter (long course) breaststroke. After retiring from his swimming career, he worked over fifty years in his family insurance business, and lived most of the remainder of his life in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.Newark Evening News 6 August 1950 Page 54
Early life Stassforth was born in Los Angeles on August 7, 1926 to Adelaide Dow and Howard P. Stassforth. As a young child, he had an intense fear of water, as his early caretaker once put his head under water to familiarize him with the need to swim. After his parents discovered this, they began swimming lessons for Bowen with a number of instructors, none of whom could succeed in overcoming his fear of water. Finally, fundamental swim instruction and continuing lessons with Thelma Payne of the Los Angeles Athletic Club were able to help him overcome his fear of water. He trained and competed as a swimmer at Los Angeles High School (1942–44) and the Hollywood Athletic Club during which time he finished second at the 1943 California State Meet in the 200 yard breaststroke to his teammate Harry Messenheimer.
Bowen swam in the era when the accepted arm motion of the breaststroke was optional with either the contemporary breaststroke underwater arm recovery or the over the water arm motion for recovering the arms after catching the water. No butterfly stroke yet existed in competition. The leg movement for the breaststroke was and would remain the frog kick, also known as the whip kick. In 1953, the breaststroke was separated into two strokes, the breaststroke which used the frog kick, and the butterfly which used the dolphin kick. Stassforth's breastroke recovery placed his elbows out of the water and over his head, which has since been outlawed as part of the breaststroke. Since Stassforth used the breastroke recovery which placed his elbows out of the water, the breaststroke records he held were removed from the record books.
U.S. Navy In August 1944, while still in high school, Bowen enlisted in the U.S. Navy. As his vision was poor, to aid him in gaining admission to the service, he memorized the eye chart for his initial physical. During basic training, his vision problems were discovered by his superiors, who learned of his former success as a club and high school swimmer. To restrict his range of service due to his vision and remove him from active duty, Stafforth was assigned to teach swimming and water survival skills to enlisted sailors on North Island in San Diego. He was honorably discharged in 1946.2nd Place Curse phone interview August 9, 2010
National AAU competitions 1945-1949 At his first AAU National Outdoor Championship meet in 1945, representing Fleet Air Wing 14, he placed second in the 200-meter breaststroke.Los Angeles Times 12 August 1946 Page A6 The next year in 1946, he placed sixth in both the AAU National Indoor and Outdoor Championship 220y/200M breaststroke behind Joe Verdeur, Charles Keating and his future coach, James Counsilman.New York Times 6 April 1946 Page 23New York Times 5 August 1946 Page 28 In 1949, Bowen moved up the standings finishing third in the AAU Outdoor Championships 200 m breaststroke behind Keith Carter and Joe Verdeur the previous years' Olympic silver and gold medalists.New York Times 20 August 1949 Page 15
University of Iowa He enrolled at the University of Iowa for the 1947–1948 school year and was coached by both David Armbruster and his assistant coach James "Doc" Counsilman, who would later coach at the University of Indiana and become a Hall of Fame recipient. Stafforth was not allowed to compete as a freshman, however, due to conference eligibility rules at that time. He swam for Iowa during 1949, 1950, and 1952. While enrolled at Iowa, he was awarded all-American honors in eight years and was a member of a 400 meter medley relay team that won a gold medal. In 1952, he received a most valuable award for athletes in Iowa by the American Athletic Union.Mason City Globe Gazette July 16, 1948 Page 15
Having already enrolled at the University of Iowa, Stassforth participated in the U.S. Olympic Trials in July, 1948 placing seventh in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:47.7.Page 120 1948 US Olympic Book-Report of the US Olympic Committee
International competition As a result of his success as a collegiate competitor at Iowa, Stassforth was invited to his first international competition as part of the U.S. National Swim Team in 1950, and participated in several meets held in Japan.Aims Daily Tribune 25 July 1950 Page 16 This was the first time the American swim team had defeated Japan on Japanese soil. At the dual meet in Tokyo, Bowen set the world record in the 100 m breaststroke(long course) in 1:09.4 barely edging out his teammate Robert Brawner. Later that year, he was second in the National AAU Outdoor Championships in the 220 yard breaststroke to Robert Brawner.
In 1951, he won a bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:47.6Page 349 1952 US Olympic Book-Report of the US Olympic Committee and a gold in the medley relay at the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires. At the 1951 National AAU Outdoor Championships in the 200 m breaststroke, Bowen was second to John Davies but ahead of Robert Brawner, who placed third and Jerry Holan, who placed fourth.New York Times 29 July 1951 Page 21
1952 Olympic silver medal While at U. of Iowa, after a fourth place finish behind John Davies, Jerry Holan, and Robert Brawner at the NCAA finals in 1952 in the 200 yard Breaststroke,Los Angeles Times 29 March 1952 Page B2 his Big Ten rival and friend, John Davies informed Bowen he should making adjustments to his training regiment. After heeding Davies's advice, Stassforth qualified first overall at the 1952 US Olympic Trials beating trial competitors Brawner and Holan and breaking Joe Verdeur's American citizen recordEvening Independent 7 July 1952 Page 16 with a time of 2:36.0 in the 200 m breaststroke.Page 124 1952 US Olympic Book-Report of the US Olympic Committee
At the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, he qualified for the finals of the 200 m breaststroke. While on the starting blocks of the finals, the cold air caused his muscles to tense up. In order to counter act this, he purposely false started using the short time in the water to loosen back up. Back up on the blocks, he was careful not to false start again. When the race was over, he placed second for the silver, touched out by only 0.3 of a second to gold medalist and Big Ten rival and friend John Davies of the University of Michigan who represented Australia. His time of 2:34.7 set a new American record for the 200 m breaststroke (long course).Page 129 1952 US Olympic Book-Report of the US Olympic CommitteeHerbert Klein the world record holder in the 200 m breaststroke in both short and long courses was third. Davies, Stassforth, and Klein were the only three swimmers to better 2:35 in history in the 200 m breaststroke (long course) prior to the bifurcation of the stroke in 1953.
He finished his career as the National AAU Outdoor Champion and the American record holder in the 220-yard breaststroke with the same time of 2:34.7 that he swam in the Olympics. After the race, Bowen remarked, "Up till now I never felt that I had done my best. Now I'm satisfied. That was it."New York Times 28 August 1952 Page 30
American Records In 1952, as shown in the table below, at the conclusion of Stassforth's career, he concurrently held 16Iowa City Press-Citizen 11 December 1952 Page 22 national breaststroke records in distances from 200 yards to 500 meters in 20 yard, short course and long course pools.Mason City Globe 6 October 1952 Page 16
Post swimming life Stassforth worked in his family's insurance business beginning in the 1950's where he served over fifty years. He married his wife Corinne Marjorie Batsche on the afternoon of November 24, 1954 at St. Thomas Aquinus Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Marjorie was a graduate of the University of Cincinnati where she was a member of Theta Phi Alpha. The couple would have five children."Married Yesterday, Corinne Marjorie Batsche", The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, November 25, 1954, pg. 53
Stassforth died in Rancho Palos, Verdes, California at the age of 93 on November 22, 2019. His wife Marjorie had predeceased him in 2016. He had lived in Rancho Palos Verdes since 1957, not long after his retirement as a swimming competitor. Memorial services were held at Green Hills Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes where he was buried.
Honors He was the 1952 Iowa AAU Athlete of the Year and Iowa AAU's nominee for the James E. Sullivan Award. Bowen was inducted into the University of Iowa Hall of Fame in 1996.Iowa City Press-Citizen 6 September 1996 Page 13/
Charles Roeser, the chairman of the U.S. Olympic men's swimming committee in a letter to his coach David Armbruster, called Bowen “one of the most cooperative athletes I have ever known in thirty years of teaching and coaching.” He also called him “America's greatest breaststroke champion, but more than that, a real American and gentleman whose conduct is a worthy example for others to follow.”Cedar Rapids Gazette September 14, 1952 Page 5 He died at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on November 22, 2019, at the age of 93.
Records Concurrent Breaststroke Records held in 1952Date Distance Pool Time Location Record/Prior Recordholder(Time)|20 June 1952 20 yard 2:15.8 Iowa City, Iowa American / Robert Brawner (2:16.6) Iowa City Press-Citizen 21 June 1952 Page 823 February 1952 long pool 2:19.7 Iowa City, Iowa World / Keith Carter (2:24) 20 June 1952 20 yard 2:30.5 Iowa City, Iowa American / Dave Seibold (2:38.5)1 August 1952 50 meter 2:34.7 Helsinki, Finland American / John Davies (2:35.8)20 June 1952 20 yard 2:30.5 Iowa City, Iowa American / Dave Seibold (2:38.5)27 August 1952 55 yard 2:34.7 Newark, New Jersey American / Jerry Holan (2:38)New York Times 28 August 1952 Page 3020 June 1952 50 yard 3:39.9 Iowa City, Iowa American / Keith Carter (3:50)23 April 1950 20 yard 5:16.8 Cedar Rapids, Iowa American / James Werson (5:30.7)Mason City Globe Gazette 24 April 1950 Page 92 May 1950 25 yard 5:14.0 Iowa City, Iowa American / John Higgans (5:15.7)Atlantic News Telegraph 3 May 1950 Page 62 May 1950 long pool 5:13.8 Iowa City, Iowa American / Cedar Rapids Gazette 3 May 1950 Page 1323 April 1950 20 yard 5:33.8 Cedar Rapids, Iowa American11 June 1952 25 yard 5:13.5 Iowa City, Iowa American / John Higgans (5:44.8)Burlington Hawk Eye Gazette June 12, 1952 Page 6Cedar Rapids Gazette April 27, 1950 Page 2129 February 1952 long pool 5:41.1 Iowa City, Iowa American / Emmet Cashing (6:06.2)Iowa City Press-Citizen 1 March 1952 Page 1023 April 1950 20 yard 5:46.8 Cedar Rapids, Iowa American / James Werson (5:58.5)26 April 1950 25 yard 5:15.7 Iowa City, Iowa American / John Higgans (5:46.4)11 June 1952 long pool 5:33.8 Iowa City, Iowa American / Emmet Cashing (6:06.2)4 June 1950 25 yard 6:40.4 Iowa City, Iowa American / John Higgans (6:41.4)Burlington Hawk Eye Gazette 5 May 1950 Page 109 June 1952 long pool 6:52.0 Iowa City, Iowa American / J. Cashian (6:59) Iowa City Press-Citizen 10 June 1952 Page 104 June 1950 25 yard 7:16 Iowa City, Iowa American /John Higgans (7:18.8)9 June 1952 long pool 7:35.0 Iowa City, Iowa American /J. Cashian (7:42.2)Cedar Rapids Gazette 10 June 1952 Page 10
See also List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men) List of University of Iowa people Los Angeles High School Notable Alumni