Lee Walton, 68, a former men’s water polo coach at San Jose
State, is one of eight inductees into the San Jose State University
sports hall of fame.
Lee Walton, 68, a former men’s water polo coach at San Jose State, is one of eight inductees into the San Jose State University sports hall of fame.
“I didn’t really give it a whole lot of thought,” Walton said. “I recently attended some of their banquets. I thought that I was there for too short of a period of time.”
Walton, who was selected to the Hall of Fame as an athlete at SJSU, will be honored during the Sept. 18 football game against Nevada and also in a banquet on Sept. 19.
“He’s been trying to get his players in, and has done that one at a time,” said Walton’s wife Sue. “But he never imagined that he would be inducted.”
Walton coached the San Jose State College men’s water polo team from 1961 through 1972. His overall record as both the freshman and varsity coach was 349-115 in 12 seasons.
The Spartan alum, who was an alternate on the 1956 U.S. Olympic team and a member of the 1958 national A.A.U. championship team, coached San Jose State to victory in the first national collegiate championship for men’s water polo in 1968.
When the NCAA took over the championship competition, the Spartans made three consecutive Final Four appearances from 1970 through 1972 and finished as high as second in 1971. His student-athletes were recognized as All-Americans on 49 occasions, and 12 Spartans went on to play for the United States national team.
Walton was a five-time Northern California Aquatic Federation college water polo Coach of the Year and the 1969 national Coach of the Year.
“When we started we really didn’t have a national reputation,” Walton said. “By the time I stopped coaching we were placing in the top four teams in the nation regularly.”
But just a few years after Walton left, the SJSU men’s water polo program was eliminated.
“I think there are a number of coaches who coached at San Jose that feel disheartened,” Walton said. “It is hard because you put a good deal of time and energy to build up a good program, and athletes hear good things about it being the place to go and it has a good reputation.”
Walton has toured the world with his coaching duties. He coached the Puerto Rican national team in the 1975 Pan American Games. He also coached at San Jose State when the team played various National Teams like Yugoslavia, Russia, Argentina, Venezuela and Switzerland.
“It worked out really well,” Walton said. “Pretty much my family has been able to travel with me whenever I was coaching outside the country.”
In 1973, he was part of the coaching staff for the U.S. team in the World Student University Games held in Moscow that the United States won a Bronze in. Walton, in 1976, coached the State team for Queensland, Australia’s State Men’s Senior and Junior team and the Women’s Senior team. The Men’s Junior and Women’s Senior teams won the Australian National Championships, and the Men’s Senior team came in second.
“That was a fun thing,” Walton said. “I had coached only a little bit of women’s water polo at that time. The women of Australia were really hungry to get into water polo.”
Walton has coached 25 athletes who have become All-Americans. One such athlete was Bob Likens, who nominated Walton for the Hall of Fame.
“We had an extremely good group of student athletes come through the school in my time there,” Walton said. “I have made some lasting friendships. The people are what really made the difference for me.”
Walton tried to get the most out of the people played underneath him.
“I have always felt that you have had to play a game that utilized the talent of your players rather than going with some set idea,” Walton said. “We always tried to make sure the people who played in the game were utilizing their talents to do all they could.”
Walton has lived in Morgan Hill ever since 1968 when his house was built near the Chesboro Reservoir. Both his son Lon and daughter Shawn went to Live Oak and did extremely well in aquatics.
Walton and his wife are both retired teachers who are able to remain active.
“I see several of my former players three or four times a year,” We’ll get together and go hunting or fishing together. It is a good situation. Being active is part of my life.”
Others to be inducted include 49er quarterback Jeff Garcia, two time LPGA Tour winner Janice Moodie, fencer Stacey Johnson, track star Ron Livers, tennis star Hank Pfister, pitcher Anthony Telford and deceased coach DeWitt Portal.
