Comments on: Boys Vball: “Us against the world”

By: Mike McGreehan

Mike McGreehan — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 03:15:11 +0000

In regard to the eras before Karch Kiraly: despite the presence of a U.S. Volleyball Hall of Fame, the game does little to celebrate its history – - at least in the United States. Sadly, though not surprisingly, anything that happened in volleyball before the 1980s pretty much is a vast wasteland for most U.S. residents. And this is a sport, by the way, that organized its first world championship for men in 1949, its first world championship for women in 1952, became a part of the Pan Am Games for both men and women in 1955 and has been part of the Olympics for both since 1964.

By: Julie Clement

Julie Clement — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 02:05:31 +0000

Karch is undoubtably one of the most well recognized faces if for no other reason his longevity during the age of televised tournaments, his participation in the Olympics, and his ability to capitalize on endorsement offers from such companies as Speedo and Ray-Ban. I get that he is “the face” of men’s vball in many ways.
As for his predecessors, they were unheralded only by those outside the culture of beach volleyball. They definitely had a cult following!

By: Ricardo Sanchez Jr.

Ricardo Sanchez Jr. — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 23:26:47 +0000

Good point Julie. There are always unheralded pioneers who pave the way in all sports. But if you ask anyone who doesn’t know a lick of volleyball to name a volleyball player, they’d probably start with Karch Kiraly (or they might look at you funny and move on). To me, Kiraly was the “Micheal Jordan” of volleyball. Jordan didn’t invent or pioneer the game, but many believe he is the greatest of all time. Same arguement can be made for Karch. That’s all I was trying to say, but again, I’m no expert.

By: Julie Clement

Julie Clement — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 19:49:21 +0000

Actually, Karch started playing as a kid on the beaches in Santa Barbara and does not qualify as the “godfather” of men’s vball. Even Singin Smith, a bit older than Karch, and fun to look at cannot make that claim. The true godfathers of the sport were hitting the beaches of SoCal earlier than either of these two more recognizable celebs of the vball set. A lack of high profile sponsors for their tournaments, and lack of TV coverage all contributed to their anonymity, but they are truly the pioneers who paved the way for Karch and the AVP.