Ray Riordon, who founded Towson University's swimming program and served as its coach for 30 years, passed away this past Friday at his home in Millsboro, Del. He was 87-years-old.
Ray began his coaching career at West Virginia University where he was the Mountaineers' swimming coach in 1963-64 when the Mountaineers finished 4-8-1. A year later he was on Towson's campus.
"Dad arrived at Towson several years before construction on Burdick Pool was completed and was hired by (Donald) Doc Minnegan in anticipation of its opening," said Coach Riordon's son, Mike. "When it did finally open there was never any question about who would be named the aquatics director and the coach to start the swimming program because those were the reasons Doc hired him in the first place."
While waiting for Burdick Pool (initially called Memorial Pool) to open in the spring of 1968, Ray coached cross country for three years to a 16-8 dual meet record. He also directed the track squad to a two-year record of 14-2. When Burdick Pool opened, Coach Riordon devoted his full energy to building an intercollegiate swimming & diving program for Towson.
"That first year was a rough one," Mike said. "The team finished 0-10. But the following year they won six meets and you would have thought they struck gold in the Olympics."
Over the next three decades the Towson men's squad compiled a 246-176 record, a mark that included 23 winning seasons and seven conference championships (one Mason-Dixon, six Tri-State). In 1972 Towson added women's swimming. From 1988 until his retirement from coaching in 1998 he directed the women's squad too, amassing a 55-58 record, closing out with six consecutive winning seasons.
During a three-year period from 1980-83 the Tiger men posted an impressive 35-2 record that included a streak of 29 consecutive victories and two undefeated records.
"That was kind of a magical time with a good blend of swimmers and divers," said former Tiger Mike Gillespie whose association with the program spanned 10 years as a swimmer and then assistant to Ray. "We were very fortunate Coach was able to recruit a lot of Calvert Hall and Loyola swimmers plus a group from the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Some of his recruits could have basically gone to any school they wanted because they had some of the best times in the country. Coach pulled it all together. We swam against Maryland and beat them. We defeated a talented Johns Hopkins team. We took on all comers.
"A reason for our success was something Coach did very well and that was he made everybody feel a part of the team. Whether you were a Ramon Ferrer who probably never lost a race in college relative to someone who would take a third place, he let us know that everyone contributed. He had us mentally prepared that each was a part of the team and that everyone's points were just as important as anybody else's points. It was great lesson he taught and espoused."
Born in Alexandria, Va., Ray grew up in Washington, D.C. He attended Shepherd College where he excelled in baseball and swimming. As a pitcher he posted a 16-4 career record for the Rams. In the water he set school records in the 400-yard freestyle, 200-yard individual medley and 300-yard relay. He graduated in 1956. Thirty years later, in 1986, he was among the six men that formed the first class to be inducted into the Shepherd College Hall of Fame. Ray later earned a Master's degree from Miami of Ohio.
After graduating from Shepherd, Ray joined the Marine Corps, rising to the rank of captain, serving on active duty and in the reserves until 1964. He maintained his Marine haircut during his early years at Towson and was tagged with the nickname "Razor Ray" by the athletes.
Coach Riordon was twice named Towson University's Coach of the Year. In 2002 he was inducted into Towson's Athletics Hall of Fame.
Coach Riordon was predeceased by Jean, his wife of 64 years and his college sweetheart. He is survived by sons Denny (Nancy) of Ocean City, Mike (Lorelei) of Clearwater, Fla., and John (Terri) of Georgetown, Del. and a daughter, Cindy Riordon, of Millsboro, Del., 10 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Plans are pending for a funeral service and a Celebration of Life.
