A big, hearty man--strong and talented in many sports--Ray Swartz focused on wrestling, and built two distinct careers of national and international coaching leadership. At Central Oklahoma, in the shadow of wrestling giants, he founded a national powerhouse of the mid-1930s. Swartz then took the helm at the U. S. Naval Academy, where he continued a proud wrestling tradition and helped launch programs overseas.

In his fourth season at Central, only his fifth year of coaching, Swartz led the Bronchos to second place in the 1936 NCAAs and crowned the school's first two champs, Ray Clemons and Ted Anderson. Clemons placed fifth in the 1936 Olympics. Swartz's 18-9-1 record included two victories over Oklahoma and a tie with Oklahoma State.

He became coach at Navy in 1939. The academy won four straight conference titles, '43 through '46, and posted a 125-35-4 mark over 21 years. His top star, Peter Blair, was an NCAA champion in 1954 and '55 and won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympics. Swartz was chairman of the NCAA rules committee, and published many articles on wrestling and hand-to-hand combat. He was a pioneer of the international styles.

He was an expert teacher of coaches and officials, and a referee/judge in four Olympics, but the highlight of his career came in 1952 as U. S. Olympic Freestyle coach. His team earned a gold medal and two silvers, and one of his own Navy wrestlers, Joe Henson, a bronze.

In his home town of Stillwater, class of '24, Swartz was a two-time state wrestling champion and starred in four other sports. He needed two years as a rigger and roughneck in the Oklahoma oil fields to raise money for college a couple of miles from home. His wrestling career at Oklahoma State was limited by the presence of Earl McCready, the first three time NCAA champion. But Swartz was a football and track standout.

As a leader who broadened the horizons of wrestling in the United States and abroad, Raymond Hatcher Swartz is honored as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.