In 1929, before the University even had a swimming pool, it imported a small, red-headed, round shouldered men to build a swimming team. He started in the "Big Tree bathtub," and by the time the I.A.B. pool opened the next year, he had done what he had proved he would do at Syracuse. Harold S. Ulen produced a winning swimming team, the kind the University has had ever since. And Ulen has been here now for a quarter of a century.

In his 25 years of Crimson coaching, Ulen has not only always won more than he has lost, but he has had two successive undefeated seasons. In 1936-37 and 1927-28, his teams won 12 and lost none. One of the 12 victories each year was over perennially loaded Yale, making Ulen the only Eastern coach who has broken the Eli swimming juggernaut twice. The second time he did it, the University changed swimming from a minor to a major sport.

The Crimson's worst record for a season was seven wins and five losses, when the World War broke in 1941-42. It was six and four the next year, after which the sport was dropped for the duration of the war. But Ulen isn't disturbed about the war years. His red hair flames when he talks about his nine seasons of only one loss--to Yale.

In his 25 years of Crimson coaching, Ulen's teams have won 173 meets, lost 44, and outscored the opposition 10,397 points to 5,703. He has worked for his .797 victory percentage, but is working even harder to beat Yale, "at least one more time." For the last four years, the Crimson has lost only to the Elis.

Because of the nearby New Haven swimming mart, Ulen has been a neglected coach, underrated even by himself. Nobody noticed particularly when the Crimson swimmers defeated Dartmouth last February, 49 to 35. But the varsity had no right to win that one on the basis of manpower. It won through one of the sharpest coaching performances of the year.

Ulen had been swimming a set line-up all season, but he changed it especially for Hanover. He entered Captain Charley Egan in the breast stroke. Egan hadn't swum that event since before college, but he finished second behind teammate Ralph Zani.

The coach then put Ted Whatley in the 100 for the first time that season, and Whatley took a scoring third. These two innovations freed Dave Hawkins for heavy duty elsewhere.

Beyond line-up switches, Ulen had his men "up" for the Green. Backstroker Don Mulvey broke Dartmouth's pool record to take his event. Marv Sandler swam the fastest individual medley race of his career and won it. Meanwhile Hawkins finished between the Green's Glover and Hust for a second in the 220.

The result was that the Crimson had 39 of the total 84 meet points, and there were but two events left. Dartmouth had to place one-two in the 440 and win the free-style relay to take the meet.

Ulen thus forced the Dartmouth coach to pull his best men off the relay team in order to take the 440, but Hawkins again split Glover and Hust with a second place. The Green could still tie, however, by capturing the relay.

Dartmouth, in fact, was supposed to have the best relay team in the East. But Ulen had forced the Green to break up a championship foursome, and now he went ahead and beat the remnants. The Crimson took the meet, 49 to 35.

Ulen pulled the switch trick against Army when he surprisingly swam Egan in the breast stroke to take a meet. But he doesn't just hold surprises in his hand. He develops swimmers.

Eddie Sowell '34 swam the back stroke in 1:39.4 the year he graduated. The time was barely off the record for that period, though Sowell had never swum in a race before he came to Cambridge.

Charley Hutter '38 also never swam before he came here, but he left as intercollegiate champion in the 100 and 220-yard free styles and was on the U.S. Olympic team in 1936.

Greg Jameson '37 was third in the breast stroke at the Intercollegiates his senior year. As a junior, he had been just an average free styler.

Ted Morris '49, a cripple since the age of ten because of a broken hip, had swum only for therapeutic reasons before he came to college. He became National AAU long distance champion, winning a four-mile race swum on an open lake, and took first in the 1500-meter Intercollegiate race. He made the 1948 U.S. Olympic swimming team.

Finally, Jim Jorgensen, a junior who had been a good high school swimmer, went from 2:20 to 2:08.1 in the 220 last year.

The credit for all this must go, in part at least, to Ulen. "He just has that knack, that eye for talent, and an awful lot of patience," said freshman coach Bill Brooks. It was because of this knack, this eye, and this patience, as shown over a quarter of a century, that swimming alumni last spring established the Harold S. Ulen trophy for the team's most valuable senior.