This is a news release from Florida concerning the death of Charles E. Silva's, who died at the age of 87. This release includes his achievements and coaching career, as well as information on his two daughters who he's left behind, Jane and Susan.
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In 1937 Charles “Red” Eaton Silvia took over the coaching duties. A Springfield College swimmer himself, he earned both his BS (1934) and MS (1940) at Springfield College. Silvia coached from 1937 through 1973; a career that included numerous collegiate championships and an amazing overall record of 189 wins to150 loses. He also coached more than two-hundred Springfield College athletes to All-American status, including William A. Yorzyk, an Olympic Gold Medalist in the 1956 200-meter dolphin-butterfly. At these Olympics, Silvia served as an Assistant Coach of the United States Olympic Swimming Team. He also coached Dr. Davis Hart to his record-breaking English Channel swim from England to France in 1972. Silvia has been honored as NCAA District I Coach of the Year (1970), was named to the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame (1973), served as the chairman of the board of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, wrote “Life Saving & Water Safety Today” - one of the first text books on life saving and water safety - and was named Springfield College’s Distinguished Professor of Humanics in 1976. Silvia died in his home in Springfield, MA on June 16, 1998. He was 87.