Andy Burke

In 1945 Andy Burke began playing water polo with the Olympic Club in San Francisco, leading him to spend the next 75 years associated with the club and the sport. Burke played for the US team but narrowly missed out on selection for major international competitions including the Pan American Games in 1955 and 1959, along with the Olympics in 1956 and 1960. Despite this he continued his love of the sport but switched from competing to officiating, becoming the US team coach for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. During this time Burke was elected as the chair of the National AAU water polo committee in 1960 before serving as the chair of water polo for the US Olympic Committee from 1961 to 1964.

Burke continued to serve on multiple boards and committees throughout his life, and worked at 10 Olympic Games in some capacity for aquatic sports. In 1991 he was the Chef de Mission for US Aquatic Teams at the FINA World Championships in Australia. In 1982 Burke was inducted into the US Water Polo Hall of Fame before being inducted into the International Swimming and Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2018.