Accomplishments: Won national championships in the 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard medley relay while setting national records in each event at the 1962 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championships; member of 1962 and 1963 NAIA national championship teams; won College Conference of Illinois titles in the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard medley relay in 1962.
Larry Michelson ’64 joins six other North Central College Athletic Hall of Fame members who constituted the Cardinals’ dominant swimming program of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Michelson was a standout swimmer at Elgin High School (Illinois). In three years of dual meets, he went undefeated in varsity competition, setting 21 records across the state. He won the state 100-yard breaststroke title in 1957 and the state 100-yard butterfly title in 1958, setting Illinois High School Association state records in both events. He was the school’s first two-time All-American athlete in any sport.
Michelson was a scholarship swimmer for the University of Illinois for two years. Despite setting several records for the Illini, he had tired of the demands of swimming at the Big 10 school and was persuaded by then North Central College coach Eggert Giere ’48 to transfer. His timing was perfect as he became a member of the Cardinals’ 1962 and 1963 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national championship teams. As a junior Michelson won titles in the 100 and 200-yard butterfly and as part of the 400-yard medley relay team. Adding to the luster of his three championship wins were new national records he set in each event. In his senior year, he was sidelined for nearly the entire season with a shoulder injury.
At the conference level, Michelson won titles in the 200-yard butterfly and 400-yard medley relay in 1962.
Michelson graduated in 1964 with a degree in history. He worked for 25 years for Sears, holding several national buying assignments and was a national retail sales manager in both the housewares and major appliances departments. In 1989, he became president of both Sate-Lite Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest manufacturer of reflectors and lenses, and Mid-West Color, a color concentrate company. He later retired at age 55.
In 1989, he was inducted into the Elgin Sports Hall of Fame.
