Volleyball - 1990
14-time All-American Gene Selznick was the first American volleyball player ever named to an All-World team (1956).
Spiker Selznick was named to his first All-America team in 1951, when his Hollywood YMCA team captured the U.S. National Championship. Following several years in the Armed Forces, he led his team on a 17-nation European volleyball tour, losing only one game. In 1955, his team won the first of two Pan-American Games gold medals.
Although the USA failed to medal at the 1956 World Championships, Selznick, nonetheless, was named to the six-man All-World team.
In the late 1950's, he brought his talents to the Westside Jewish Community Center. In 1960, following three straight bronze medal finishes in the U.S. National Championships, Gene played and coached the Westsiders to the U.S. Volleyball Association Open crown.
In 1959 and 1960, Gene was named America's outstanding volleyball player. In 1963, his Westside team won the National AAU title, and in 1965, the team captured an unprecedented double--the USVBA Open and the Senior Champion-ships.