Just recently, the volleyball world lost one of the greats in two-time Olympian and Volleyball Hall of Fame member, Mike Bright on September 22. Bright was 79 when he passed and memorial events are pending.
Bright was on the first Olympic men’s volleyball team that competed when volleyball became a recognized Olympic sport at the 1964 Tokyo Games. Additionally, Bright was apart of the 1968 Mexico City Olympic team and the 1972 U.S. Qualifying Team. Bright also was a member of the 1960 U.S. National Team that competed in the World Championships in Brazil along with a silver medal at the 1963 Pan American Games.
On top of his indoor volleyball career, Bright was a successful beach volleyballer who won the Manhattan Beach Open tournament five years in a row with partner Mike O’Hara. In 1993, Bright was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
Even further into his athleticism and Olympic experience, Bright competed in paddle boarding and surfing exhibitions at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
At just 37 years old, Bright was paralyzed from the waist down after getting the bends while scuba diving, though he continued to tun his dive shop, swing and be active in sports.
Bright has volleyball run through the family, as he married a 1964 and 1968 Olympian in Patricia Lucas who was also inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame. Lucas passed in 2004. Bright is survived by his four children and sister, while also having seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
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