Illustrated History of Olympic Water Polo

Several Olympic swimmers have also played water polo, including Johnny Weissmuller (1924) and Duke Kahanamoku (1932). In 1928 a Hungarian coach developed the "dry" pass, a pass directly from player to player with the ball never touching the water; players used to let the ball hit the water then grab it. This changed the game, making it much faster and put an even bigger emphasis on the pass. Then in 1936 an American coach developed the first rubber-covered water polo ball. This ball no longer soaked up water, so it stayed lighter and was easier to hold and throw.