In this Texas Monthly story, Lea Konczal recounts the life of an extraordinary deaf athlete and world-record holder. LeRoy Colombo saved 907 people in his career as a lifeguard, became a champion long-distance Gulf swimmer, and was one of the first people to surf in Texas. But he was also unlikable: a hot-tempered, boastful man who embellished the truth and embodied contradictions. Konczal’s fascinating portrait of Colombo is also a snapshot of Galveston and the Gulf in 1920s America and onward.
Colombo’s deafness wasn’t much of a handicap—drowning swimmers don’t typically scream. In fact, historian Jean F. Andrews argues that his deafness may have been an asset, forcing him to sharpen his visual attention and motion detection while eliminating distracting beach noise as he scanned the waves.
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