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WATERSKI MagazineAfter enduring three years of physical setbacks, Sammy Duvall officially ends water skiing's most famous career.
It isn't like Sammy Duvall's face was about to show up on a milk carton. Duvall, who has arguably been the subject of more WaterSki photos than any three-event skier in the past 20 years, is still as visible as his signature highlighting the side of MasterCraft's premium ski boat. He presses palms at industry events. He still returns phone calls from his office. But Duvall hasn't competed at a pro event since 1995, and despite his ongoing celebrity status people are asking more frequently, “Whatever happened to Sammy?”
We can officially say Sammy Duvall has retired. The six-time world champion had put off the announcement while repeatedly trying to overcome physical problems with his ears and his foot. Duvall put the kibosh to any more comeback ideas at a retirement gala May 8,1998 at the All-Star Cafi in Orlando.
“The doctors have told me it's not a good idea to ski,” says Duvall, 35, referring to the physicians who removed part of his tibia and ankle cartilage in January 1997 after he had trouble recovering from breaking the ankle the previous summer. “To pleasure ski is one thing, but to hammer it, the answer is no. If there's any more damage it would have an impact on golf, tennis and walking.”
Not that Duvall is looking forward to a country-club retirement. He recently took up tennis so he can play it with his son Austin, 9, and his golf game has obviously been refined since three summers ago. But Duvall's business schedule is still impressive. His grand plan is to bring water skiing to big resort areas like Myrtle Beach and Las
Vegas. In May he announced the first major step in that direction. It's a partnership with Disney World, where Duvall will head up a state-of-the-art water-sports center at the Contemporary Resort in Orlando.
“Jack Nicklaus builds golf courses for resorts, and I'd like to do the same for water skiing,” says Duvall. “I was fortunate to be on top when our sport was growing the most, but I think it's stagnating now. We need to get it back into the forefront.”
If there's one regret Duvall has, it's the way he faded from the spotlight. His last tournament (Portland, Oregon, in 1995) ended a sudden decline that started a year earlier with an inner-ear problem. Up until that time he had missed one jump final in 10 years. It was hard to go out knowing that on his best day, he could still win on 73-inch jumpers. The rest of the pack didn't really catch up to the 210- to 220-foot jumps he was popping until they went to huge skis that are now as long as 98 inches. Yet in those final years some of Duvall's competitors showed him little of the respect deserved by one of water skiing's few icons.
“That doesn't faze me,” Duvall says. “Guys tried to undermine my advantages toward the end of my career. Some showed poor gamesmanship, but I'll put my numbers up against anyone.”
Sammy Duvall is gone from pro water skiing. Fortunately for all of us, he hasn't left the sport.
