Duvall Hecht rowed in the 1952 Olympic pairs with while still a student at Stanford. He then joined the Marines and continued to row, teaming up with 1952 teammate, Jim Fifer, to make the Olympic team. At the 1956 Olympic Trials, Hecht and Fifer beat the defending Olympic champions, Tom Logg and Charles Price, to win their spot on the team. Hecht graduated from Stanford in 1952, but returned there to take an M.A. degree in journalism in 1960, using that to teach English at Menlo College, where he also helped establish their rowing program.
After leaving Menlo College, Hecht became a pilot for Pan American Airlines. He then joined Dean Witter in California and worked as a stock broker for nine years. He later became the founder and president of Books on Tape, Inc, which he evevntually sold to Random House. He also coached rowing at University of California at Irvine for 14 years, from 1965-69 and 1992-2001. In the interim he also coached UCLA rowing from 1973-79. He also served as director of rowing at UC Irvine for 15 years, and served as head of the Rowing Alumni Association for 24 years, all without pay.
United States