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Karch Kiraly:
 
Karch Kiraly
United States  
  
 
Vital Statistics
 

Photo: Ken Delgado
Birth Date November 3, 1960 (63 years old)
Home Town Santa Barbara, CA
Resides San Clemente, CA
Height 6'2"
College UCLA
  Best Finish Winnings
United States 1st (144 times) $3,128,239
   AVP 1st (122 times) $2,623,233
   P&R 1st (21 times) $13,025
   USAV 1st $12,375
   Bonus Money   $479,606
International 1st (3 times) $83,750
   FIVB 1st (3 times) $83,750
Unaccounted Wins 1  
Overall 1st (148 times) $3,211,989
 
Bio Bits

Volleyball legend and three-time Gold Medalist, Karch Kiraly is synonymous with the sport of Pro Beach Volleyball. Clearly the 'winningest' player in the history of the sport, Karch has earned more than three million dollars playing beach volleyball and has become one of the most recognized sports figures today.

 

At age 46, Kiraly is considered the "Michael Jordan" of pro beach volleyball as he is the oldest player to compete in the sport and continues to perform at the highest level --- beating competitors literally half his age. He has won at least one tournament in 24 of the 28 seasons he has played, spanning four different decades. He has claimed a title in 24 different states with 13 different partners. In domestic events, he has finished lower than ninth place only four times and has been in the semifinals over 80% of the time.

Kiraly and partner Mike Lambert were named 2004 AVP Team of the Year after capturing three titles, then won in Huntington Beach in 2005 to give him win number 148. Kiraly finished the 2005 season ranked fourth on the Tour in both kills (1,243) and digs (805).
 

Kiraly is the only volleyball player in Olympic history to win three Gold medals, having been part of the United States' Gold Medal indoor teams in 1984 and 1988, and winning the Gold Medal in beach volleyball at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games with Kent Steffes.

 

In 1992, Kiraly was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame and had his jersey retired after an All-American volleyball career with the Bruins. While in school, he led his team to three NCAA Championships (1979, 1981 and 1982) and earned All-American honors all four years. In his four years, the Bruins compiled a 123-5 match record, with undefeated seasons in both 1979 and 1982.

 

Kiraly grew up in Santa Barbara and learned the sport of beach volleyball from his father, Dr. Laszlo Kiraly. He graduated from high school third in his class with a 3.96 grade-point average.

 

Throughout his career, Kiraly has earned countless accolades including: AVP Best Defensive Player (2002), AVP Best Offensive Player (1990, 1993, 1994), AVP Comeback Player of the Year (1997), AVP Most Valuable Player (1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998), AVP Sportsman of the Year (1995, 1997, 1998) and most recently AVP Outstanding Achievement (2004). The FIVB has named Kiraly "Best Player in the World" twice, in 1986 and 1988. He was inducted into the 2005 AVCA Hall of Fame Class.

Kiraly currently resides in San Clemente, California with his wife Janna and his two sons Kristian and Kory.


Olympics (one, gold, 5-0 Elimination, 5-0 Overall):
• Qualified for Atlanta 1996 Olympics as the number three seed with Kent Steffes. Won all five matches in bracket play, winning the gold medal, defeating United States' Mike Dodd/Mike Whitmarsh in the finals.
 
 
Awards
 
  • CBVA Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame 2007
  • USAV All-Time Great Male Beach Player 2015
  • Volleyball Hall of Fame 2001
  • AVP Best Defensive Player 2002
  • AVP Best Offensive Player 1990, 1993, 1994
  • AVP Comeback Player of the Year 1997
  • AVP Miller Lite Cup Champion 1996
  • AVP Most Inspirational 1998
  • AVP Most Valuable Player 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998
  • AVP Outstanding Achievement 2004
  • AVP Special Achievement 2002
  • AVP Sportsman of the Year 1995, 1997, 1998
  • AVP Team of the Year 2004 (Mike Lambert)
 
Career Summary
 
United States
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 9th 10th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 25th 33rd
1978 P&R 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 $0.00     0 0 0 0
1979 P&R 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $2,000.00     0 0 0 0
1980 P&R 12 8 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 $2,175.00     0 0 0 0
1981 P&R 7 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 $7,100.00     0 0 0 0
1982 P&R 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,750.00     0 0 0 0
1984 AVP 4 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 $4,800.00     0 0 0 0
1985 AVP 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $10,950.00     0 0 0 0
1986 AVP 9 0 4 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 $9,975.00     0 0 0 0
1987 AVP 10 1 2 1 0 5 0 0 1 0 $13,500.00     0 0 0 0
1988 AVP 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $6,000.00     0 0 0 0
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 9th 10th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 25th 33rd
1989 AVP 16 4 4 5 1 1 0 0 1 0 $96,376.50     0 0 0 0
1990 AVP 23 7 9 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 $124,625.00     0 0 0 0
1991 AVP 12 7 2 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 $196,635.25     0 0 0 0
1992 AVP 20 17 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 $327,100.00     0 0 0 0
1993 AVP 25 19 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 $467,876.50     0 0 0 0
1994 AVP 22 17 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 $440,638.00     0 0 0 0
1995 AVP 24 12 5 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 $392,610.00     0 0 0 0
1996 AVP 22 12 4 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 $492,081.00     0 0 0 0
1997 AVP 16 4 1 4 2 1 1 0 2 0 $136,347.50     0 1 0 0
1998 AVP 19 6 5 2 0 3 0 1 1 0 $104,644.50     0 1 0 0
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 9th 10th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 25th 33rd
1999 AVP 9 4 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 $55,750.00     0 0 0 0
1999 USAV 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $10,000.00 170.0 5th 0 0 0 0
2000 AVP 7 1 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 $25,000.00     0 0 0 0
2000 USAV 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 $2,375.00 85.0 13th 0 0 0 0
2001 AVP 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 $1,650.00 144.0 61st 0 0 0 0
2002 AVP 7 1 0 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 $24,490.00 866.0 3rd 0 0 0 0
2003 AVP 9 1 0 3 0 5 0 0 0 0 $27,827.50 1,259.0 3rd 0 0 0 0
2004 AVP 9 3 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 $50,562.50 1,450.0 2nd 0 0 0 0
2005 AVP 14 1 1 1 0 3 0 3 2 1 $54,600.00 1,606.0 12th 2 0 0 0
2006 AVP 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 $12,512.50 696.0 34th 2 1 0 0
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 9th 10th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 25th 33rd
2007 AVP 8 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 2 0 $26,287.50 855.0 34th 0 0 0 0
Total
(Rank)
  332
(3rd)
144
(1st)
54 46 12 40 1 12 15 1 $3,128,239.25
(1st)
7,131.0   4 3 0 0
 
International
Season Assoc Played 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 9th 10th Money Points Rank 13th 17th 25th 33rd
1987 FIVB 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $1,250.00     0 0 0 0
1988 FIVB 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $6,000.00     0 0 0 0
1989 FIVB 3 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 $11,500.00     0 0 0 0
1995 FIVB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 $1,000.00 8.0 148th 0 0 0 0
1996 FIVB 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0.00 0.0   0 0 0 0
1997 FIVB 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 $6,000.00 165.0 65th 0 0 0 0
1998 FIVB 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 $21,500.00 306.0 56th 0 0 0 0
1999 FIVB 7 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 2 0 $26,000.00 673.0 28th 0 1 0 0
2000 FIVB 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 $6,500.00 250.0 70th 0 0 0 2
2003 FIVB 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 $4,000.00 120.0 97th 0 0 0 0
Total
(Rank)
  22
(673rd)
3
(88th)
3 1 1 5 1 0 5 0 $83,750.00
(231st)
1,522.0   0 1 0 2
 
 
 
 
Overall
Total
(Rank)
  354
(4th)
148
(1st)
57 47 13 45 2 12 20 1 $3,211,989.25
(1st)
8,653.0   4 4 0 2
 
Red denotes ranked 1st
 

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