Joe O' Brien

This is the fifth in a series of articles profiling the 2015 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame.When Joe O’Brien was 8 years old, his grandfather bought he and his cousin memberships to the Butler YMCA.“He wanted to keep us out of trouble,” O’Brien said with a chuckle.He also led O’Brien to success.After getting involved in the Butler YMCA swim program, O’Brien went on to become a WPIAL champion and an all-state swimmer in high school. He also put together solid years in Masters swimming later in life.Now he’s going into the Butler County Sports Hall of Game. O’Brien, a 1972 Butler graduate, will be inducted during the organization’s annual banquet April 25 at the Butler Days Inn.“I put in an application for the Hall of Fame 17 years ago, at my father’s request,” O’Brien said. “My only regret is he’s not alive to see it finally happen.“I know he’ll be looking in on that night with a lot of pride, though.”O’Brien credits his cousin, Fred McDonald, for helping his development as a swimmer.“We motivated each other for 10 years growing up,” he said. “Fred, myself and a good friend, Dave Haas, we walked to practice together, walked home together ... all the time, since fifth grade.“I was part of a team. My success doesn’t happen without our team’s success.”O’Brien became a high school All-American his junior year by teaming with Haas, Bob Eichelberger and Eric Cottington to post the 16th fastest time in the nation in the 400-yard freestyle relay.“In basketball, you score 35 points, grab 18 rebounds per game and you get recognition,” O’Brien said. “In my case, without the other three guys swimming that relay with me, I’m nothing that year.”He was plenty his senior year.O’Brien won the 50 freestyle at the WPIAL meet, finished third in the 100 breaststroke and swam a leg on Butler’s placing 200 medley relay team.He also set seven school records that season in freestyle, breast and relay events. O’Brien was named the Golden Tornado’s Most Outstanding Swimmer his senior year.“Of all the trophies I won, that’s the one I kept around,” he said. “It meant the most to me.”O’Brien was named all-state in three events and set a Butler Country Club swim record that stood for nearly 15 years.He went on to swim at West Liberty State College and was an All-American as a freshman and sophomore with the Hilltoppers.“Our swim coach quit and went to Slippery Rock after my sophomore year,” O’Brien said. “Things went downhill after that and I left.”Though he never graduated from college, O’Brien went on to become a chef for 30 years, a personal trainer for eight. He is employed as an EMT now and works part-time as a dietary aide. He lives in Jamison, Pa., near Philadelphia.While in his mid-forties, O’Brien joined a Masters swimming team in Cleveland and excelled. He placed among the top ten in seven events at nationals and swam on a relay team that set a national record.“I was going through a divorce at the time and felt like my life was falling apart,” O’Brien admitted. “I went back to swimming to get back in shape and because I knew it was something I was good at.“It was good for my self-confidence.”O’Brien will be joining rare company with his entrance into the Hall of Fame.“There’s only four or five swimmers from Butler in there,” O’Brien said. “Over 50 years, I feel like I’m joining select company.“There were so many great swimmers through that era ... Eddie Graham, Tom Turner, etc. ... and everybody pushed each other. Nobody wanted to let that tradition down. You just wanted to add to it.”Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. Tickets are available at Bill’s Beer Barn and Snack-N-Pack in Butler, Moses Jewelers at the Clearview Mall, Parkers Appliance in Chicora and Saxonburg Drug.