Robert Earl Hughes (December 15, 1930 – October 11, 2012) was an American water polo player and breaststroke swimmer for the University of Southern California who competed in both the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics.

[3][4][2] After High School, he attended El Camino College in greater Los Angeles where he was also coached by Urho Sarri in both swimming and water polo.

[5] By November, 1948, Hughes, who was a top scorer in his position as Center Forward, had tried out for the 1948 Olympic team in St.

[8][9][7][10] After attending El Camino, and serving with the U.S. Coast Guard, Hughes attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he swam for the USC Trojans swimming and diving team from 1955-56 in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition under Head Coach Fred Cady and also played water polo.

[13][9] Hughes lettered in both swimming and water polo at USC, and earned All-American honors as a swimmer in both 1955 and 1956.

[9][7][10][15] In high level National and International competition, Hughes was on the American Athletic Union Sr.

[2] Competing again four years later, he finished fifth with the American water polo team at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, where he played in five matches and scored frequently.

His outstanding play at the position made it far better known to the public, as the Olympics garnered a large audience and wide press coverage.

Hughes's height may have been used to its best advantage in this position as he was harder to block and could shoot and receive passes above the heads' of opponents.