{{short description|American water skier (1930–2007)}} {{Other people|Dick Pope|Dick Pope (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox person | name = Dick Pope Jr. | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Richard Downing Pope Jr. | birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|12|12|mf=y}} | birth_place = Long Island, New York | death_date = {{Death date and age|2007|11|8|1930|12|12}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Richard Downing Pope Jr.|url=http://www.theledger.com/article/20071111/NEWSCHIEF/311119979|accessdate=12 June 2015|agency=The Ledger|date=11 November 2007}}</ref> | death_place = Winter Haven, Florida | other_names = | citizenship = United States | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = | years_active = | employer = | organization = Cypress Gardens | known_for = World Championships, inventing barefooting | notable works = | height = | parents = Dick Pope Sr. | spouse = Frances Pope | children = | website = | footnotes = }}

'''Richard Downing Pope Jr.''' (December 12, 1930 – November 8, 2007), better known as Dick Pope Jr., was a World Champion water skier and an important business leader in Central Florida.<ref name = "HOF bio">{{cite web |url=http://www.waterskihalloffame.com/docs/Bios/Richard%20Pope%20Jr.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100222073528/http://www.waterskihalloffame.com/docs/Bios/Richard%20Pope%20Jr.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=February 22, 2010 |title=Richard Downing Pope Jr. |work=waterskihalloffame.com |publisher= |accessdate=November 2, 2010}}</ref> Pope was an important innovator in the sport of water skiing, including the development of barefoot skiing in 1947.<ref name = "HOF bio" /> He is the son of Dick Pope Sr., the founder of Cypress Gardens theme park.

==Personal life== Pope was born in Long Island, New York. When he was just 18 months old, the family moved to Winter Haven, Florida.<ref name = "Rawlins Obit">{{cite web|url=http://www.rollinssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=1548184|title=Rollins Mourns Loss of Hall of Fame Skier Dick Pope Jr.|work=Rawlins College|publisher=Lakeland Ledger|accessdate=November 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110033115/http://www.rollinssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=1548184|archive-date=November 10, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1936, his parents, Dick Pope Sr. and Julie Pope, opened Cypress Gardens, one of the earliest theme parks in America. Dick Pope Sr. played an important role in the development of Florida tourism and the growth of the sport of water skiing.

Pope served in the United States Marine Corps.<ref name = "HOF bio" /> He was an avid hunter and fisherman. He was known to carry a scratch pad to make notes about fishing conditions.<ref name="Rawlins Obit"/> He was also an expert marksman and champion skeet shooter.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19630604&id=EKgwAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WfoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4980,606354|title=Getz, Pope Capture Dixies Skeet Titles |work=Newspaper June 4, 1963 |publisher= Lakeland Ledger |accessdate=November 9, 2011}}</ref> Pope and his wife Frances at one time held the husband-wife 12-gauge world title for skeet shooting.<ref name = "HOF bio" />

When Walt Disney was scouting for a location for a second, even larger theme park, the Pope family promoted Cypress Gardens and Central Florida. Dick Pope Jr. is said to have been key to convincing Walt Disney to select Orlando as the home of Walt Disney World.<ref name = "Beyond Disney">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/beyonddisneyunof0000sehl_a9o2 |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/beyonddisneyunof0000sehl_a9o2/page/95 95] |quote=dick pope jr beyond disney. |title=Beyond Disney |year=2009 |work=Sehlinger, Bob|publisher= John Wiley & Sons |accessdate=November 9, 2014}}</ref>

==Water skiing career== In 1947, Pope was one of the first people to successfully barefoot waterski.<ref name = "Ski Magazine Aug 1989">{{cite web |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=hXL60DHdwOoC&dq=dick+pope+jr&pg=PA56 |title=The Story of the Really Big Show: The History of Barefooting |work=Zenon Bilas |date=August 1989 |publisher= Water Ski Magazine Aug 1989 issue|accessdate=November 11, 2010}}</ref> He and his friends in Winter Haven, Florida discovered that if the speed of the boat was increased high enough, then barefoot waterskiing became possible. Photographs and newsreels of Pope barefoot waterskiing at speeds in excess of 40&nbsp;mph became an international sensation at the time.<ref name = "Ski Magazine Aug 1989"/> The media attention was created by his father, Dick Pope Sr., to generate publicity for Cypress Gardens, but it also helped popularize water skiing worldwide. That same year, at age 17, Dick Pope Jr. won his first National Water Ski Title.

In 1949, Pope competed in the first Water Skiing World Championships.<ref name = "HOF bio" /> He skied all out at the first World Championships, taking youthful risks, and losing out to more conservative European skiers. In 1950, he won his first World Title.<ref name = "HOF bio" /> He was particularly known for tricks. He was one of several skiers from that era who would "climb the rope" in order to get greater height on a jump. This practice is banned in the sport today because of its extreme danger.<ref name = "HOF bio" /> In 1952, he became the first person to complete a 540 jump off a ramp.<ref name = "HOF bio" />

==Cypress Gardens== Pope succeeded his father, Dick Pope Sr., as president of Cypress Gardens in 1962. He took the company public in 1972, and was elected chairman of the board in 1982 before the company was sold to Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.<ref name = "HOF bio" />

== Tournament results == * 1947 National Overall Champion<ref name = "HOF bio" /> * 1948 National Overall Champion<ref name = "HOF bio" /> * 1949 National Overall Champion<ref name = "HOF bio" /> * 1950 National Overall Champion<ref name = "HOF bio" /> * 1950 World Slalom Champion<ref name = "HOF bio" /> * 1950 World Jump Runner-up<ref name = "HOF bio" /> * 1950 World Tricks Fifth Place<ref name = "HOF bio" /> * 1950 World Overall Champion<ref name = "HOF bio" />

==See also== * Waterskiing * World water skiing champions * Barefoot skiing * List of Water Skiing Hall of Fame Inductees * USA Water Ski * United States Waterskiing Team

==External links== * {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080705040128/http://www.waterskihalloffame.com/ Waterski Hall of Fame]}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Dick Jr.}} Category:American water skiers Category:2007 deaths Category:Place of birth missing Category:Winter Haven, Florida Category:Sportspeople from Winter Haven, Florida Category:1930 births