Randy_Stoklos
Randy Stoklos
American beach volleyball player
Randy Stoklos (born December 13, 1960) is a retired American beach volleyball player.[1] He is the first player to earn $1 million playing competitive beach volleyball.[2] He is a five-time winner of the prestigious Manhattan Open.[3]
Stoklos played college volleyball at UCLA and left early to focus on beach volleyball.[1] He won his first Manhattan Open partnering with Jim Menges in 1981.[4] He then went on to dominate the sport with partner Sinjin Smith in the 1980s and early 1990s.[4]
Stoklos has 122 career wins, which ranks him third of all time.[1] He was selected as MVP of the AVP in 1988, 1989, and 1991.[1] He was selected as the Best Setter in 1989.[1] He retired in 1997, having amassed almost $2 million in prize money in his career.[1]
In 1992, Stoklos reflected on his father's unwillingness to allow him to play volleyball at the beach in his youth. His father, who survived a German work camp as a Pole, was an "old-country type" who was afraid his son would grow up to be lazy if he spent too much time at the beach.[5]
