Bruce Ogilvie

In 1979 he retired from his job at San Jose State. In 2003 Bruce Ogilvie died at his home in Los Gatos.

In the mid-1970s, Ogilvie tested 250 athletes from car racing, skydiving and other risky sports. He found that athletes in risky sports such as these have superior intelligence, emotional stability, and independence compared to those who did not participate in such sports. Ogilvie also determined that athletes in risky sports make concerted efforts to minimize their risks. Ogilvie also found that these athletes shared certain traits. For example, race car drivers were very driven and need to be in control. Drivers are also abnormally sexually active, perhaps to help cope with the stress of their sport.

In 1966, Ogilvie and fellow psychologist Thomas Tutko wrote Problem Athletes and How to Handle Them. That year, Ogilvie started working directly with competitive athletes.

Dr. Ogilvie worked with many accomplished professional sports teams. He advised nine NBA teams, four NFL teams, and six MLB teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Mets, the Dallas Cowboys, and the San Francisco 49ers. Ogilve also served as an Olympics consultant for the United States from 1960 until his death in 2003.

Shortly after his marriage the family moved to London so Ogilvie could pursue his PhD. He received his PhD from the University of London in 1954, in sport psychology. After Ogilvie received his PhD the family moved to Los Gatos, California. Ogilvie then began working at San Jose State University as a professor.

Bruce Ogilvie (1920–2003) was an applied American sport psychologist. Ogilvie is often referred to as the “Father of North American Applied Sport Psychology.”

Bruce Ogilvie was born in 1920 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Ogilvie met his wife, Eva Diane, in 1938 and married her in 1943. He attended the University of San Francisco and studied psychology and also received his masters from Portland State.