VIDEO: OWEN LEE WRIGHT HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY
Dr. Owen Lee Wright, a 1958 Bridgewater College graduate and Bridgewater native, has enjoyed a remarkable career as a collegiate head coach in two sports, highlighted by an NCAA Division III national championship in baseball and numerous national tournament appearances in both baseball and men's soccer.
While at Bridgewater, Owen won four letters as a member of the Eagles' baseball team from 1954-58 and was named captain of the 1956 squad. In addition, he served as team manager of the 1956-57 basketball team and was part of a Bridgewater club softball team which won the 1955 Virginia State Intercollegiate Fast Pitch Tournament.
Owen graduated in 1958 with a degree in physical education and began his teaching career at Turner Ashby High School and Main Junior High School in Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1961, he received a master's in physical education from the University of Illinois and then joined Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania as assistant professor of P.E. and head soccer and baseball coach. In 21 seasons, Owen's Elizabethtown soccer teams compiled a 234-90-26 overall record and won nine Middle Atlantic Conference championships, including six straight from 1962-67. He guided the Blue Jays to seven appearances in the NCAA Atlantic Coast Regionals and three tournament championships. When national playoffs began in 1974, Elizabethtown earned seven NCAA berths and finished third in the 1976 Division III playoffs. Owen's accomplishments coaching baseball were nearly as impressive. His Elizabethtown team won 258 games and four MAC titles and reached the NCAA Mideast Regional tournament in 1983. While still at Elizabethtown, Owen obtained his Ph.D in Physical Education from the University of Oregon in 1971. In 1991 Owen was inducted into Elizabethtown's Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 1983, Owen headed to California to coach soccer and baseball at the University of LaVerne. In 1995, Owen Lee achieved his greatest individual coaching achievement when his Leopards captured the Division III national baseball championship, and he was chosen as the Division III National Coach of the Year. In 15 seasons at LaVerne, Owen Lee amassed 347 baseball wins and led the Leopards to six Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championships, four NCAA West Regional appearances, and two West Regional titles. In addition, eight LaVerne players have attained Division III All-America status under Owen Lee's direction. Owen Lee also guided LaVerne's soccer team until 1995 and compiled 105 victories and two SCIAC championships.
In addition to his coaching achievements, Owen chaired the National Rating committee for soccer from 1979-82 and, along with his wife, Pat, created the national rating system for women's soccer. He also headed the National Soccer All-America committee from 1993-97 and the NCAA Soccer Rules committee from 1980-86.
Owen retired from coaching in 1998 and now resides in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
