Owen Wright

Owen L. Wright

• School Bridgewater College

• Born March 29, 1933 in Ottobine, VA USA
• Died January 30, 2023 in Oregon USA

Biographical Information

Dr. Owen L. Wright, PhD was a longtime college baseball and soccer coach.

Wright served in the Coast Guard during the Korean War, joining in 1951 and serving 3 years. He then enrolled at Bridgewater College, graduating in 1958. He earned four letters in baseball and was named captain of the team in 1956. [1] After graduating he moved to Fairbanks, AK to teach high school. He earned a master's degree in physical education from the University of Illinois in 1961.

Wright was hired as baseball coach at Elizabethtown College staying from 1962 to 1983, missing the 1968-1969 school year to get his PhD from the University of Oregon. In 21 seasons he posted a 260-182-1 record. His team won 4 Middle Atlantic Conference titles. He also coached the soccer teams to a 234-90-26 record from 1962 to 1983. He then moved to the University of La Verne as baseball coach from 1984 to 1998, posting a 347-278-1 record. He took the school to the 1984 Division III College World Series and 1995 Division III College World Series, winning the title the latter year.

Wright is a member of the Bridgewater, Elizabethtown, and LaVerne athletics Halls of Fame. [2]

Year-by-Year Coaching Record

Year	School	Overall Record	Conference Record	Notes
1962	Elizabethtown College	13-5
1963	Elizabethtown College	11-9
1964	Elizabethtown College	13-5
1965	Elizabethtown College	8-9
1966	Elizabethtown College	8-8
1967	Elizabethtown College	7-10
1968	Elizabethtown College	16-6
1970	Elizabethtown College	10-9
1971	Elizabethtown College	15-4
1972	Elizabethtown College	14-4
1973	Elizabethtown College	9-11
1974	Elizabethtown College	15-5
1975	Elizabethtown College	18-5
1976	Elizabethtown College	17-7
1977	Elizabethtown College	3-14-1
1978	Elizabethtown College	13-8
1979	Elizabethtown College	12-6
1980	Elizabethtown College	8-14
1981	Elizabethtown College	10-16
1982	Elizabethtown College	18-11
1983	Elizabethtown College	22-16		Division III Regionals
1984	University of La Verne	29-25	16-2	Division III Regionals / Division III CWS
1985	University of La Verne	30-17	14-4	Division III Regionals
1986	University of La Verne	23-20	15-3
1987	University of La Verne	27-21	18-0	Division III Regionals
1988	University of La Verne	20-20	10-8
1989	University of La Verne	20-19	15-3
1990	University of La Verne	25-15	13-5
1991	University of La Verne	23-17	12-6
1992	University of La Verne	23-15	14-7
1993	University of La Verne	16-17-1	12-9
1994	University of La Verne	22-13	15-6
1995	University of La Verne	39-9	21-0	Division III Regionals / Division III CWS
1996	University of La Verne	29-11	15-6
1997	University of La Verne	12-28	9-12
1998	University of La Verne	9-31	7-14

Related Sites

• La Verne Campus Times article
• Elizabethtown athletics history