Plaque Dedicated to Baseball HOF Coach Al Ogletree

IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas honored Al Ogletree with a plaque dedicating his contribution to the baseball program. The plaque is located beyond the centerfield wall where fans can walk past when they arrive to watch a contest this spring.

Ogletree was inducted in the 1998 Athletics Hall of Fame as a Baseball Coach. He was among the first three in Dallas Athletics to be inducted.

Shortly after the University of Dallas reopened in 1955, Coach Al Ogletree was hired as the baseball and basketball coach.  Through his efforts an intercollegiate athletics program was begun.  While at the University of Dallas he won 91 baseball games, which made him the winningest coach in UD history (at the time) and contributed to his career total of 1,187.  Upon his retirement Coach Ogletree was the winningest active coach in college baseball.

Gary Morris, Troy Miller, and Martin Warborg visited campus and shared memorable moments about their head coach, describing him as a great person.

“A huge characteristic of Coach Ogletree is that as well as being an unbelievable coach is that he is even a better person,” Morris read in a quote by Troy. “Anyone who ever played for him became a better man because of this relationship.”

Morris adds in a quote by former Alabama Football Coach Bear Bryant and relates it to what Ogletree’s philosophy was for his players.

“A quote by Bear Bryant made during his last year at Alabama, but I think Coach would have liked to have said to us if present today,” Morris explains. “Which exemplifies both his character and his philosophy of coaching his thousands of student-athletes over the past 40 years.”

It states, “Sure winning the game is important and I would be the last to say that it wasn’t. But helping the boy to develop his poise and confidence, pride in himself and his undertakings, teaching him to give that later extra effort are the real objectives of coaching…There is no greater reward for a coach than to see his players achieve their goals in life than to know that he had some small part of success in that boy’s endeavor.”