Stan Wright (track coach) facts for kids

Stan Wright was a famous track and field coach.

Stanley Vandorne Wright (born August 11, 1921 – died November 6, 1998) was a very important person in American sports. He was the first African-American head coach for a United States track and field team. For over 40 years, he coached many amazing athletes who went to the Olympics and set world records. Because of his great work, he was added to the USA National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1993.

Coaching College Athletes

Stan Wright was born in Englewood, New Jersey, on August 11, 1921. He finished college at Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1949.

Wright coached track for 26 years at Texas Southern University. He was the Head Track Coach there from 1950 to 1967. During this time, he coached four athletes who competed in the Olympics. One of his most famous students was Jim Hines, who won the 100-meter race at the 1968 Olympics. Jim Hines chose to study at Texas Southern because it was known for having one of the best track and field teams in the country.

Later, Stan Wright was the head track coach at Western Illinois University from 1967 to 1969. He then coached at California State University, Sacramento from 1969 to 1979. After that, he worked as the Athletics Director for Fairleigh Dickinson University from 1979 to 1985.

Coaching National Teams

In 1966, Stan Wright was chosen to be the Head Coach for the USA track and field teams. These teams competed against Poland and the USSR in Los Angeles. This was a big deal because he was the first Black American to be given this important coaching role.

He also served as the Assistant Sprints Coach for the United States Olympic Team in both 1968 and 1972.

Wright took on many important jobs in sports administration. He was a member of the United States Olympic Committee. He also helped manage money for The Athletics Congress, which is now known as United States Track and Field organization.

In 1993, he was honored for his many years as a respected coach and leader. He was inducted into the United States Track and Field Hall of Fame.

Stan Wright's Life Story

Stan Wright was a soldier in the United States Army Air Forces from November 1945 to January 1947. After leaving the military, he studied to become a coach at Springfield College. He then earned a master's degree in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. After graduating, he found it hard to get a coaching job in the northern United States, so he moved south to start his coaching career.

Even after he retired, he stayed active, even though he had a stroke and heart surgery. Stan Wright passed away in Harris, Texas, on November 6, 1998, after being sick for a long time. He died just two days after his cousin, Larry Ellis, who had also been a Head Coach for the 1984 United States Olympic Team and a former President of the USA Track and Field Organization.