William M. Welch

Wabash Valley profiles : a series of tributes to hometown people and events that have shaped our history

Description:	One typed page; biography of William Welch, one of the finest coaches in Indiana history. ABASH VALLEY WP R O F I L E SA series of tributes to hometown heroes who have made a difference.William M. Welchxalted by coaches, athletes and sports fans nationwide, Terre Haute native William Max Welch is identified by his peers as one of the finest coaches in Indiana history. The youngest of Thomas and Margaret Welchs six children, Bill was born on Jan. 14, 1924. A carpenter, Thomas Welch died before Bill graduated from Gerstmeyer High School. During World War II, Welch was a sergeant with the 255th Field Artillery Battalion of the Twelfth Corps, Third Army, serving in Northern France, the Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe. Upon returning to Terre Haute after the war, he enrolled at Indiana State Teachers College, graduating in 1950. He earned a masters degree from Indiana State in 1963. Meanwhile, he was a volunteer coaching assistant in basketball at State Laboratory School and then at his high school alma mater. Welch began his celebrated 34-year career with Vigo County high schools at Gerstmeyer in 1951, teaching biology, physical education and drivers training. He was head baseball coach (1951-1954) and assistant coach in football (1951-1957) and basketball (1951-1959). During the nine years he served as Howard Sharpes only hardwood assistant, Welch cultivated teams that advanced to the IHSAA basketball tournament Final Four in 1953, 1954, 1956 and 1957. Between 1951 and 1960, he managed the Wayne Newton Post 346 Junior American Legion baseball team, winning state titles in 1951, 1956 and 1957. Terre Haute native Tommy John, who compiled 288 career victories in 26 major league seasons, credits Coach Bill Welch as being his most significant instructor. In 1955 Welch became Gerstmeyers cross country and track coach, serving until the school closed in 1971. By U.S. State Department assignment, he was national track and field coach for the country of Iran in preparation for the 1964 Olympic Games. He also tutored prospective Canadian Olympic track athletes in 1968. Assuming coaching duties at North Vigo in 1971, Welch directed the Patriots 1972 cross country squad to the Indiana crown, making it the first Terre Haute team to win a state high school title. In addition, Welch produced four individual track state champions, five future college AllAmericans, 20 sectional team titles and eight regional team titles, the 1968 IHSAA track runner-up and a world record setting four-mile relay team. Retiring from high school teaching in 1981, he was hired as cross country coach (1981-2002) and assistant track and field coach at Rose-Hulman, becoming head track coach in 1987. In 22 years at Rose-Hulman, Welch won eight College Athletic Conference titles and coached 33 Division III All-Americas (including Chris Trapp, three-time national champion in the javelin, and Ryan Loftus, two-time national champion in the pole vault) and 17 Academic All-Americas in cross country and track. He also was chief long jump official at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The honors Coach Welch has accumulated could fill a book. He was named Indiana Track Coach of the Year (1968); National High School Track Coach of the Year (1970); and Indiana Cross County Coach of the Year (1972). He has been enshrined in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame (1977), Indiana High School Track & Field Hall of Fame (1989) and the Rose-Hulman Athletic Hall of Fame (1997). In 1993 he was an initial co-recipient of the coveted Dick Martin Coaches Award. The new outdoor track facility at Rose-Hulman was dedicated the William M. Welch Track and Field Complex in October 2002, before his retirement in 2003.EMEMBER FDICAlways Close to Home812-238-6000Fs EE R ride buFRIDAYRide the Terre Haute buses FREE the FIRST FRIDAY of every month, compliments of First Financial Bank.File name: William M Bill Welch 2006 profileDate Published: Jan 5, 2006
Origin:	2006-01-05
Created By:	McCormick, Mike
Publisher:	Terre Haute Tribune-Star
Source:	http://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/vchs/id/944
Collection:	Vigo County Historical Society
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Copyright:	Copyright Undetermined
Subjects:	Welch, William Max, b. 1924- Baseball coaches Basketball coaches Football coaches Track and field coaches Sports People

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