Al Ogletree took the reins of the baseball program at Pan American University in 1968.
After posting a 50-46 record at Sul Ross State and taking his 1968 squad to the NAIA College World Series, Ogletree was informed that the baseball program would be dropped. Sul Ross State's loss was Pan American's gain.
A 1952 graduate of Texas A&M, where he also earned his master's degree in 1956, Ogletree played professional baseball for two years and then spent two years in the United State Army as an officer. He began his coaching career at the University of Dallas as he led them to an 82-45 record.
Ogletree then went on to coach at Sul Ross State for two seasons. While he'd already coached successfully for 11 years, the road ahead of him was filled with some of the most impressive years he spent as a head coach.
Ogletree brought his passion for the game to Pan American University, where he spent 29 years as a head coach before retiring as one of the winningest coaches in NCAA history.
In 1971, Ogletree led his team to a 44-9 record and a fourth-place finish at the College World Series. At season's end, The Sporting News named him as the nation's Coach of the Year. He received the honor from his colleagues in the NCAA District VI, the Texas Sports Writers' Association and the South Plains Professional Scouts Association.
Ogletree recorded a 1,084-618-1 (.637) record at Pan American. He retired in 1997, finishing with 1,217 wins in his 41 years of coaching collegiate baseball.
Ogletree was a legend in the collegiate world of baseball for over four decades, and his hard work and dedication to the UTPA baseball program was recognized when he became an inaugural member of the UTPA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.
Ogletree has also been inducted into many other Halls of Fame: the Austin High School Hall of Fame, Texas A&M Hall of Fame, Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame, Central Texas Semi-Pro Hall of Fame, University of Dallas Collegiate Hall of Fame, Sul Ross State Hall of Fame and Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Ogletree also serves as a member of the UTPA Athletics Hall of Fame board that selects future Hall of Fame inductees.
