Hall of Fame
Dr. Bill Olin, the former Chair of the Department of Physical Education, came to Pasadena College in 1966. He has been a quiet man going about his job with extreme quality and dignity. During his career, his efficiency was and still is incredible.
During one of his rare slumps in baseball on afternoon at Brookside Park, in frustration he turned around for his first whack at the ball left-handed. Phil Teakle was the Crusaders’ pitcher and delivered a pitch to home plate that Olin promptly hit out of the park. He never batted left-handed again.
In 1969, Olin won the Meguiar Award for his performances in baseball and basketball. At the end of that season he signed a contract with the Kansas City Royals and had to forego his eligibility in basketball. Previously, he had been a member of the ’68 basketball team that started the season with a 17-game winning streak and went on to the district championship and a trip to nationals. At one time he held the third-best free throw percentage in school history.
In baseball he started at second base as a freshman and never relinquished the spot for four years although occasionally he did make an appearance somewhere else. At Cal Western he took a turn on the mound. Many of his records still stand on the lists for triples and doubles.
Olin has made tremendous contributions also as the head coach of women’s basketball where he earned more than 230 wins. His teams had four 20+ wins seasons and a high of 24 victories in 1990-91 when they won the district championship and went to nationals. He also served as assistant baseball coach two times over six years.
Olin’s wife Barbara worked as the Assistant Director of the Graduate Education Program at the PLNC. Their two children, Michael and Amy, attended Mount Vernon Nazarene College .
The Award for Outstanding Achievement by an Athlete and Coach were presented to Olin by Jim Bond.
