Ray E. Watts ’33, Coach and AD; Inaugural Inductee to the BW Hall of Fame Class of 1965

Ray E. Watts is simply a BW coaching legend. Watts loved BW and BW loved the entire Watts Family.

Ray was born on September 18, 1896 in Powell, Ohio and passed away on June 3, 1969 in Berea at the age of 72.

Ray began his coaching career at Otterbein in 1919 at the age of 24. He then coached football and other sports at West Technical High School from 1923-1925 and then the Cleveland Panthers of the American Football League to a 3-2 record in 1926.

Ray came to BW in the spring of 1928. From 1928 through the 1958 basketball season, he coached the Yellow Jackets in football (1928-1948), basketball (1928-1935, 1940-1950 and 1952-1958) and baseball (1929-1931, 1935-1936 and 1944) teams.

In football, Ray coached BW during its initial “glory days” of what was known as the “Flying Circus”. He led the Yellow Jackets to its first two Ohio Athletic Conference titles in 1935 and 1937. During his first coaching stint in football, basketball and baseball, Ray attained his college degree. He began his collegiate experience at Otterbein, but was unable to finish due to financial difficulties.

At BW, Ray built a powerhouse that included the two OAC titles and a 104-65-14 record on the gridiron. In addition, he helped BW to what is still considered the school’s biggest-ever win in football, a 19-7 victory against powerful Syracuse University. It was a game that BW entered as a 40-point underdog!  Today, Ray’s 104 wins in football still stands third all-time to Bob Packard ’65 with 156 and College Football Hall of Famer Lee Tressel ’47 with 155.

As an athletic director, Ray was well-known throughout the country and regarded as one of the best for any small college in the country. In addition to his coaching expertise in so many sports, he also was regarded as a great mentor to some of BW’s finest all-time coaches, such as Packard, Tressel, Paul “Sparky” Adams, Marcia French, Carol and Hugh Thompson, Bob Fisher, Dave Demmerle and many, many more.

Input by KR on November 15, 2018