Legendary Rice Owls baseball coach Wayne Graham dies at age 88 Graham served at the helm of Rice baseball for 26 full seasons, including leading them to a College World Series Championship in 2003. HOUSTON — Legendary Rice Owls baseball coach Wayne Graham has passed away at the age of 88, assistant athletic director at the university, Chuck Pool has confirmed. The university said Graham passed away Tuesday evening in Austin, Graham served at the helm of Rice baseball for 26 full seasons, including leading them to a College World Series Championship in 2003 and 21 conference championships, according to his bio. This included the final Southwest Conference title in 1996. The CWS Championship was the first national championship for the university in any sport. “What Coach Graham accomplished during his time at Rice is truly remarkable,” Rice Vice President and Director of Athletics Tommy McClelland said. “He built a program that served as the envy of college baseball for nearly three decades. I am grateful I was able to spend time with him last fall and thank him for all he had done for Rice baseball and our University. He set the standard for excellence within our athletics programs and his legacy will never be forgotten." With 37 seasons as a college head coach, Graham was regarded as one of the top coaches in the country during his time. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012. “With deep sorrow and immense gratitude, we honor and remember Coach Graham whose leadership brought national acclaim to the Rice baseball program and inspired a generation of student-athletes, alumni, and fans,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “A Hall of Famer and a true legend, his legacy lives on through the countless student-athletes he impacted. On behalf of the Rice family, we extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones, former players, and all who were touched by his extraordinary life.” During his time at Rice, Graham led the Owls to 1,147 wins and a .698 win percentage. Graham coached 38 different Rice players to a total of 55 All-American awards, the university said. Graham was a native Houstonian who played baseball at Reagan High School in the Heights. He was a member of the 1952 team that won the Houston City and Texas State baseball championships. He went on to play collegiately for the University of Texas. After college, he went on to play 11 seasons as a professional player with the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets organizations.
One of the best to ever coach -- maybe THE BEST at the collegiate level, given the obstacles that he faced at a program like Rice. His tough, demanding style produced extraordinary results. His impact on Rice University was tremendous... and his impact on countless major leaguers was tremendous -- Clemens, Pettite, Cruz Jr, Berkman, Rendon, and many others.
Hard to overstate how impressive what he did at Rice was. Forget national titles, just having a winning record was an accomplishment there. Not a single conference championship or even NCAA tournament appearance in their history before he got there.
