Hall of Fame
Lowell I. Wedgbury was coached by two of Coe College's most inspiring and demanding coaches, namely Moray Eby in football and Forest Rittgers in track. Lowell met the high expectations of these two memorable athletic leaders admirably. In football Lowell Wedgbury was the fullback and punter and a frequent scorer for his team. He was a member of the 1936 Midwest Conference championship squad. The track team of 1936 was also Midwest Conference champion. In Midwest Conference track meets Lowell won first place three times in both the 220 yard run and the 440. As it is today, the premier Midwest track meet in the thirties was the Drake Relays. Lowell earned a first place medal in the mile relay and he carried home two second-place and one-third-place medals from that intense competition. Relay races were his specialty. He was a member of the relay teams that set Coe school records in the 440 and 880 relays. With his brother Harley running as leadoff man and himself running as anchor, Lowell and his teammates set a school record in the mile relay of 3:20.6 seconds, a remarkably fast time for those days. Lowell Wedgbury was elected the honorary captain of the 1938 track team. At Coe, he was a singer in both vesper and a capella choirs, an interest that he still follows in retirement as a member of the community chorus in Hardy, Arkansas. Lowell lived for several years in retirement in Evening Shade, Arkansas, the town whose name has now been made famous on television. After graduation from Coe, Lowell earned a master's degree from Iowa State University and built a long and productive career of more than 30 years as a public school administrator in Iowa. Today, it's a pleasure to recognize both Lowell Wedgebury's athletic achievements and his long career in education, each of which fulfilled the high aims of the Coe of our student days. Welcome to the Kohawk Athletic Hall of Fame.
