Odell Welborn (1930-2018) was born in Thomasville, North Carolina and went on to participate in football and wrestling at Thomasville High School before enrolling at Elon College in 1948. During the 1949 football season, Welborn lettered for Elon as a sophomore offensive lineman in 1949. Welborn’s college career was interrupted by the Korean Conflict when he was drafted into the United State Air Force. While enlisted in the Air Force, Welborn was stationed for four years at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas where he served as a Supply Sergeant while also coaching the base’s football team. After leaving the Air Force, Welborn returned to Elon where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Physical Education in 1957. Welborn then went on to receive his Master of Arts in Physical Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1959.
While he was working on his degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, Welborn accepted a position at J.H. Rose High School in Greenville, North Carolina where he served as a Health and Physical Education instructor, head coach of the wrestling team, and assistant coach for the football team for three years. In June, 1969, East Carolina College announced that Welborn was joining the college’s Health and Physical Education faculty while also serving as an assistant football coach responsible for the defense. Welborn was also asked to coach the East Carolina track team as well as the new intramural wrestling team during his early years on campus.
During his tenure on the East Carolina football coaching staff, Welborn worked under famed head coach Clarence Stasavich. In 1963, Welborn would be appointed the interim head coach of the team after Stasavich suffered a heart attack following the teams fourth game of the season. Under Welborn’s guidance, the team won six straight games and achieved the program’s first bowl game victory with a win over Northeastern University in the Eastern Bowl. Once Stasavich returned to the sidelines, Welborn remained on his staff until 1969 and helped coach the Pirates to two consecutive Tangerine Bowl victories in 1964 and 1965.
Following his retirement from coaching, Welborn remained a part of the East Carolina faculty where he taught Health and Physical Education as well as Driver Education and Traffic Safety until his retirement in 1992. Upon his retirement, Welborn received a faculty emeritus status in honor of the three decades of service to East Carolina. In 2010, Welborn was Inducted into the East Carolina University College of Education's Educators Hall of Fame. Eight years later, ECU would again honor his service by inducting him into the East Carolina University Health and Human Performance Wall of Fame in 2018.
Odell Welborn passed away on May 10, 2018.
Sources
- Odell Welborn. Subject Files. UA91. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Additional Related Material
Citation Information
Title: Odell Welborn
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 9/23/2019