perry-ogden-gymWestern Brown to pay tribute to one of its greatest coaches –

By Wade Linville –

The Western Brown School District will pay tribute to one of its greatest high school basketball coaches in its history on Dec. 10. After the passing of a resolution by the school board, the current Mt. Orab Middle School, formerly the high school, will officially take the name of Perry Ogden Gymnasium. The highly anticipated gym dedication will take place during the Western Brown vs. Georgetown high school girls basketball game, which will be held at the former high school where Ogden coached high school girls basketball during his long career.
After the passing of the resolution in April to name the gym/court after the long-time coach, work got underway at the Mt. Orab Middle School to prepare for the dedication.
The junior varsity will start at 4 p.m., followed by the dedication to take place between the junior varsity and varsity games. Any former player of Coach Perry Ogden who is planning on attending can contact Western Brown Athletic Director Tim Cook at (937) 444-2544 for more information.
“Coach Ogden was not only a great ‘X and O’ coach, but an even better person,” said Western Brown Athletic Director Tim Cook. “He was a great communicator with people. He always knew what buttons to push to get the most out of his players. Perry had a great sense of humor and while commanding great respect of from his players. He always would joke and laugh with them, as well. He is well respected in Brown County through his 30 years of teaching and coaching, his many years of operating the Ogden Softball Park and his years as a Brown County commissioner. We spent many nights after a practice talking basketball and just about life. I could sit and talk forever with him. He is a still a very good friend of mine, as well as the Ogden family.”
Ogden was the varsity boys’ coach at Hamersville High School from 1965-1970 and coached varsity girls at Western Brown from 1980-1986 and 1988-1995.
He coached the varsity girls at Williamsburg High School 1997-1998, finishing with a career varsity coaching record of 298 wins and 143 losses. He stands among the top on the all-time wins list of varsity girls’ basketball coaches at Western Brown.
He coached nine league champion teams during his career and eight times earned league Coach of the Year honors.
His 1989 varsity girls’ basketball team finished as a district runner-up, and his 1994 varsity girls’ team finished their season as a regional semifinalist.
Ogden was inducted into the Ohio High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1994 and was inducted into the Western Brown Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999.