Bill Patteson

William Patteson, Jr. was a dual-sport athlete at Emory & Henry College, lettering all four years in both baseball and basketball. An All-Tournament Team honoree on the men’s basketball team in 1954, he was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 for his accomplishments on the court.

The 1953-54 basketball season was full of highlights for Patteson. The Wasps had an epic upset over the University of Richmond Spiders, a team that was highly favored going into the matchup. The Division I Spiders had won four consecutive Virginia State championships and had a nine-game winning streak going into the game, including wins against powerhouses William & Mary and Wake Forest.  But the Wasps fought to an 83-80 victory. Emory & Henry went on to win the Smoky Mountain Conference Championship that year, with Patteson elected to the All-Tournament squad.

Patteson earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Emory & Henry in 1950 and went on to earn a Master of Education degree from Radford University in 1973. He taught in Henry County and Martinsville before returning his hometown of Narrows, Virginia, where he served in various capacities – teacher, coach, and athletic director – for over 30 years. Patteson retired from Giles County Public Schools as Administrative Service Director in 1991. He was presented a Certificate of Recognition by Virginia High School League for Distinctive Service to High School in Virginia in 1993 and received an award for 15 years of outstanding service in Athletic Administration from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Associations.

As a coach in the New River District, his football, baseball, and track teams won a collective seven championships. He was selected as New River District Coach of the year four times for football and three times for basketball, and was selected as All-Timesland Football Coach of the Year by the Roanoke Times and World News in 1977. In 1996, the Narrows High School gymnasium was renamed and dedicated in his honor.

William Patteson, Jr. died on February 5, 2014 at age 81.