Hall of Fame
Bill Crowder entered the College of the Ozarks in 1952 and played both basketball and baseball. In 1956, his senior year, he was an Assistant Baseball Coach to Fritz Ehren and graduated with honors and the following accolades: Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities, Senior Class President, Outstanding Political Science Student and served as the Student Director of Intramural Sports Program. From 1956 to 1959 Crowder coached basketball, football and was the athletic director and principal at Ozark High School. In 1959, Crowder moved to Springdale where he also coached football, basketball and baseball. While in Springdale, Crowder received his master’s degree from the University of Arkansas and in 1965 he became the Head Baseball Coach at Westark Junior College where he had 912 career wins, sent 400 players to major universities and had over 30 players sign professional contracts. He received the National Coach of the Year award and the National Baseball Coaches Award. Crowder has authored literature covering drugs, baseball and winning in life. The Westark (UA-Fort Smith) Baseball Field was named “Bill Crowder Field” in his honor. He was also inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame and the UA-Fort Smith Hall of Fame.
