Lou Plummer

Lou Plummer was a record-breaking distance runner at the College of William and Mary and long-time coach at Old Dominion whose teams won Little Eight and Mason-Dixon Conference Championships. In one four-year span, his ODU squads won 28 straight dual meets.

His athletes included a pair of All-America track runners who excelled in national meets, and another distance runner who went on to set an American record at 18 kilometers. With all coaching , Plummer still found time to be a trainer for all ODU athletic teams for a dozen years, and also taught a full load of academic courses in the Department of Health and Physical Education.

After turning down a job offer from his alma mater, William and Mary, Plummer accepted a job in 1956 from Old Dominion.

"I believed that ODU was a growing school and I saw a special future for that campus," Plummer said.

The best of his athletes may have been All-American high hurdler Louis Cappi, All- American high jumper Terry Wright, U.S. record holder Louis Castagnola, and shotputter Gerald Tiederman.

In 1965, his freshman cross-country team brought ODU its first state honors by beating all schools that season. Overall all, Plummer's track team raced to a 55-20 record from 1957 to 1966. During that time they finished first in the Little Eight competition from 1961 to 1964, and second from 1957 to 1960. They also finished second in the Mason-Dixon Conference in 1963 and third from 1964 to 1966.

Plummer's cross country teams ruled the Little Eight in 1962, 63, 65 and 66, and the Mason Dixon Conference in 1963 and 1965.

That's a record fit for a sports hall of fame and, for a bonus, Plummer has his memories of helping all those teams of competitive young men prepare themselves for their lifetime careers.