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Wade Elmer Marlette (March 1, 1900 – March 3, 1980) was an American athlete and coach who played baseball, basketball, and football at Elon College and coached high school sports in North Carolina and Maine. He was the head football coach at Bates College for one season.

Early life

Marlette was born on March 1, 1900 in Saxapahaw, North Carolina to Robert G. and Sarah Emily (Teague) Marlette. He attended Elon College High School, where he played football, baseball, and basketball.

Marlette attended Elon College, where he played four years of baseball, two years of football and basketball, and ran four seasons of cross-country and track. He was captain of the baseball, basketball, and track teams. After graduating in 1923, he played for the Winston-Salem Twins of the Piedmont League. He took post graduate courses as the University of North Carolina (1924), Harvard Summer School (1927 and 1928), and the University of Michigan (1928).

Coaching

In 1925, Marlette began his coaching career at Elkin High School in Elkin, North Carolina. The following school year, he began a 12 year coach tenure at High Point High School in High Point, North Carolina. In 1935, he became the city's recreation supervisor. In 1937, he became the head football coach at Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine. He he also coached the school's track team and led Hebron to four consecutive prep school championships.

Hebron suspended its athletic programs in 1942 due to financial issues. That summer, Marlette became the freshman coach at Bates College. Soon thereafter, he was promoted to varsity football coach after Ducky Pond entered the United States Navy. Marlette himself left the school that winter to become a lieutenant in the United States Navy Reserve. Marlette was a physical training officer in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1945 and served oversees from 1944 to 1945. He was discharged with the rank of lieutenant commander.

Later life

In 1946, Marlette entered in the furniture business in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Three years later, he sold his interest the business and reentered the United States Navy. During the 1960s, he was a math teacher and tennis coach at High Point Central High School.

Marlette died in Jacksonville, Florida on March 3, 1980. He was posthumously inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame that fall.

References

1. ^ "Person Record: Marlette, Wade Elmer". High Point Museum. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
2. ^ "Obituaries: Wade E. Marlette, Sr". News and Record. March 6, 1980.
3. ^ "Coach Marlette Was Elon Athletic Star". The Pointer. February 6, 1929. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
4. ^ "Elon Sports Hall of Fame inducts eight" (PDF). The Pendulum. November 6, 1980. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
5. ^ "Bates Fills Coaching Vacancy With Hebron Grid-Track Mentor". Lewiston Evening Journal. July 21, 1942. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
6. "Marlette at Rotary". The Lewiston Daily Sun. September 18, 1942. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
7. "Marlette to Replace Pond as Bates Mentor". The Lewiston Daily Sun. September 5, 1942. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
8. "Wade Marlette Leaves For Chapel Hill; Shanahan to Coach Bobcat Hoop Squad". The Lewiston Daily Sun. January 2, 1943. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
9. "Class News". Elon Alumni News. April 1948. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
10. "Class News". Elon Alumni News. August 1947. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
11. "Class News". Elon Alumni News. November 1946. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
12. "Class News". Elon Alumni News. May 1949. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
13. 1964 Pemican (PDF). High Point, NC: The Senior Class of High Point Central High School. 1964. Retrieved January 23, 2025.

• 1900 births
• 1980 deaths
• People from Alamance County, North Carolina
• Bates Bobcats football coaches
• Elon Phoenix baseball players
• Elon Phoenix football players
• Elon Phoenix men's basketball players
• Elon Phoenix track and field
• High school basketball coaches in North Carolina
• High school football coaches in Maine
• High school football coaches in North Carolina
• High school track and field coaches in the United States
• United States Navy personnel of World War II
• Winston-Salem Twins players