Obituary: Harley Redin

Harley Redin, former coach of the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens, died Aug. 1 in Plainview. He was 100 years old. He was born Aug. 29, 1919, in Silverton to Alvin and Winnie Redin. He earned an associate’s degree from Tarleton Junior College before receiving his undergraduate and master’s degrees from North Texas State University. He served with the U.S. Marines during World War II, flying 38 bombing missions in the South Pacific. As men’s basketball coach at Wayland Baptist College, Redin coached the Pioneers eight years, leading them to a 151-88 record and three appearances in the NAIA National Tournament. He coached the Flying Queens from 1955 to 1973, when they achieved a 437-68 record. Redin used his flying skills as one of the pilots for the Queens, who were transported to out-of-town games in four Beechcraft Bonanzas. Under his guidance, the team won six national AAU titles. Between the Queens and Pioneers, Redin coached more than 40 All-Americans. Redin coached the U.S. women’s basketball team in the 1959 and 1971 Pan American Games to gold and bronze medals, respectively, directed the U.S. team in the 1964 World Championships and coached all-star teams against Russian competition. Redin received the John Bunn Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 2018 for meritorious service to the game. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in September 2019 as one of the coaches of the Flying Queen teams from 1948-82 that pre-dated the NAIA and NCAA programs. A member of the inaugural class of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn., in 1999 and the Wayland Athletics Hall of Honor in 1992, Redin also is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame, the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame, and the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame. The Atlanta Tipoff Club tapped Redin as the 2000 Naismith Women’s Outstanding Contribution to Basketball Award winner for lifetime achievement, impact on the game and honor and exemplary service. The Amarillo Globe-News named him one of the 100 Sports Legends of the Texas Panhandle, and Sports Illustrated named Redin one of the top people in sports in Texas from 1950 to 2000. Redin joined First Baptist Church in Plainview on Nov. 17, 1946, and was the oldest member of the church at the time of his death. Redin was preceded in death by his first wife Nonie in 1984. He is survived by his wife Wilda; sons Van Redin of Austin and Kenny Redin and wife Cathy of Pflugerville; stepson Mike Hutcherson and his wife Suzy of Lubbock; four grandchildren; and sister Pat Barnhill of San Diego, Calif.