Weemie “Weems” Baskin, USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame Special Inductee

Weemie “Weems” Baskin served as a head track & field coach for over 25 years, most of them at the University of South Carolina where he led the track & field programs from 1948-69.

Baskin’s intercollegiate career began as an outstanding hurdler at Auburn University where he was coached by another USTFCCCA Hall of Famer, Wilbur Hutsell. In 1927, he won a national collegiate hurdles title. Baskin worked as a sportswriter in New York City and continued to compete as a hurdler for the New York Athletic Club for several years after graduation, winning AAU indoor and outdoor championships in 1928.

In 1930, Baskin accepted his first coaching assignment as an assistant football and track & field coach at his alma mater. One year later, he was offered the assistant football and track & field coaching position at the University of Georgia under Herman J. Stegeman. At Georgia, Baskin helped develop high hurdles world-record holder and fellow USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Forrest “Spec” Towns. Stegeman became athletic director in 1937, and Baskin led the track & field teams for one year before accepting another head coaching position at the University of Mississippi in 1938. Baskin remained at Ole Miss until 1943 when he left coaching to serve as a naval officer during World War II.

Baskin returned to coaching in 1948 when he accepted the head track & field coaching position at the University of South Carolina. While there, he compiled an overall record of 90-47 in dual meet competition. He also helped start the NCAA indoor track & field championships, along with Michigan coach and fellow USTFCCCA Hall of Famer Don Canham, and served as President of the track coaches association from 1964-65. After retiring from full-time coaching in 1969, Baskin held the position of administrative assistant to the athletic director before retiring in 1972.

Baskin’s achievements are honored in the South Carolina Track & Field Hall of Fame, the Georgia Track & Field Hall of Fame, the USATF Hall of Fame, and the Helms Foundation Track & Field Hall of Fame; the University of South Carolina’s outdoor track is named in his honor.