Former Baylor players recall memories of Coach King Oehmig:
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Henry "King" Oehmig, a legendary golf coach at the Baylor School, died of a heart attack while fishing Saturday night. The Lookout Mountain resident, who was 63, is survived by his wife Margy and sons John and Henry.
During Oehmig's 12 seasons as head coach of the boys' and girls' teams at Baylor, he created a Tennessee high school dynasty and provided the foundation for more than 20 players to earn college golf scholarships, with a handful of them becoming professional golfers on the highest levels of competiton in the world.
His impact on the individuals he came across - through golf or his ministry as an Episcopal priest - are beyond measure.
"I always love catching up with our former players, but not in this way," Baylor athletic director Thad Lepcio said Sunday night. "He meant a lot to a lot of people, whether they were his parishioners or kids that played for him or were in his program."
While funeral services had not been set as of Sunday evening, the East Brainerd chapel of Heritage Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
Oehmig's varsity golf teams combined to win 21 state championships, and his golfers earned individual medalist honors 14 times at the state tournament.
"He was more than just a golf coach, which is why he was so great," said May (Wood) Frederiksen, who had Oehmig officiate her marriage on the Baylor campus in 2007. "When he dedicated himself to being a golf coach, he dedicated himself to changing lives.
"He has so many life experiences, and he brought that to the table."
Wood won three straight individual championships and helped spark the Lady Red Raiders to a string of 12 straight state titles under Oehmig. The streak continued four more years, which tied the national record for consecutive girls' golf state championships.
"When I got engaged, I told Coach, 'It wouldn't be right if you weren't the one to marry me,'" Wood said. "The wedding couldn't have been more perfect. When I went to college, he kept in contact with me, and when I decided I didn't want to play anymore, he supported me."
Oehmig's lineage of protégés continued with Luke List, who finished runner-up in the 2004 U.S. Amateur. List won two state championships at Baylor before going on to play for Vanderbilt. He has played on the PGA Tour and is now working back toward that status while on the Web.com Tour.
"He's the most unique and special man that I've ever met," List said. "My initial reaction was pure sadness."
List and 2007 Baylor graduate Harris English fondly recall many victory celebrations at the Krystal closest to a tournament site.
"I was a hefty kid in high school, and we'd have Krystal-eating contests," List recalled. "He'd say, "Eat to win,' and I guess I took it a little too seriously.
"He was such a competitor and exuded confidence in everything."
English, who is ranked No. 37 on the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup points list, remembers the trips to Krystal as a coronation of tournament champions. The trips, he said, always followed victories.
English also remembers a goofy side to Oehmig.
"He used to take so many pictures, and it was so funny the stuff that he did and the poses he did and captions he put in the scrapbook," English said. "At the time, it seemed annoying, but looking back, I'm so glad he did those things.
"His No. 1 priority was for us to be happy and have a good time."
Oehmig graduated from Baylor School in 1969, graduated from the University of Virginia in 1973 and later earned a doctorate of ministry from the University of the South.
"He's one of the most influential men in my life, and I definitely would not be where I am today in my golf career if not for him," said LPGA Tour player Brooke Pancake. "Besides my grandfather, he's the most influential man in my life at that time growing up as a teenager and a young golfer."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP