Hall of Fame
A Former Oneonta resident, McLean will be inducted posthumously. McLean taught physical education and was a coach at Edmeston, Gilbertsville and Oneonta High School before joining the physical education department of Oneonta State in the fall of 1955.
During his tenure of nearly 20 years he helped Dr. G. Hal Chase develop the Physical Education and Athletic Department. Earlier he had a big role in setting up the Youth Soccer Program in the city of Oneonta with the local Director of Recreation, Arthur “Dutch” Damaschke. It was innovative in that time and became a great success.
Mac coached the first soccer team in College’s history in the fall of 1955. During the years that followed, he coached baseball, golf and cross-country in addition to soccer. Before he left in the mid 1970's, Oneonta State was the premier athletic college in the ten-school State University of New York Athletic Conference winning more "All Sport Championships” than any of the other teams in the league.
Mac was a person who never sought the limelight, which was somewhat unusual for an athletic coach. He was content to get the job done and leave the glory to his players or others.
During the last ten years of Mac's twenty-year career at the college he was the director of Health Education, within the PE Department. He taught many different health education courses and was a mentor to many young health educators that have since gone on to accomplish much in the field of education in the local area.
