Full Obituary from Funeral Home Website
Peter Oley, who coached track and field for Irvington for 50 years, died at his home in Ardsley-on-Hudson on Saturday. He was 75.
Oley had a 422-47 record in outdoor track and a 278-75 record in cross country. He closed out his career in 2006 with a 133 dual-meet winning streak. Overall, his track and cross-country teams captured a combined 27 Section 1 titles, helping him earn 12 Coach of the Year accolades. In 2002, he was inducted into the Westchester Sports Hall of Fame.
Visiting hours will be at Edwards-Dowdle Funeral Home in Dobbs Ferry on Friday from 5-8 p.m.
A memorial service will be held at the Irvington Presbyterian Church on Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m.
Donations may be made to the Peter Oley Scholarship Fund, c/o Irvington High School, 40 North Broadway, Irvington, NY, 10533.
Peter Oley - a true gentleman
by Tim Fulton
It is with a heavy heart that I reflect on Pete Oley after hearing about his passing this evening. Coach Oley was simply one of the nicest men I have ever met, a true gentleman and a great lover of track and field.
As a coach he was superb. His squads were always well rounded and competed as a team, something not all track and field teams achieve. His stats listed above prove of his coaching ability, but spend any amount of time around him and you saw what all of his athletes did over the years - that he loved everyone he met.
I was there the night they inducted coach Oley into the Westchester County Hall of Fame, sitting with coach, my father, my grandfather, and Fred Singleton. He was truly honored, humble, and very gracious.
I got to know Pete a little better at running camp every summer, spending time listening to his jokes and hearing about his world travels.
Pete always asked me about my granddad, always congratulated me on my latest accomplishments as a coach, and always bragged about his kids, be it his actual children or the ones he coached. He was a man that still came to meets to cheer on Irvington after he retired and his presence will be felt in that school and town for years to come.
NY Times Article - Sports Illustrated "Faces in the Crowd"
Oley's write up in last year's NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame Induction
Peter Oley is one of the most successful outdoor track and cross country coaches the state has ever seen. He broke into the coaching ranks in 1956 at Irvington High School as a track coach after being hired as a teacher in the Irvington district. It wasn’t long before Peter’s teams broke records and put Irvington track on the map. His 1957 team won the Western Westchester League Championship and Section I title while breaking numerous school records along the way.
Over his 50 years of coaching high school track, Coach Oley’s outdoor track teams won 13 consecutive Rasbeck Relays and Peter personally accumulated a 422-47 career record putting him fourth in the state today.
In 1958, he founded the school’s first cross country and winter track teams. Coach Oley again proved success as a cross country coach at Irvington racking up a 278-75 career record in the sport, eighth in New York State, along with 13 consecutive league titles and an impressive 133 dual meet win streak that closed out his career.
Overall, his track and cross country teams captured a combined 27 Section I titles and helped Peter earn 12 Coach of the Year accolades.
Oley also contributed off the field to track and cross country by serving as the President of the Westchester Coaches and Officials Association and in 1960, being appointed as Section I cross country chairman, a position he held for 30 years.
In 1990, the Irvington School district honored Coach Oley by naming its new $450,000 all weather track the “Peter K. Oley Track” after their famed coach. A year later, Sports Illustrated featured Peter in its “Faces in the Crowd” section for his dual meet victory streak, then in 2002, he was inducted into the Westchester Sports Hall of Fame.