Fordham Baseball – Fordham Now

Pregame Honors for Eight Athletics Greats

Fordham News — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:53:46 +0000

Fordham University has a rich baseball tradition, dating back to 1859 when the “Rose Hills” took on St. Francis Xavier in the first college baseball game with nine men on a side. On April 20, the Fordham University recognized eight who are responsible for some of those traditions with a pregame plaque ceremony.

The eight, Esteban “Steve” Bellán, Jack Coffey, Frankie Frisch, Dan Gallagher, John Kieran, Walter O’Malley, Vin Scully, and Ed Walsh, were each honored with a special plaque that will be displayed at Houlihan Park at Jack Coffey Field.

Bellán was the first Cuban and the first Latin American to play major league baseball, a game he learned as a student at Fordham (then St. John’s).

Jack Coffey was associated with Fordham in some capacity for 61 of his 78 years. As head baseball coach, he helped the Rams become a national sports powerhouse, winning five Eastern Collegiate Conference championships and 14 Metropolitan Conference titles along with a school record 1,095 wins.

Kieran, a member of the Fordham baseball team as an undergraduate, became one of the country’s best known sports columnists and was the recipient of the 1973 J.G. Taylor Spink Award at the National Baseball Hall of Fame ceremony.

Vin Scully was a member of the Fordham baseball team as an undergraduate and began his career as a broadcaster at WFUV. He joined the Brooklyn Dodgers’ radio and television booths shortly after graduation and has been with the franchise ever since.

Ed Walsh had a brief though remarkable major league career following his stint at Fordham. He averaged 24 victories, 220 strikeouts and posted an ERA below 2.00 five times.

A 1930 Fordham University Law School graduate, Walter O’Malley owned the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1979. He served as the Dodgers’ chief legal counsel when Jackie Robinson broke the racial color barrier in 1947.

Dan Gallagher served as head baseball coach for 21 years, amassing 518 career wins, second only to Coffey on the school’s all-time win list. Gallagher received the Fordham Coach of the Year Award three times in his tenure.

Frankie Frisch, the “Fordham Flash,” excelled in football and baseball at Rose Hill, pacing the 1919 baseball team to the Eastern Championship and a number two national ranking. He played major league baseball for 19 years, before being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The ceremony was made possible by the support of Jim Houlihan, GSB ’74, former baseball Ram and the namesake of Houlihan Park.

— Joe Dibari

Fordham’s baseball team honored eight alumni athletes on April 20 with a pregame plaque ceremony.
Photo by Vincent Dusovic

Former Fordham Baseball Coach Elected to the ABCA Hall of Fame

Fordham News — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 21:51:11 +0000

Former Fordham baseball coach Dan Gallagher, who coached for more than 20 years at Rose Hill and recorded more than 500 wins, will be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) 2013 Hall of Fame.

Dan Gallagher
Photo by Tony Correa

Gallagher becomes the second ABCA Hall of Famer with Fordham ties. Jack Coffey, one of the founders of the ABCA and long-time Fordham baseball coach, is also a member, having been inducted in the inaugural class of 1966.

“It was the greatest feeling to hear about this,” said Gallagher. “It’s the best feeling in the world. You’re elected by your peers, and that’s such a great honor in itself.”

In 21 seasons, Gallagher posted a 518-468-10 record, good for second place on the school’s all-time list. Gallagher’s 500-plus wins make Fordham one of very few programs to have two coaches with 500 wins or better (Coffey had more than 1,000 wins).

Under Gallagher’s coaching, Fordham earned seven league championships (three MAAC—1987, 1988, 1990; three Patriot League—1991, 1992, 1993; and one Atlantic 10—1998). It earned four ECAC titles (1987, 1988, 1990, 1993), and five NCAA Tournament berths (1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998).

Under Gallagher’s guidance, a number of Fordham players have gone on to be drafted by Major League Baseball teams, or sign free agent contracts. These include Pete Harnisch, who was a first round draft choice of the Baltimore Orioles; Mike Marchiano, who was a 1997 All-American and a draft pick of the Seattle Mariners; and Bobby Kingsbury, a two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“These kids worked hard on and off the field,” he said. “So many kids have come back to tell me that the discipline and work habits have shaped them as men. It’s been a home run for me.”

Formerly a construction worker and then a high school baseball coach, Gallagher arrived at Rose Hill in 1984, and rebuilt a program in disarray, snaring some of the most highly regarded players out of high school.

In 2007, Gallagher was inducted into the Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame.

— Scott Kwiatkowski

Baseball Team Raises Funds for Wounded Veterans

Fordham News — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:03:01 +0000

The Fordham University baseball squad came out on April 20 and 21 to rally for a good cause while playing their Atlantic 10 conference series game against LaSalle University.

Ryan Lee, a junior at the Gabelli School of Business, and a Fordham baseball team outfielder, rounds a base while raising money for wounded veterans.
Photo by Joe DiBari

The team sold camouflage t-shirts at Houlihan Park in order to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project, an organization that helps wounded service members and their families cope with living with the mental and physical wounds of war.

Fans at the games helped the cause by either purchasing a T-shirt or other merchandise, or by making a pledge amount for each run scored by the Rams over the weekend.

In all, Fordham raised more than $4,000 for the project, winning two of its three games against LaSalle.

As part of the campaign, the Rams also wore special camouflage uniforms to show their support of the project.

“The Wounded Warrior Project is a great organization that we are proud to support. We are so fortunate to have men and women that risk everything to keep our country safe, and it is the least we can do to show our appreciation to these heroes,” said Fordham head baseball coach Kevin Leighton.

In addition to raising public awareness, the Wounded Warrior Project’s vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in the nation’s history.

The project helps injured service members aid and assist each other by providing unique programs and services to meet their needs, such as sponsoring adaptive sports activities, and offering combat stress recovery workshops and retreats.

More than 44,000 service members have been physically wounded during the current military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands more are estimated to be recovering from invisible wounds of war, including post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and major depression.

This is the second event in which Fordham Athletics honored the Wounded Warrior Project this academic year. In September, the Fordham football team welcomed Wounded Warrior and Bronx resident Staff Sgt. Carlos Gonzalez, a Fordham student, and SSG Ali Naqi. Both veterans were honorees at the Liberty Cup game against Columbia University.

— Joe DiBari