Ed Cheff

Ed Cheff (c. 1943 – January 15, 2022) was an American college baseball coach. He was the head coach for Lewis–Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, for 34 seasons (1977–2010), and was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.

Ed Cheff
Biographical details
Bornc. 1943
Butte, Montana, U.S.
Died (aged 78)
Sequim, Washington, U.S.
Alma materLewis & Clark College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1977–2010Lewis–Clark State College
Head coaching record
Overall1705–430–2 (.798)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • 16× NAIA World Series (1984, 1985, 1987–1992, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006–2008)
College Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2012

Early years

Born in Butte, Montana, Cheff was raised in Woodland, Washington.[1] He graduated from Woodland High School[2] and Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where he played football and baseball for the Pioneers.[3]

Coaching

Cheff started his coaching career as a high school football coach in Tillamook, Oregon.[1] His first baseball coaching position was with Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington, where he coached the baseball team to a 120–24 (.833) record in four seasons.[4]

In 1977, Cheff succeeded Ramon Hooker as head coach of the Lewis–Clark State baseball team.[5] His Warriors won 16 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) titles.[6][7] A total of 114 of his former players went on to play professionally, with fourteen reaching the major leagues.[7] Cheff was named NAIA coach of the year eight times.[7] Despite playing at the NAIA level, his teams defeated NCAA Division I baseball teams, including having a winning record against the Washington State Cougars.[8]

Cheff was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1994 and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in 2006.[9] He won the ABCA's Lefty Gomez Award, given for lifetime achievement in amateur baseball, in 2009.[10] He was a coach with the United States national baseball team (1991, 1994) and managed the Alaska Goldpanners and Anchorage Bucs in the Alaska Baseball League.[1]

Cheff retired in 2010, after compiling a 1,705–430–2 (.798) record at Lewis–Clark.[11][7] He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.[12]

Personal life and death

Cheff and his wife, Karen, a retired elementary school teacher, had three sons: Trever, Tyler, Toby.[7] Cheff died at his home in Sequim, Washington, on January 15, 2022, at the age of 78.[3][13]

See also

References
  1. Tribune, Matt Baney, of the. "Iconic LCSC baseball coach Cheff dies". The Lewiston Tribune.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. News, The Daily. "Legendary baseball coach Ed Cheff retires". Longview Daily News. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  3. Colton, Clark (January 18, 2022). "Legendary Lewis-Clark State baseball coach Ed Cheff, a Butte native, dies at 78". 406MTSports. (Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington). Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  4. "Ed Cheff (2002): Red Devil Hall of Fame: Lower Columbia College". lccreddevils.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  5. Emerson, Paul (July 29, 1976). "Hooker calls it quits at LCSC". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  6. "Ed Cheff (2011): Warriors Athletics Hall of Fame: Lewis-Clark State College". lcwarriors.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  7. Velasquez, Anna (April 24, 2017). "The Legacy of Retired Warrior Baseball Head Coach Ed Cheff". klewtv.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  8. Clark, Colton (May 27, 2020). "Warriors constantly hit above their weight: LCSC almost became an NCAA Division I member, but fate kept it in NAIA". Lewiston Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  9. "Cheff Elected to Coaches' Hall". Lewiston Tribune. January 25, 2005. p. B1. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  10. "Ed Cheff". ABCA Hall of Fame. American Baseball Coaches Association. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  11. "Legendary LCSC baseball coach Ed Cheff to retire". lcwarriors.com. June 30, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  12. "College Hall elects Lou Brock, 6 others". espn.go.com. March 2, 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
  13. Clark, Colton (January 16, 2022). "Legendary former Lewis-Clark State baseball coach Ed Cheff dies at 78". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.