|
|
|
|
John Baggs
1965 - 2009
 |
| |
The St. Scholastica family lost a great one in head baseball coach John Baggs (43) on Tuesday, February 24th after a four-month battle with cancer.
Baggs was the winningest coach ever at St. Scholastica in any sport. Head baseball coach since 1992, he built the team into a national powerhouse on the NCAA Division III level. In 2008 the team was runner-up for the Midwest Regional, its best NCAA finish in program history. The team has also won 12 straight Upper Midwest Athletic Conference titles.
Baggs was 531 wins to 197 losses during his career at St. Scholastica, a .720 winning percentage. He missed only one game in 17 seasons.
Coach Baggs developed a culture of family within the CSS baseball program, based on caring and support. He was always there for his players during their playing days and after.
Baggs was born in Chicago, IL. He graduated from Iowa State University in 1989 with a B.A. in journalism and English. Hired at St. Scholastica in 1991 when he was only 24 years old, he was the youngest head coach in the country at the time.
Following a 33-10 season in 1996, Baggs was selected to coach Team USA II, an NCAA all-star team that won the International Series ’96 in Apeldoorn, Holland. The next summer he was chosen to coach Team America, and led that team to a first place trophy in Solingen, Germany. He has a 27-3 record coaching USA teams internationally.
Earning high honors after leading the Saints to a 41-11 record and the NAIA Regional Championship in 2000, Baggs was named ABCA Regional Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the NAIA National Coach of the Year award. He was voted the ABCA Regional Coach of the Year again in 2003.
He won Louisville Slugger Coach of the Year of awards in 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
He coached 21 All-Americans and 12 of his players went on to sign professional contracts.
Former Saints baseball players and the North Shore Bank of Commerce have established an account to receive donations to the Baggs family. The proceeds will go to a scholarship and community fund that has been set up in his name. A CaringBridge web site has also been established. Here is the link: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnbaggs.
TO DONATE
Send checks to:
Coach Baggs Fund
c/o Tom Simonson
North Shore Bank of Commerce
131 W Superior St.
Duluth, MN 55802
|
|
|
|
|
|
