Ed Cheff
{{Short description|American baseball coach (c. 1943–2022)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}{{Infobox college coach
| name = Ed Cheff
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = c. 1943
| birth_place = Butte, Montana, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and given age|2022|1|15|78}}
| death_place = Sequim, Washington, U.S.
| alma_mater = Lewis & Clark College
| player_years1 =
| player_team1 =
| player_positions =
| coach_years1 = 1977–2010
| coach_team1 = Lewis–Clark State College
| overall_record = {{winpct|1705|430|2|record=y}}
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record =
| championships =
- 16× NAIA World Series (1984, 1985, 1987–1992, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006–2008)
| awards =
| coaching_records =
| CBASEHOF_year = 2012
}}
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.
Early years
Born in Butte, Montana, Cheff was raised in Woodland, Washington. He graduated from Woodland High School{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Legendary baseball coach Ed Cheff retires |url=https://tdn.com/sports/legendary-baseball-coach-ed-cheff-retires/article_3ed3b232-863d-11df-a533-001cc4c03286.html |website=Longview Daily News}} and Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where he played football and baseball for the Pioneers.{{cite web|url=https://406mtsports.com/406mtsports/legendary-lewis-clark-state-baseball-coach-ed-cheff-a-butte-native-dies-at-78/article_becfb6c2-2ba6-5e7f-8b27-10604f69d00b.html |publisher=406MTSports |agency=(Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington) |last=Colton |first=Clark |title=Legendary Lewis-Clark State baseball coach Ed Cheff, a Butte native, dies at 78 |date=January 18, 2022 |accessdate=June 13, 2022}}
Coaching
Cheff started his coaching career as a high school football coach in Tillamook, Oregon.{{Cite web|url=https://lmtribune.com/iconic-lcsc-baseball-coach-cheff-dies/article_47ff3130-768e-11ec-9e27-f357d780b627.html|title=Iconic LCSC baseball coach Cheff dies|first=Matt Baney, of the|last=Tribune|website=The Lewiston Tribune}} His first baseball coaching position was with Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington, where he coached the baseball team to a {{winning percentage|120|24|record=y}} record in four seasons.{{cite web |url=https://lccreddevils.com/honors/red-devil-hall-of-fame/ed-cheff/51 |title=Ed Cheff (2002): Red Devil Hall of Fame: Lower Columbia College |website=lccreddevils.com |access-date=November 20, 2021}}
In 1977, Cheff succeeded Ramon Hooker as head coach of the Lewis–Clark State baseball team.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tIFfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eDAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2508%2C8348076 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |last=Emerson |first=Paul |title=Hooker calls it quits at LCSC |date=July 29, 1976 |page=1B}} His Warriors won 16 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) titles.{{cite web |url=https://lcwarriors.com/honors/warrior-athletics-hall-of-fame/ed-cheff/1 |title=Ed Cheff (2011): Warriors Athletics Hall of Fame: Lewis-Clark State College |website=lcwarriors.com |access-date=November 20, 2021}}{{cite news |url=https://klewtv.com/news/local/the-legacy-of-retired-warrior-baseball-head-coach-ed-cheff |title=The Legacy of Retired Warrior Baseball Head Coach Ed Cheff |date=April 24, 2017 |author=Velasquez, Anna |website=klewtv.com |access-date=November 20, 2021}} A total of 114 of his former players went on to play professionally, with fourteen reaching the major leagues. Cheff was named NAIA coach of the year eight times. Despite playing at the NAIA level, his teams defeated NCAA Division I baseball teams, including having a winning record against the Washington State Cougars.{{cite web|url=https://lmtribune.com/sports/warriors-constantly-hit-above-their-weight/article_cbcfe09a-9fe9-11ea-bd85-633b70b9788d.html|title=Warriors constantly hit above their weight: LCSC almost became an NCAA Division I member, but fate kept it in NAIA|first=Colton|last=Clark|work=Lewiston Tribune|date=May 27, 2020|accessdate=January 16, 2022}}
Cheff was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1994 and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in 2006.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OnZfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cy8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=5260,3098621&dq=ed-cheff+hall-of-fame&hl=en |title=Cheff Elected to Coaches' Hall |newspaper=Lewiston Tribune |date=January 25, 2005 |page=B1|access-date=November 20, 2021}} He won the ABCA's Lefty Gomez Award, given for lifetime achievement in amateur baseball, in 2009.{{cite web |title=Ed Cheff |url=https://www.abcahalloffame.org/leftygomez/2009_cheff_ed?view=bio |website=ABCA Hall of Fame |publisher=American Baseball Coaches Association |access-date=January 21, 2022}} 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.
Cheff retired in 2010, after compiling a {{winning percentage|1,705|430|2|record=y}} record at Lewis–Clark.{{cite web |url=https://lcwarriors.com/news/2016/5/25/BB_790.aspx |title=Legendary LCSC baseball coach Ed Cheff to retire |website=lcwarriors.com |date=June 30, 2010 |access-date=November 20, 2021}} He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7639892/lou-brock-nomar-garciaparra-elected-college-baseball-hall-fame |title=College Hall elects Lou Brock, 6 others |date=March 2, 2012 |website=ESPN |access-date=November 20, 2021}}
Personal life and death
Cheff and his wife, Karen, a retired elementary school teacher, had three sons: Trever, Tyler, Toby. Cheff died at his home in Sequim, Washington, on January 15, 2022, at the age of 78.{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Colton |title=Legendary former Lewis-Clark State baseball coach Ed Cheff dies at 78 |url=https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/jan/16/legendary-former-lewis-clark-state-baseball-coach-/ |access-date=January 17, 2022 |publisher=The Spokesman-Review |date=January 16, 2022}}
See also
{{Portal|Baseball}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://lcwarriors.com/honors/warrior-athletics-hall-of-fame/ed-cheff/1 LCSC Athletics Hall of Fame] – Ed Cheff
- [https://nihof.org/inductee/ed-cheff/ North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame] – Ed Cheff
- [https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2022/legislation/SCR114.pdf 2022 Idaho Senate] – Resolution 114
{{National College Baseball Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheff, Ed}}
Category:National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Lower Columbia Red Devils baseball coaches
Category:Lewis–Clark State Warriors baseball coaches
Category:Sportspeople from Butte, Montana
Category:Baseball coaches from Montana