Barry Shollenberger
Barry John Shollenberger (born 1941) is a retired American baseball and football coach. During his career, Shollenberger worked in both sports while with Tampa Bay Technical High School from 1965 to 1973. In college baseball, Shollenberger started out with the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team as an assistant coach in 1974. He then became the head coach for the Middle Georgia Junior College team in 1976. As the head coach for Western Kentucky University from 1977 to 1979, Shollenberger had 77 wins, 64 losses and 3 ties.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941 Pennsylvania |
| Playing career | |
| 1962 | Waterloo Hawks |
| 1963 | Rocky Mount Leafs |
| 1965 | Tampa Tarpons |
| Position(s) | Pitcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1976 | Middle Georgia Junior College |
| 1977–1979 | Western Kentucky |
| 1980–1994 | Alabama |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
| Baseball America College Coach of the Year (1983) | |
With Alabama from 1980 to 1994, Shollenberger amassed 487 wins, 334 losses and 1 tie. During this time period, Shollenberger appeared at the championship game during the 1983 College World Series and was the Baseball America College Coach of the Year that year. Apart from coaching, Shollenberger was a minor league pitcher from 1961 to 1965. While with the Waterloo Hawks, Shollenberger received the Midwest League Top MLB Prospect Award in 1962.
Early life and education
In 1941, Shollenberger was born in Pennsylvania.[1] During the 1950s, Shollenberger attended Reading High School and began his baseball career there.[2] With the Reading Red Knights, Shollenberger was a pitcher in the East Penn League from 1957 to 1959.[3][4] At the end of the 1950s, Shollenberger was part of the American Legion Baseball league with Berks County and Pulaski.[5][2] While in the American Legion, Shollenberger pitched in the 1959 All-Star game for Pennsylvanian teams and was named one of the Most Valuable Players after the event.[6]
For his post-secondary education, he first earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1965 from Moravian College. He later attended Tampa University in the 1960s as a graduate student. Throughout the 1970s, Shollenberger completed a Master of Arts at Western Kentucky University and a Doctor of Education at the University of Alabama.[7][2]
Career
In 1960, Shollenberger joined the Mitchell Kernels as part of the Basin League.[8] For Mitchell, Shollenberger had experience as a left fielder and primarily held the position of relief pitcher.[9] In 1961, Shollenberger continued his semi-professional in the Basin League when he became part of the Sturgis Titans.[10][9] While with Sturgis, Shollenberger was a pitcher while also serving as a one-game replacement umpire.[11][12] During these two years, Shollenberger pitched for Moravian College.[2] With Moravian, Shollenberger and the team won the Middle Atlantic Conference in 1960.[13]
Shollenberger began his minor league baseball career as a pitcher in 1961. He started with the Waterloo Hawks before moving to the Rocky Mount Leafs and Tampa Tarpons in the 1960s. After tendinopathy forced Shollenberger to end his pitching career in 1965, he had a career total of seventeen wins and fifteen losses.[1] Shollenberger switched to coaching when he became the head baseball coach at the Brewster Technical High School in 1965. Outside of baseball, he was a defensive football coach for Tampa Bay before his promotion to head coach in 1970. He remained in his head coaching positions until 1973.[14][15]
In 1974, Shollenberger went to the University of Alabama to become an assistant baseball coach. He stayed as assistant coach until 1976 when he resumed his head coach career with the Middle Georgia Junior College baseball team.[7] After the 1976 season, Shollenberger obtained a head baseball coach position with Western Kentucky University in 1977 and stayed as their head coach until 1979.[16] With the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers baseball team, Shollenberger had 77 wins, 64 losses and 3 ties.[17]
In 1980, Shollenberger became the baseball coach for the University of Alabama.[18] With the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team, Shollenberger's players appeared in the championship game of the 1983 College World Series.[19] Shollenberger remained with Alabama until he left the team in 1994.[20] Before leaving the team, Shollenberger had an overall record of 487 wins, 334 losses and 1 tie.[21]
Awards
While with the Hawks, Shollenberger received the Midwest League Top MLB Prospect Award in 1962.[22] Shollenberger was named Baseball America College Coach of the Year in 1983 as the University of Alabama's head coach.[23] He also became part of a hall of fame for Moravian.[24]
References
- ^ a b "It's like coming home". Anniston Star. 8 June 1979. p. 4B.
- ^ a b c d Meixell, Ted (May 25, 1986). "A L.V. connection at Alabama". The Morning Call. p. C3.
- ^ "P-burg Bows To Reading". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pennsylvania. April 28, 1957. p. 50.
- ^ "Reading Jolts Canaries From First Place, 5-0". The Morning Call. May 2, 1959. p. 15.
- ^ "Schuylkill County Legion Stars Beat Berks Nine, 4-2". Evening Herald. Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. July 8, 1958. p. Ten.
- ^ Fisher, Bill (August 30, 1959). "West Nips East". The Sunday News. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. p. 34.
- ^ a b "1979 Western Kentucky University Hilltopper Baseball" (Press release). WKU Athletic Media Relations. 1979. p. 3. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ "Kernels Sign Manager; Marr Is Only Returnee". Argus-Leader. June 5, 1960. p. 3D.
- ^ a b Hastings, Marv (April 13, 1961). "Kernels From The Field of Sports". The Daily Republic. Mitchell, South Dakota. p. Ten.
- ^ McCarron, Joe (June 14, 1961). "Inside Stuff". The Morning Call. p. 30.
- ^ Herdien, Bob (June 22, 1962). "Basin League Is Proving Grounds". Waterloo Daily Courier. p. Thirteen.
- ^ "Bill Haywood, Shollenberger Become Umps". The Daily Plainsman. Huron, South Dakota. August 3, 1961. p. Seven.
- ^ "1960 MAC Champion Baseball Team to be Honored on April 18". Moravian University. April 17, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
- ^ Croft, Tom (3 December 1970). "Thompson leaving grid post at Tech". Tampa Times. p. 13-C.
- ^ "Shollenberger Leaves Titans". Tampa Tribune. 1 June 1973. p. 10C.
- ^ Harrison, Lowell H. (1987). Western Kentucky University. University Press of Kentucky. p. 228. ISBN 0813116201. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Hilltopper Baseball 2020 Media Guide" (PDF). Western Kentucky University. February 3, 2020. p. 107. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
- ^ Cargile, John (March 20, 1980). "BSC beats the rain and Tide in close one". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. B3.
- ^ Lanier, Jim (June 13, 1983). "Bittersweet finish for Crimson Tide". Birmingham Post-Herald. p. B5.
- ^ "UA tabs former LSU assistant". The Anniston Star. Associated Press. June 4, 1994. p. 4B.
- ^ "LSU wary before tourney starts up". Enterprise-Journal. 18 May 1994. p. 6.
- ^ . Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
- ^ "Baseball America Awards". Baseball America. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
- ^ "Moravian University Hall of Fame Inductees". Moravian University. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)