Reception to Honor West Virginia State University Coaching Legend Cal Bailey Feb. 7

1/21/2015

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Contact: Kimberly Osborne
(304) 766-3363
kosborne@wvstateu.edu
 
 
 
 
 
Jan. 21, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- West Virginia State University (WVSU) will host a celebration of the legacy of longtime Yellow Jacket baseball Coach Cal Bailey on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the James C. Wilson University Union.

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required.

“This is a tribute to Coach Bailey’s distinguished career as an athlete and coach,” said WVSU Athletic Director and current head baseball Coach Sean Loyd. “This will be done the way Coach likes it — friendly, informal and fun.”

Bailey retired following the conclusion of the 2014 baseball season having led the Yellow Jackets to 1,063 victories during his career, making him one of the winningest coaches ever at the NCAA Division II level.

Under his leadership the Yellow Jackets won 18 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) championships, one Mountain East Conference championship and produced 16 players with All-American honors. In addition, 36 of Bailey’s former Yellow Jacket players went on to play baseball professionally.

Former Yellow Jacket baseball player and newly elected Kanawha County Senator C. Edward Gaunch will serve as the master of ceremonies for the Feb. 7 event, which will also feature a welcome by WVSU President Brian O. Hemphill and comments from friends and former players of Bailey, as well as Bailey himself.

In addition to honoring Bailey’s legacy, the celebration will serve as a kickoff to establish “The Bullpen,” a fund of at least $100,000 for on-going support of the WVSU baseball program. Donations to the fund can be made at any level. For more information, go to https://connect.wvstateu.edu/thebullpen.

Bailey, a Newton, W.Va., native and graduate of Spencer High School lettered in both football and baseball while earning his undergraduate degree at West Virginia State. Bailey was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 23rd round of the 1966 amateur draft and he spent six seasons in the minor leagues, reaching the Class AAA level with the Charleston Charlies in 1971. Following his retirement from professional baseball, he earned his master’s degree in 1974 from the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies and took a job as recruitment coordinator of admissions at WVSU.

Bailey took over the helm of the baseball program at his alma mater in 1978.

Bailey and his wife, Ruth, a 1967 WVSU graduate and former Yellow Jacket cheerleader, reside in Cross Lanes and are the proud parents of two children, Danny and Janna, and have four grandchildren. While retired from coaching, Bailey stays busy as an avid hunter and farmer. In 2002, he was named Kanawha County Farmer of the Year.

Reservations are required for the Feb. 7 event. To RSVP, contact Nate Burton by Jan. 30, at (304) 204-4354 or nburton2@wvstateu.edu.

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West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi-generational institution, located in Institute, W.Va. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service, and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.