Brad Babcock

Bradley Littleton Babcock (March 10, 1939 – June 2, 2020) was an American college baseball coach, the head coach of James Madison (JMU) from 1971 to 1989.[1] Under him, the Dukes appeared in five NCAA Tournaments (four in Division I) and the 1983 College World Series. His overall record in 19 seasons was 555–251–4, including a home record of 339–71–1.[2][3]

Brad Babcock
Biographical details
Born(1939-03-10)March 10, 1939
Virginia, US
DiedJune 2, 2020(2020-06-02) (aged 81)
Appomattox, Virginia, US
Playing career
1960–1963Lynchburg
Position(s)Shortstop
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1971–1989James Madison
Head coaching record
Overall555–251–4
TournamentsNCAA D1: 10–13
CAA: 6–8

Coaching career

After graduating from Lynchburg College in 1963, Babcock worked as a high school baseball coach in Colorado, New Hampshire, and Vermont.[4]

James Madison started its baseball program in 1970, shortly after it became co-educational. Babcock took over in 1971, its second season. It started out as an NCAA Division II program but joined Division I for the 1977 season.[2]

In addition to being JMU's baseball coach, Babcock held several other positions in the early 1970s. At the university, he was an assistant football coach, junior varsity basketball coach, physical education instructor, and intramural director. He also served as the head coach of the Valley League's Harrisonburg Turks for several summers.[4][5][6]

In 1983, the Dukes became the first Virginia school to make the College World Series (CWS). The Dukes opened the season with an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals. After losing in the ECAC Tournament, many players returned home, thinking the season was over, but the team was given an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. JMU went 4–0 in the East Regional to reach the CWS, where it lost games to Texas and Stanford in Omaha.[7][8][9][10]

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Babcock's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[11][12]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Madison Dukes (Independent) (1971–1976)
1971 Madison 12–5
1972 Madison 11–14
1973 Madison 12–9
1974 Madison 23–11
1975 Madison 23–7
1976 Madison 32–10NCAA Regional
James Madison (Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference – Division I) (1977–1985)
1977 Madison 32–9
1978 James Madison 30–13ECAC Tournament
1979 James Madison 31–13ECAC Tournament
1980 James Madison 32–13NCAA Regional
1981 James Madison 40–18–1NCAA Regional
1982 James Madison 40–15–1ECAC Tournament
1983 James Madison 37–13College World Series
1984 James Madison 38–13ECAC Tournament
1985 James Madison 24–21
James Madison (Colonial Athletic Association) (1986–1989)
1986 James Madison 35–1413–52ndCAA Tournament
1987 James Madison 28–216–95thCAA Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
1988 James Madison 43–11–213–11stNCAA Regional
1989 James Madison 32–217–63rdCAA Tournament
James Madison: 555–251–439–21
Total:555–251–4

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Administrative career

After stepping down from the baseball coach position following the 1989 season, Babcock worked in JMU's athletic department. He was added to the department's Hall of Fame in 1998. He retired as executive association athletic director in 2003.[5][13][14][15]

Personal

Babcock's son Whit is the athletic director at Virginia Tech; he previously held the same position at Cincinnati. Whit was the batboy on the 1983 College World Series team and played for Babcock in 1989, his final season as JMU's head coach.[16][17] Babcock died on June 2, 2020 at the age of 81.[18]

Notes
  1. In this season, each member of the Colonial Athletic Association qualified for the conference tournament.

References
  1. "Bradley Babcock Obituary - Appomattox, Virginia | Legacy.com".
  2. Proffitt, Stephen (April 2, 2012). "1,000th Home Game Draws Crowd but Not Success for Baseball". BreezeJMU.org. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  3. McCallum, Jack (December 27, 1982). "Madison's Ave. to Success". SI.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  4. Hulver, John (March 12, 1971). "Babcock Signs to Manage Turks in Shenandoah Valley League". Genesis II. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  5. "JMU Athletics Hall of Fame: Brad Babcock". JMUSports.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  6. "Former Post 290 Player Roger Lee Emerges from the Shadows". The Free Lance-Star. May 3, 1978. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  7. Irwin, James (2010). Midnight in Chattanooga: The Game, the Team, and the Dream Behind the Rise of JMU Football. Author House. p. 209. ISBN 978-1449081904. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  8. "NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  9. "College World Series Baseball Team". JMU.edu. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  10. "College World Series Begins". The Palm Beach Post. June 3, 1983. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  11. "2014 CAA Baseball Record Book" (PDF). CAASports.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  12. "Baseball Coaches Career: Brad Babcock". NCAA.org. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  13. "College Baseball: At a Glance". DailyPress.com. March 5, 1989. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  14. "Transactions". BaltimoreSun.com. April 13, 1991. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  15. "Looking Back". TimesVirginian.com. May 14, 2013. Archived from the original on June 30, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  16. Barber, Mike (January 24, 2014). "Tech Hires Cincinnati's Babcock as New AD". TimesDispatch.com. The Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  17. Driver, David. "Diamond Duke Leads University of Cincinnati Athletics". Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  18. Sports, J. M. U. (June 3, 2020). "JMU Hall of Fame baseball coach Brad Babcock passes away". WSLS.
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