Lawrence Babich

Born in the Bronx, he starred in baseball and basketball at the University of Bridgeport, where he earned his bachelor's degree in journalism. He was an Army veteran, serving in Germany with the 1st Battle Group, 26th Infantry Division, known as the Blue Spaders.

Babich joined The Jersey Journal in 1960 and was a reporter and columnist for more than 30 years, most notably as the newspaper's police reporter.

His weekly column, The Coach's Corner, was a popular weekly feature in the paper's sports section for many years.

"While Larry was an award-winning news reporter, he also had a passion for sports writing and it was evident in his weekly "Coach's Corner" column that took readers back in time to a bygone era of sports,'' said Ron Zeitlinger, The Jersey Journal's managing editor. "You may have known the story, but Larry would tell it in a way that made it as fresh and interesting as the initial reporting of the event."

In 1964, he earned plaudits for helping to capture a breaking and entering and battery suspect who escaped from the courtroom.

Babich combined his news and sports writing skills in 1996 for an award-winning week-long series on the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier and first game in professional baseball in Jersey City in 1946. A year later, when other media outlets were looking back at Robinson's first major-league game, Babich beamed that he had "scooped" them all by a year.

Babich began his coaching career as baseball coach at New York Institute of Technology. In his seven seasons there (1966-72), he developed the program from scratch to a perennial NAIA power.

He later became baseball coach at Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University), where he won 128 games in his 13 seasons there and was the winningest baseball coach at the school until his total was surpassed by Ken Heaton.

He guided JCSC to Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division II-III tournament berths in 1978 to 1980. Babich led the 1978 team to its first New Jersey Athletic Conference tournament berth.

"He was an outstanding baseball coach and a very, very good friend,'' said Larry Schiner, former JCSC athletic director. "His baseball knowledge was incredible.''

Babich also coached for 19 seasons in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) where he became the all-time winningest coach in the league with the Jersey Pilots, recording 427 wins. The Pilots won league titles in 1973, 1984 and 1990.

With the Pilots, Babich sent more than 100 players into professional baseball. Fourteen of his ACBL players reached the Major Leagues, including former New York Yankee and Met catcher Rick Cerone, former Met pitcher Charlie Puleo and Eric Young Sr.

"Larry was a great baseball man and a gentleman,'' said Fred Cambria, a former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher who was commissioner of the ACBL when Babich coached there. "Everyone who played under Larry loved him and respected him because of his baseball knowledge and the person he was.''

Cerone said, "he was a great mentor and a great coach. He will be missed. He had a big impact on a lot of young players. He wanted you to act the same way whether you won or lost. It was nice playing for him. He was always there for the guys.''

Puleo, who was involved in the Mets' Tom Seaver trade, said, "my time playing for Coach Babich and the Pilots was one of the most enjoyable periods in my baseball career. Not only did I have the opportunity to play along side great ball players I was fortunate enough to be coached by a gentleman who would become my lifelong friend.

"I owe a lot to Larry Babich. He played a big part in helping me become a Major League pitcher. I can still see him walking into the Mets clubhouse when I was with New York. My smile was only topped by his. We had made it!''

Babich also coached the boys basketball team at Rogosin High School of Jersey City to back-to-back Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Basketball League championships in 1974 and 1975. Combined, his teams won more than 800 games.

In addition, he served as media relations director for the New Jersey Gems of the Women's Professional Basketball League (the WBL), the first professional woman's basketball league in the United States.

Babich was a member of the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame and he was co-author of the book Sports Films: A Complete Reference and was a consultant for the HBO documentary "Sports On the Silver Screen.''

Babich also served as sports information director at St. Peter's College and later at JCSC for 10 years.

He was also a member of the Baseball Writers Association of America and the co-founder and director of South Brunswick Baseball Camp for over 30 years.

"Larry was a good father and husband. When his wife Ellie was sick with cancer, he devoted himself to taking care of her,'' said long-time friend Rich Freeman. "He was proud of his sons and grandchildren and loved his daughters-in-law.''

He was pre-deceased by his wife Ellie. He is survived by his three sons -- Rory, Marc and Rick -- and daughter-in-laws Kim and Heather and four grandchildren.

Services will be held Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Bloomfield-Cooper Jewish Chapels, Manalapan.

The family has requested that anyone who wants to make a donation in their father's name contribute to either Army Emergency Relief or HIAS.