Alex Nahigian
Sport(s) | Baseball |
---|---|
Biographical details | |
Born |
Cambridge, Massachusetts | April 3, 1919
Died |
July 30, 2001 82) Cranston, Rhode Island | (aged
Alma mater | College of the Holy Cross '42 |
Playing career | |
Football | |
1938–1941 | Holy Cross |
Baseball | |
1939-1942 | Holy Cross |
Position(s) |
Halfback (football) Outfielder (baseball) |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1949–1972 | Brown (asst.) |
1973–1975 | Harvard (asst.) |
1978–1981 | Harvard (asst.) |
Baseball | |
1960–1978 | Providence |
1979–1990 | Harvard |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 470-325-5 |
Tournaments | NCAA: 9-18 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
EIBL: 1980, 1983, 1984 | |
Awards | |
New England Coach of the Year: 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985 Rhode Island Words Unlimited Coach of the Year: 1970 Providence Athletic Hall of Fame (Inducted 2007) |
Alex Nahigian (April 3, 1919[1] – July 30, 2001[2]) was an American college baseball and football player and coach. He was the head baseball coach at Providence (1960–1978) and Harvard (1979–1990), making a total of nine NCAA Tournament appearances between the two schools. He also served as an assistant football coach at Brown and Harvard.[3][4][5][6][7]
Early life
Nahigian was born on April 3, 1919. Nahigian came from an Armenian background but was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended both Medford High School in Medford, Massachusetts and St. John's Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts.[1][8][9][10]
Playing career
Nahigian played football and baseball at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. An injury prevented him from playing football past his sophomore season, but he played baseball for College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Jack Barry all four years, captaining the team his senior year.[9][11][12][13][14][15]
After graduating in 1942, Nahigian worked as a teacher and a high school baseball and football coach in Rhode Island. He also played three season of minor league baseball from 1946–1948, appearing in the Class B New England League with the Pawtucket Slaters, Portland Pilots, and Providence Grays.[1][9][15]
Coaching career
Football
After his baseball playing career was over, Nahigian started his collegiate coaching career as a football coach. He was an assistant at Brown from 1949–1972. He also served two stints as an assistant at Harvard, 1973–1975 and 1978–1981.[6][7][9][15]
Baseball
Providence
Nahigian was a successful high school baseball coach in Rhode Island in the 1940s and 1950s, and he was chosen to succeed Robert Murray as Providence's head coach for the start of the 1960 season. Providence then competed as an independent in the NCAA's District 1, which encompassed New England.[15][16][17]
In his fourth season, 1963, he led Providence to the program's first NCAA Tournament. At the District 1 Regional, the Friars defeated Connecticut in the opening three-game series but fell to Holy Cross in the regional final.[18]
In his 19-year tenure at Providence, Nahigian led the Friars to five more NCAA Tournaments and had an overall record of 221-173-2. His best season at Providence was 1973, when the team went 23-6-1 and appeared in its 5th NCAA Tournament. At the District 1 Regional, the team dropped its opening game to Northeastern. It recovered in the losers bracket to beat Massachusetts and Northeastern to reach the regional final. There, it lost to Harvard, 8-1. Nahigian was named the 1973 New England Coach of the Year.[3][18]
Harvard
Nahigian replaced Loyal Park as Harvard's head baseball coach for the start of the 1979 season. Nahigian was a Cambridge native, attended high school near Boston, and had served as an assistant football coach at Harvard from 1973–1975. He was the unanimous selection of Harvard's search committee, largely due to his success at Providence. Nahigian spent 12 seasons at Harvard, leading the Crimson to three NCAA Tournaments.[9][10][15][17][18]
The Crimson's three NCAA Tournament appearances came at the Northeast Regional in 1980, 1983, and 1984 after it won the EIBL title in each of those seasons. The program reached regional finals in 1980 (6-3 loss to St. John's) and 1983 (4-3 loss to Maine). In 1985, Harvard shared the EIBL title with Princeton but was defeated in a playoff and did not reach the NCAA Tournament. In 1990, Nahigian's final season, Harvard participated in the first Baseball Beanpot, finishing as the runner-up to Boston College.[18][19][20][21]
Nahigian was named the New England Coach of the Year in 1983, 1984, and 1985. In 1989, he received the Jack Butterfield Award.[6][22]
Head coaching record
Below is a table of Nahigian's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[3][4][16][18][19]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Providence (Independent) (1960–1978) | |||||||||
1960 | Providence | 6-7 | |||||||
1961 | Providence | 7-5 | |||||||
1962 | Providence | 7-8 | |||||||
1963 | Providence | 10-5 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
1964 | Providence | 13-9 | |||||||
1965 | Providence | 12-5 | |||||||
1966 | Providence | 6-15 | |||||||
1967 | Providence | 7-6 | |||||||
1968 | Providence | 11-5 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
1969 | Providence | 9-7 | |||||||
1970 | Providence | 11-9 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
1971 | Providence | 5-14 | |||||||
1972 | Providence | 13-9 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
1973 | Providence | 23-6-1 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
1974 | Providence | 17-9 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
1975 | Providence | 21-9 | |||||||
1976 | Providence | 13-16 | |||||||
1977 | Providence | 13-19 | |||||||
1978 | Providence | 17-10 | |||||||
Providence: | 221-173-2 | ||||||||
Harvard (Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League) (1979–1990) | |||||||||
1979 | Harvard | 22-14 | 9-5 | 4th | |||||
1980 | Harvard | 24-12 | 10-4 | T-1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
1981 | Harvard | 17-14 | 6-7 | T-5th | |||||
1982 | Harvard | 17-16 | 9-9 | T-3rd | |||||
1983 | Harvard | 27-8-1 | 15-3 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
1984 | Harvard | 28-6 | 14-3 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
1985 | Harvard | 29-9 | 15-3 | T-1st | EIBL Playoff | ||||
1986 | Harvard | 19-11 | 10-8 | T-3rd | |||||
1987 | Harvard | 19-7 | 12-4 | 3rd | |||||
1988 | Harvard | 16-18 | 9-9 | T-5th | |||||
1989 | Harvard | 16-17-1 | 9-9 | T-5th | |||||
1990 | Harvard | 15-20-1 | 9-9 | 6th | |||||
Harvard: | 249-152-3 | 127-73-1 | |||||||
Total: | 470-325-5 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
References
- 1 2 3 "Alex Nahigian". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Nahigian, Former Baseball Coach, Dies at 92". Harvard.edu. Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 3 "All-Time Coaching Records". Friars.com. Providence Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 "All-Time Coaching Records". GoCrimson.com. Harvard Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Providence College to Induct 14 Into Athletic Hall of Fame: Ceremonies to Take Place During Homecoming Weekend, February 16". CSTV.com. Providence Athletic Communications. December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 3 Cole, John. "A Man for All Seasons". BrownAlumniMagazine.com (January/February 2002). Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 Schoenfeld, Bruce (November 24, 1981). "Greg Brown Named Football Captain; Callinan Gets Crocker MVP Award". TheCrimson.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ "New Headline Makers: Nahigian Bucks Cahill at Holy Cross". The Pittsburgh Press. October 5, 1939. p. 29. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Pawtucket Coach Named by Brown". The Portsmouth Herald. Associated Press. June 17, 1949. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 "Alex Nahigian, 82, Was Baseball Coach". Highbeam.com. The Boston Globe. August 1, 2001. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ Carew, Wally (2003). A Farewell to Glory: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Football Rivalry, Boston College and Holy Cross. Worcester, MA: Ambassador. p. 45. ISBN 1929039174. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ Noonan, Tom (December 3, 1939). "Holy Cross Falls Before Eagles, 14-0: Boston College Flashes Form in Two Final Quarter Scores". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 15. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Strong Crusaders Favored Over Stahlmen Saturday: Klarnick Will Oppose Ayres on Mound in Return Match". TheCrimson.com. June 7, 1940. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Eleven Elected to College Baseball Hall of Fame". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 10, 2007. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Stylianos, John (July 18, 1978). "The Quick and the Dead". The Telegraph. Nashua, NH. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 "Annual Conference Standings". BoydsWorld.com. Boyd Nation. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 "Nahigian Named to Replace Park". TheCrimson.com. July 7, 1978. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
- 1 2 "2014 Ivy League Baseball Records Book" (PDF). IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ Monahan, Bob (April 19, 1990). "BC, Harvard Win as Beanpot Debuts at Fenway". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Baseball Beanpot History". GoNU.com. Northeastern Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ↑ "Jack Butterfield Award". NEIBA.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.