Chalmers "Chal" Port (August 9, 1931 – August 20, 2011) was an American college baseball coach at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. Most famous for leading Bulldogs to the 1990 College World Series, Port coached for 27 seasons garnering a 641–386–2 record.[1] His win total was only surpassed in 2010 by successor Fred Jordan, who played for Port.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 9, 1931 Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | August 20, 2011 (aged 80) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1954 | Eau Claire Braves |
| 1956 | North Carolina (baseball and football) |
| Position(s) | Pitcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1965–91 | The Citadel |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 641–386–2 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1990 Atlantic Regional SoCon Regular season: 1971, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1990, 1991 SoCon tournament: 1990 | |
| Awards | |
| 1990 The Sporting News National Coach of the Year South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame Southern Conference Coach of the Year | |
Playing career
editPort played football and baseball at the University of North Carolina prior to a brief minor league career.
Coaching career
edit
In his 27 seasons at The Citadel, Port led the Bulldogs to five NCAA Division I Baseball Championship appearances and graduated all but two players he coached.[2]
1990 College World Series season
editIn his second to last season, Port led the 1990 The Citadel Bulldogs baseball team in a dominant season, claiming the Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships, the nation's longest winning streak of 26 games, and the school's first appearance in the College World Series. Sweeping through the SoCon Tournament and the Atlantic Regional in Coral Gables, Florida, the Bulldogs defeated national power Miami (FL) on its home field twice to advance to Omaha. Following an opening round loss to LSU, the Bulldogs defeated Cal State Fullerton in extra innings. The Citadel was eliminated by LSU in its third game in Omaha. The Bulldogs were ranked sixth in the Collegiate Baseball final poll.[3] Following the season, Port was named Sporting News National Baseball Coach of the Year.[4]
Quips
editPort was known for his sense of humor and once said that while important people often get buildings named for them, he had a building named for him as well: the Port-a-let.
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Citadel Bulldogs (Southern Conference) (1965–1991) | |||||||||
| 1965 | The Citadel | 12–12 | 9–7 | 5th | |||||
| 1966 | The Citadel | 8–16 | 3–9 | 8th | |||||
| 1967 | The Citadel | 9–16 | 6–9 | 7th | |||||
| 1968 | The Citadel | 16–10 | 4–5 | 6th | |||||
| 1969 | The Citadel | 18–10 | 10–6 | 2nd South | |||||
| 1970 | The Citadel | 15–12–1 | 6–8–1 | 3rd South | |||||
| 1971 | The Citadel | 22–9 | 11–5 | T–1st | |||||
| 1972 | The Citadel | 17–13 | 9–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1973 | The Citadel | 16–14 | 8–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1974 | The Citadel | 17–11 | 7–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1975 | The Citadel | 21–9 | 11–3 | 1st | Regionals | ||||
| 1976 | The Citadel | 18–9 | 7–4 | 3rd | |||||
| 1977 | The Citadel | 21–11 | 10–4 | 3rd | |||||
| 1978 | The Citadel | 30–9 | 9–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1979 | The Citadel | 27–15 | 13–3 | 1st | Regionals | ||||
| 1980 | The Citadel | 23–14 | 9–6 | 5th | |||||
| 1981 | The Citadel | 31–13 | 11–5 | 4th | |||||
| 1982 | The Citadel | 40–8 | 14–2 | 1st | Regionals | ||||
| 1983 | The Citadel | 34–10 | 12–2 | 1st | Regionals | ||||
| 1984 | The Citadel | 26–21 | 12–5 | 2nd South | |||||
| 1985 | The Citadel | 29–20 | 8–10 | 3rd South | |||||
| 1986 | The Citadel | 29–20 | 9–9 | 3rd South | |||||
| 1987 | The Citadel | 19–31 | 6–12 | 3rd South | |||||
| 1988 | The Citadel | 33–20 | 12–6 | 2nd South | |||||
| 1989 | The Citadel | 30–20 | 8–9 | 5th | |||||
| 1990 | The Citadel | 46–14 | 13–1 | 1st | College World Series | ||||
| 1991 | The Citadel | 34–19–1 | 16–2 | 1st | |||||
| Total: | 641–386–2 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Legendary Baseball Coach Chal Port Passes". citadelsports.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
- ^ "One-on-One with Chal Port". Post and Courier. June 25, 2006. p. 2C. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
- ^ "1990 NCAA Div I Final Poll". Collegiate Baseball. Archived from the original on December 15, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2012.
- ^ "Port Wins National Award". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. June 13, 1990. p. D2. Retrieved June 6, 2012.