Former Wingate Baseball Coach Dr. Ron Christopher Passes Away

WINGATE, N.C. -- Long-time Wingate University baseball coach Dr. Ron Christopher passed away Sunday, June 13. He was 74 years old.

In 24 seasons as head baseball coach for the Wingate Bulldogs, Christopher compiled a 536-343 overall record (with three ties). In 1993, Christopher's last season, Wingate was 24-18 overall as he won South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honors.

During Christopher's first coaching tenure at Wingate (1963-72), Wingate won seven junior college conference championships and participated in eight regional tournaments. The Bulldogs played in the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament in Grand Junction, Colo. three times. In 1965, Wingate was ranked number one in the nation. Christopher was selected Coach of the Year seven times in the conference and four times in the region.

During this time in Wingate's junior college baseball history, more than 90 percent of Coach Christopher's players played and graduated from senior colleges. After the 1972 season, Christopher retired from coaching but continued to teach history.

Wingate became a senior college in 1977, and Christopher returned to coaching in 1980. A member of the Carolinas Conference from 1980-89, Wingate won the conference title four times. The Bulldogs participated in the NAIA District 26 tournament seven times and the NAIA Area 7 tournament two times. Christopher was selected Coach of the Year in the conference in 1981 and in the district and the area in 1981 and 1983.

After joining the South Atlantic Conference in 1990, the Bulldogs participated in one district tourney during Christopher's tenure. Christopher was selected Coach of the Year in the SAC in 1993. All total, he was nominated for national Coach of the Year six times.

Christopher's honors could fill several trophy cases. Perhaps the biggest honor a college coach could receive was bestowed on Christopher in January 1993 when he entered the NAIA Hall of Fame. He was the first Wingate University coach, active or otherwise, to be so honored. In addition, he was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 1993 during the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.

His NAIA record of involvement was very lengthy. He completed his two-year term as president of the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association when he passed the gavel during the Atlanta meetings of the NAIA-BCA in January 1993.

His service to the NAIA-BCA included several years in the officer's track, as he worked his way up the leadership ladder. Christopher won the NAIA Presidential Merit Award in honor of his meritorious service. He also served as NAIA District 26 baseball chair and has administered several district, area and national tournaments.

Through the years, Christopher has been very active in the American Baseball Coaches Association and the United States Baseball Federation. He was also a member of the N.C. Baseball Coaches Association. The N.C. Baseball Coaches Association honored Christopher with a meritorious service award at its annual convention in 1996.

His coaching achievements included a stint in Virginia's prestigious Valley League. From 1966 until 1972, Christopher served as a scout for the New York Mets organization. He was a popular speaker at clinics and banquets throughout the state.

His former players' loyalty is also evident in the fact they funded a scholarship to be awarded in Christopher's name in 1989. Christopher always said coaches reflect the players which is verified by the honors to players he coached.

34 - All-Americans
11 - Academic All-Americans
25 - Signed Professional Contracts (Alvin Morman, major leagues)
17 - Former players in the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame

Christopher was the first active coach to be inducted into the Wingate University Sports Hall of Fame. There are currently only 68 members of the select group. Also, he is a member of the Richmond County Baseball Hall of Fame.

Naming the new Wingate University baseball stadium the Ron Christopher Stadium was one way Wingate University has shown Dr. Christopher its admiration. Another way was in choosing him as one of 10 featured in The Chalk Dust Chronicle 1896-1996, a centennial history honoring master teachers.

In recent years, former players raised money to erect a bust of Coach Christopher at the stadium entrance. Christopher received The Order of the Long Leaf Pine from the governor of North Carolina. The Order of the Long Leaf Pine is presented to individuals who have a proven record of extraordinary service to the state.

Christopher received his B.S. and M.A. degrees from Appalachian State University and his doctorate from Middle Tennessee State University. Before coming to Wingate in 1962, he coached and taught in the Clover, S.C., and Mooresville, N.C. public schools.

Coach Christopher's wife, Dr. Beverly Christopher, is a long-time professor in the English department at Wingate University. They have two children, Drew and Wendy. Drew and his wife Melissa have three children: Jordan, Sydney and Gehrig.

What They Are Saying

Wingate University vice-president and director of athletics Steve Poston
On Christopher's legacy:
"Ron Christopher was an outstanding teacher of young men. He made his mark on the baseball field, but he was also a tremendous classroom teacher. More importantly, he helped teach students how to live their lives. He excelled in this area."

"Ron Christopher was a tremendously successful baseball coach. We undervalue his legacy if we consider him only as a successful baseball coach. He touched lives in many ways other than baseball."

Personal reflections:
"When I came to Wingate to coach the baseball team in 1973, Coach Christopher was very supportive of me. As a young coach, I could always count on Ron to encourage me. He would help us on the field many different times during my tenure."

"When I left coaching (after the 1979 season), Coach Christopher returned. I felt very good leaving my players to Ron Christopher. I knew he would do right by them. I had extreme confidence he would do right by them."

Special characteristics:
"Coach Christopher's tenacity made him special. Even in recent years, he fought his illness with a furor few people could match. His tenaciousness was evident on the baseball field…but also in everyday life. His tenacity was contagious…people around him could sense his spirit."

"Ron Christopher had a deep love for the game of baseball. He shared this love with his players. He treated his players like family."

"Ron and Beverly Christopher personify the term 'Wingate family.' They have spent a lifetime caring about students at Wingate University. They treated everyone they met…as if they belonged to their family."

Florida State University head baseball coach Mike Martin ('64)
"Ron Christopher was a very positive person in my life. Without his influence, both on and off the field, I would not be where I am today. Heaven is a better place as of now."

Wingate University athletic foundation director Bill Nash ('71)
"Ron Christopher had a great life! He had the opportunity to do something he genuinely loved to do. He was supported in his endeavors by the people who loved him enormously."

"Ron gave so much to his players…he always told me he learned as much from his players as they learned from him. It was a beautiful give-and-take situation."

"I wonder…when Ron was young…could he have possibly imagined the influence he would have on so many people? I know it gave him great joy to see an 18-year-old mature and grow up to be a young man who would bring his children to see the Bulldogs play baseball."

"Ron was widely respected in the coaching fraternity. He was proud to be among this group and contributed a great deal…both to the profession and to the coaches individually. He was a part of the fabric of college baseball."

Wingate University head baseball coach Allen Osborne
"We lost a great man this (past) weekend…not only was Ron Christopher one of the greatest coaches in Wingate University history, he was one of the greatest people in Wingate University history. He will be missed by so many…we know he's in a better place today."

"During my three years at Wingate, Coach Christopher has been an inspiration to our coaching staff and our student-athletes. I could never thank him enough for sharing his time and his talents with us as we try to continue the legacy of Wingate University baseball."

MEMORIALS

In lieu of flowers, the Christopher family would ask that donations be made to any of the following:

The Ron Christopher Baseball Scholarship at Wingate University (Campus Box 3071, Wingate, NC 28174-0159)

Wingate Baptist Church (PO Box 339, Wingate, NC 28174-0339)

The Dr. Scott Palmer Research Project at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC 3876, Durham, NC 27710)