Dan Gallagher, who won 518 games in his decorated 21-year career as head baseball coach at Fordham University, will be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame on Friday at the organization’s annual convention at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.
Gallagher, also a 1997 Fordham Athletics Hall of Fame enshrinee, becomes the second ABCA Hall of Famer with Fordham ties, as Jack Coffey, one of the founders of the ABCA and long-time Fordham baseball coach, is also a member. Gallagher’s win total is second in school history to Coffey, the former Major Leaguer, who won more than 1000 games in 44 years at the helm.
Included in his coaching achievements are seven league championships (three MAAC – 1987, 1988, 1990; three Patriot League – 1991, 1992, 1993; and one Atlantic 10 – 1998), four ECAC titles (1987, 1988, 1990, 1993), and five NCAA Tournament berths (1987, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1998). In two of the first four years in the Atlantic 10, Gallagher led the Rams to the A-10 Championship Tournament with the 1998 squad winning the league title and advancing to the NCAA East Regional Championship. Gallagher earned three Iron Major Trophy awards at Fordham, presented annually to the school’s top coach.
Under Coach Gallagher’s guidance, a number of Fordham players have gone on to be drafted by Major League Baseball teams or sign free agent contracts. Among the more notable players on that list are Pete Harnisch, who was a first round draft choice of the Baltimore Orioles and went on to pitch for over 13 seasons in the majors, Mike Marchiano, who was a 1997 All-American and a draft pick of the Seattle Mariners, and Bobby Kingsbury, a two-time Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Gallagher is joined in the Class of 2013 by Northern Kentucky University’s Bill Aker, Cumberland University’s Woody Hunt, Cordova High School’s (Calif.) Ralph Rago, Johnson County’s Kent Shelly and Armstrong Atlantic State’s Joe Roberts.
A longtime Long Island resident, Gallagher’s family includes his son Daniel Scott and daughter Christine. He also has five grandchildren: Charles, Julianna, Erin, Ryan, and Chris.