Thirty years later, and still in Oregon, LBCC Head Baseball Coach Greg Hawk said goodbye to Roadrunner baseball.
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The year was 1983. Greg and Beth Hawk had been married a bit over five years, and at Champoeg State Park, they stopped. The two spent the night in their tiny car, under Oregon skies. It was 2,200 miles from where they had began, in tiny Centerville, Iowa.
"We slept in the back seat, and the street lamp shined in our eyes all night, " Beth Hawk told me.
In the heartland, Centerville, Iowa, was the epitomy of "small town" America. Greg and Beth met while in school there. Almost 40 years later, the two remain glued to one another. At a game in Albany during the 2013 season, I watched them on the field together, and I was moved by the "best friend" demeanor, the eye contact, and Coach Hawk's grin. He couldn't hide the pleasure it brought him, and I felt like I could see his eyes through the sunglasses. His favorite lady was on his ballfield. And Coach Hawk was beaming.
After Centerville High, Hawk attended Indian Hills Community College, and played catcher for the baseball team. Around the same time he married his high-school sweetheart, Beth Wilson, and after one year at Indian Hills, Greg Hawk headed to Northwest Missouri State University to play catcher for the Bearcats. Three years of studying hard, living poor, and wanting to "accomplish something," Hawk graduated in 1980 with a bachelor of science degree.
That same year, he became Coach Greg Hawk, by taking the head baseball coaching vacancy at Sweet Springs High School in Sweet Springs, Missouri.
"I wanted to teach and help others," Hawk said.
An 18-1 final season left the young coach wanting to teach and coach at a larger level. Jim Wasem offered Hawk a graduate assistant position at Eastern Washington University. Greg and Beth now headed west, towards the Cheney, Wash., campus.
Coach Hawk graduated in one year, earning a master's degree in athletic administration. "It was hard," he told me. "It was lots of reading, lectures about fundraisers, and charismatic people in athletics and education."
He and Beth lived off-campus while at EWU, in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment, without much. Welfare helped them get a start. "We were too proud to ask our parents for money, and we didn't believe in credit," Coach Hawk said. Living frugally, and studying intensely, he was about to hit the road again. This time in Oregon.
He had applied for a job in Albany at Linn-Benton Community College. On the road south, down the Interstate 5, he and Beth stopped at Champoeg State Park and having little money, the two stayed the night. Beneath Oregon conifer trees, they slept in the cramped Datsun. The next morning, "I splashed some water on my face and pits, and we headed to Linn-Benton."
He got the job.
At 25 years old, Greg Hawk was LBCC Head Baseball Coach. With little time to prepare, few contacts, and a part-time faculty job, recruiting was unconventional. "That first year was my 'Telephone Ballclub,' and we were 22-22." It was 1984.
In 1985, the Roadrunner squad led by Hawk won the league title and would win five titles in the next six years. The team won the NWAACC in 1988 and again 1991. Hawk was voted Coach of the Year seven times, and was Rawlings National Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1991.
Pitcher Kevin Logsdon attended LBCC and played for Coach Hawk. Logsdon was drafted and played major league baseball. A Logsdon home-run remains a vivid memory for Hawk. "He hit a three-run dinger against Lower Columbia (College) that won it," Hawk recalled.
I looked up, in between taking notes. Greg Hawk was smiling, and I could see through that big grin, into his eyes. I could see a man that cared about kids.
He went on, "We went up to Bellevue and won a 10-inning 1-0 ballgame to win the NWAACC Championship. Our pitcher, Kenny Neilson, went all 10, and Gary Boyer drove in the winning run."
Hawk taught first aid, health courses, and physical education in addition to being the head women's basketball coach. "Strategy was important, but conditioning proved a competitive edge," said Hawk. In the four years that Hawk led that team, they were 40-8 in league and 82-32 overall. Conditioning indeed.
Hawk's women's teams won two league titles and Hawk was Coach of the Year twice. In 1985, the lady Roadrunners, led by Coach Hawk, were third in the NWAACC.
As the longtime coach looks towards retirement, after achieving so much, I asked what he thinks about.
"The playoffs."
The current edition of LBCC Baseball is a game out of first place, and Hawk looks forward to the NWAACC Tournament, especially with this team. "I'm goin' up there, but I want to bring these guys with me," he said, grinning.
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This team has chemistry and cohesiveness, and some characters too. "Coach Ryan Godfrey is the team comic," Hawk said. At 26-12, the team is poised to make the playoffs.
After 1,100 games, and 600 wins, Coach Hawk is used to playoff runs. I asked about the bullpen, which has lost middle reliever Cody Blount, and Hawk replied, "We're good." Who is your best pinch hitter, I asked. "Lee Stoops."
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Current LBCC outfielder Taylor Higgins, when asked how he came from Reno, Nev., to play college baseball in Oregon, said, "I wanted to play for Coach Hawk."
South Albany grad, Pete Kenny didn't play at LBCC, but has known Coach Hawk for most of the 30 years, "He was my best man at my wedding," Kenny said.
Arguably the team's best player, and definitely the Gold Glove of this team, Shortstop Austin Hamilton heads across country to play next year. In recalling Coach Hawk's influence, Austin's father, who met Coach Hawk during the recruiting process. "We met Coach Hawk after Austin's senior year(high school) and we loved him. We still do," Scott Hamilton said.
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Run and hit, or hit and run?
I asked this via email, and the response was "Run and hit!!" The emphatic double exclamation, a metaphor of life with Coach Hawk's enthusiasm. The response was not returned by email, it was handwritten and handed to me personally.
The guy is "hands on."
In the years Hawk was also LBCC's athletic director, he attended almost every home game. Of every sport at Linn-Benton.
Corvallis Knights President, Dan Segel, summed up Coach Hawk's influence:
"After being deemed ineligible at the University of Washington, I came to LBCC and matured. Coach Hawk instilled confidence in me."
When I asked Segel to describe Hawk in one word, the response was quick. "Enthusiasm," Segel said.
The LBCC skipper loves a good pro baseball game, and the history and texture is in Hawk's blood. "The sights, the sounds, the smells." He follows the Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals. He likes the outdoors, and spoke of riding bikes as a hobby. "I'm gonna ride a bit when this is all over," Hawk said.
On Tuesday May 14, 2013, the end of an era at LBCC, took place. On a quiet little ballfield, maintained by the team, Greg Hawk coached his last home game. "I enjoyed coaching and teaching equally, and I will be around baseball, just not a head coach."
The crowd at this Game was larger than normal, and Coach Hawk's family watched from the 3rd base line. As I stood there among the women, I asked Beth Hawk what keeps her and the coach so close.
"We are soul mates," she replied.
And although this story is for the LBCC community and the campus newspaper, The Commuter...
My hat is off to you Coach Hawk, you are an inspiration.
Thank you.
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