Needham native Hal Carey remembers Harvard coach Joe Walsh
Former star player remembers longtime Harvard coach Walsh
Hal Carey
will always remember Harvard baseball coach Joe Walsh
for his big smile, firm handshake, and a passion for the game that Carey, a former Crimson baseball captain, now brings to the diamond as the varsity coach at Catholic Memorial School.
“And definitely for his Boston accent,’’ said Carey, a Needham native.
Walsh, who coached Harvard for 17 years, died
July 31 at his home in Chester, N.H., at age 58.
“When Joe was hired by Harvard in December of my freshman year, I was an unofficial translator for the players from out of state who had to get used to the way he spoke, because Joe was Dorchester Park through and through,’’ said Carey, who has worked since his college days as an instructor at Walsh’s baseball camps.
Carey flourished under Walsh’s tutelage.
“Joe’s biggest influence on me was his approach to the game,’’ he said. “He was enthusiastic and positive and he definitely wanted it done his way, but he would never show up or embarrass one of his players.’’
The Ivy League’s Rookie of the Year in 1996, the first Harvard player so honored, Carey was a two-time second-team all-league selection for the Crimson.
“I loved playing for Joe and so did my teammates,’’ said Carey, who now lives in Westwood and is also a vice principal at the West Roxbury high school. “He didn’t have many rules, but he wanted you to respect the game. Like Joe, I have my players bunt, steal, and put pressure on the defense.’’
Carey’s 2009 and 2010 baseball teams reached the Division 1 South sectional finals.
Playing second and third base for Harvard, Carey hit .374 as a junior in 1998. He also played in the all-star game for New England collegians at Fenway Park, and starred for several years in the Boston Park League.
Carey holds Harvard career records for hits (208), doubles (46), and stolen bases (63). He helped the Crimson win three Ivy League titles and advance to the NCAA Division 1 regionals.
His father, Dick, head baseball coach at Christopher Columbus High in Boston in the 1980s, knew Walsh years before his son enrolled at Harvard.
“Four decades ago I had the pleasure of playing baseball with Joe at Dorchester Park, where we both learned how the game should be played from a mutual mentor, Ray “Jake’’ Sheridan, and Joe was the teacher’s prize pupil,’’ recalled the elder Carey, who still resides in Needham. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Hal’s career would not have been as good nor as enjoyable had he played for any other coach.’’
Walsh, who graduated from Catholic Memorial in 1971, compiled a 569-564-3 coaching record at the college level, with the first 15 years at his alma mater, Suffolk University.
Murray takes reins at Noble & Greenough
Former Weston High three-sport athlete Rob Murray
is the new varsity baseball coach at Noble & Greenough School.
A baseball captain at Weston High and at Ithaca College, Murray also serves as assistant athletic director and assistant football coach at the independent school in Dedham, where he was assistant baseball coach last year. He teaches hitting and pitching privately at the family home in Weston.
Murray worked in law enforcement for 13 years, including with the Los Angeles Police Department’s gang unit and later as a patrolman with the Concord Police Department.
“My job in LA was very dangerous and very rewarding at the same time. It definitely changed me, considering where I grew up,’’ said Murray, a Millis resident whose father was a colonel with the Massachusetts Environmental Police and whose brothers are federal agents.
“So I followed their career path after baseball, and working those eight years in Los Angeles was a big part of my life and I’m a better person for it,’’ he said. “Anytime I could help anyone else, it gave me a sense of accomplishment.’’
Murray was assistant baseball coach at Belmont Hill School in 2010 while still working on the Concord force.
“It’s been quite a change from police work and I love it,’’ said Murray, who was a senior wide receiver and defensive back on Weston’s 1991 Division 6A Super Bowl championship team, which was coached by current Everett High football coach John DiBiaso.
Looking forward to his new role at the Dedham school, Murray said, “I have high expectations for the team and I am looking to put Nobles back on top’’ of the Independent School League.
Murray graduated from Ithaca with a degree in physical education. An infielder, he participated in two Division 3 College World Series for the Bombers. After graduation, Murray played independent professional baseball for two seasons.
Dropkin is US curling athlete of the year
Korey Dropkin
of Southborough and the Broomstones Curling Club in Wayland, has been named USA Curling’s Male Athlete of the Year.
Dropkin (inset below), at 17 the youngest winner in the history of the award, was a member of Team USA at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games, held in Innsbruck, Austria, in January, when he won a bronze medal in mixed doubles. His other accomplishments included winning the junior national championship.
“This whole year has been beyond surreal,’’ said Dropkin, a rising senior at Algonquin Regional High in Northborough. “Wearing the USA on my back has always been my dream. Winning the bronze medal meant a great deal to me.’’
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