(January 14, 2005) ?C An era has come to an end for the Fordham University baseball program. Head coach Dan Gallagher, the second winningest head coach in Fordham baseball history, announced his retirement after leading the Rams for the past 21 years. Associate head coach Nick Restaino will serve as the Interim Head Coach for the 2005 season.
Over the past 21 seasons, Gallagher posted a 518-468-10 record (.525), good for second place on the school??s all-time list. He is second only to legendary head coach Jack Coffey, who compiled 1,095 wins in 44 years.
In his final season at the helm, Gallagher led the 2004 Rams to the Atlantic 10 Tournament for the first time since winning the championship in 1998, while having three players earn Atlantic 10 honors for their accomplishments.
Included in his coaching span are seven league championships (three MAAC, three Patriot League and one Atlantic 10), four ECAC titles, and five NCAA Tournament berths. In two of the first four years in the Atlantic 10, Gallagher led the Rams to the Atlantic 10 Championship Tournament with the 1998 squad winning the A-10 title and advancing to the NCAA East Regional Championship. In May of 1998, Gallagher was rewarded for his work with the Iron Major Award, given annually to the Fordham Coach of the Year. It was the third Iron Major Trophy Gallagher earned in his 17 years at Fordham at the time.
Under Gallagher??s guidance, a number of Fordham players have gone on to be drafted by Major League Baseball teams or sign free agent contracts. The most notable players being 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, and most recently played for the Greek Olympic Baseball team at the 2004 Olympics.
Over the last 14 seasons, the Rams have won five league and two ECAC crowns, and made five NCAA appearances. Even a move from the Patriot League to the Atlantic 10 couldn??t stop Gallagher as he led the Rams to the 1997 Atlantic 10 Tournament, a feat which is more impressive considering it was only Fordham??s second season in the conference.
Gallagher became head coach in 1984 and two years later, the Rams were ready for prime time. They qualified for the ECAC Tournament in 1986, 1987 and 1988, earning their first ever NCAA berth in 1987, coming just two games short of an entry into the College World Series.
An outfielder in the Brooklyn Dodger organization, Gallagher was slated as the replacement for Duke Snider until a shoulder injury prematurely ended his career. He later turned to coaching, where he achieved great success in stints as an assistant coach at Mepham H.S. in Bellmore, N.Y., and as head coach at Holy Trinity H.S. in Hicksville, N.Y. In all, Gallagher compiled a winning percentage of better than .800 for his high school coaching career. With over 30 years of amateur coaching experience, Gallagher is a member of the ABCA 25-Year Club.
