Alex Nahigian

Alex Nahigian
Sport(s) Baseball
Biographical details
Born (1919-04-03)April 3, 1919
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Died July 30, 2001(2001-07-30) (aged 82)
Cranston, Rhode Island
Alma mater College of the Holy Cross '42
Playing career
Football
1938–1941 Holy Cross
Baseball
1939-1942 Holy Cross
Position(s) Halfback (football)
Outfielder (baseball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1949–1972 Brown (asst.)
1973–1975 Harvard (asst.)
1978–1981 Harvard (asst.)
Baseball
1960–1978 Providence
1979–1990 Harvard
Head coaching record
Overall 470-325-5
Tournaments NCAA: 9-18
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
EIBL: 1980, 1983, 1984
Awards
New England Coach of the Year: 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985
Rhode Island Words Unlimited Coach of the Year: 1970
Providence Athletic Hall of Fame (Inducted 2007)

Alex Nahigian (April 3, 1919[1] – July 30, 2001[2]) was an American college baseball and football player and coach. He was the head baseball coach at Providence (1960–1978) and Harvard (1979–1990), making a total of nine NCAA Tournament appearances between the two schools. He also served as an assistant football coach at Brown and Harvard.[3][4][5][6][7]

Early life

Nahigian was born on April 3, 1919. Nahigian came from an Armenian background but was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended both Medford High School in Medford, Massachusetts and St. John's Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts.[1][8][9][10]

Playing career

Nahigian played football and baseball at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. An injury prevented him from playing football past his sophomore season, but he played baseball for College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Jack Barry all four years, captaining the team his senior year.[9][11][12][13][14][15]

After graduating in 1942, Nahigian worked as a teacher and a high school baseball and football coach in Rhode Island. He also played three season of minor league baseball from 1946–1948, appearing in the Class B New England League with the Pawtucket Slaters, Portland Pilots, and Providence Grays.[1][9][15]

Coaching career

Football

After his baseball playing career was over, Nahigian started his collegiate coaching career as a football coach. He was an assistant at Brown from 1949–1972. He also served two stints as an assistant at Harvard, 1973–1975 and 1978–1981.[6][7][9][15]

Baseball

Providence

Nahigian was a successful high school baseball coach in Rhode Island in the 1940s and 1950s, and he was chosen to succeed Robert Murray as Providence's head coach for the start of the 1960 season. Providence then competed as an independent in the NCAA's District 1, which encompassed New England.[15][16][17]

In his fourth season, 1963, he led Providence to the program's first NCAA Tournament. At the District 1 Regional, the Friars defeated Connecticut in the opening three-game series but fell to Holy Cross in the regional final.[18]

In his 19-year tenure at Providence, Nahigian led the Friars to five more NCAA Tournaments and had an overall record of 221-173-2. His best season at Providence was 1973, when the team went 23-6-1 and appeared in its 5th NCAA Tournament. At the District 1 Regional, the team dropped its opening game to Northeastern. It recovered in the losers bracket to beat Massachusetts and Northeastern to reach the regional final. There, it lost to Harvard, 8-1. Nahigian was named the 1973 New England Coach of the Year.[3][18]

Harvard

Nahigian replaced Loyal Park as Harvard's head baseball coach for the start of the 1979 season. Nahigian was a Cambridge native, attended high school near Boston, and had served as an assistant football coach at Harvard from 1973–1975. He was the unanimous selection of Harvard's search committee, largely due to his success at Providence. Nahigian spent 12 seasons at Harvard, leading the Crimson to three NCAA Tournaments.[9][10][15][17][18]

The Crimson's three NCAA Tournament appearances came at the Northeast Regional in 1980, 1983, and 1984 after it won the EIBL title in each of those seasons. The program reached regional finals in 1980 (6-3 loss to St. John's) and 1983 (4-3 loss to Maine). In 1985, Harvard shared the EIBL title with Princeton but was defeated in a playoff and did not reach the NCAA Tournament. In 1990, Nahigian's final season, Harvard participated in the first Baseball Beanpot, finishing as the runner-up to Boston College.[18][19][20][21]

Nahigian was named the New England Coach of the Year in 1983, 1984, and 1985. In 1989, he received the Jack Butterfield Award.[6][22]

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Nahigian's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[3][4][16][18][19]

Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Providence (Independent) (1960–1978)
1960 Providence 6-7
1961 Providence 7-5
1962 Providence 7-8
1963 Providence 10-5 NCAA Regional
1964 Providence 13-9
1965 Providence 12-5
1966 Providence 6-15
1967 Providence 7-6
1968 Providence 11-5 NCAA Regional
1969 Providence 9-7
1970 Providence 11-9 NCAA Regional
1971 Providence 5-14
1972 Providence 13-9 NCAA Regional
1973 Providence 23-6-1 NCAA Regional
1974 Providence 17-9 NCAA Regional
1975 Providence 21-9
1976 Providence 13-16
1977 Providence 13-19
1978 Providence 17-10
Providence: 221-173-2
Harvard (Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League) (1979–1990)
1979 Harvard 22-14 9-5 4th
1980 Harvard 24-12 10-4 T-1st NCAA Regional
1981 Harvard 17-14 6-7 T-5th
1982 Harvard 17-16 9-9 T-3rd
1983 Harvard 27-8-1 15-3 1st NCAA Regional
1984 Harvard 28-6 14-3 1st NCAA Regional
1985 Harvard 29-9 15-3 T-1st EIBL Playoff
1986 Harvard 19-11 10-8 T-3rd
1987 Harvard 19-7 12-4 3rd
1988 Harvard 16-18 9-9 T-5th
1989 Harvard 16-17-1 9-9 T-5th
1990 Harvard 15-20-1 9-9 6th
Harvard: 249-152-3 127-73-1
Total: 470-325-5

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Alex Nahigian". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Nahigian, Former Baseball Coach, Dies at 92". Harvard.edu. Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "All-Time Coaching Records". Friars.com. Providence Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "All-Time Coaching Records". GoCrimson.com. Harvard Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Providence College to Induct 14 Into Athletic Hall of Fame: Ceremonies to Take Place During Homecoming Weekend, February 16". CSTV.com. Providence Athletic Communications. December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Cole, John. "A Man for All Seasons". BrownAlumniMagazine.com (January/February 2002). Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  7. 1 2 Schoenfeld, Bruce (November 24, 1981). "Greg Brown Named Football Captain; Callinan Gets Crocker MVP Award". TheCrimson.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  8. ↑ "New Headline Makers: Nahigian Bucks Cahill at Holy Cross". The Pittsburgh Press. October 5, 1939. p. 29. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pawtucket Coach Named by Brown". The Portsmouth Herald. Associated Press. June 17, 1949. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Alex Nahigian, 82, Was Baseball Coach". Highbeam.com. The Boston Globe. August 1, 2001. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  11. ↑ Carew, Wally (2003). A Farewell to Glory: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Football Rivalry, Boston College and Holy Cross. Worcester, MA: Ambassador. p. 45. ISBN 1929039174. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  12. ↑ Noonan, Tom (December 3, 1939). "Holy Cross Falls Before Eagles, 14-0: Boston College Flashes Form in Two Final Quarter Scores". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 15. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Strong Crusaders Favored Over Stahlmen Saturday: Klarnick Will Oppose Ayres on Mound in Return Match". TheCrimson.com. June 7, 1940. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Eleven Elected to College Baseball Hall of Fame". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 10, 2007. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Stylianos, John (July 18, 1978). "The Quick and the Dead". The Telegraph. Nashua, NH. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Annual Conference Standings". BoydsWorld.com. Boyd Nation. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  17. 1 2 "Nahigian Named to Replace Park". TheCrimson.com. July 7, 1978. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  19. 1 2 "2014 Ivy League Baseball Records Book" (PDF). IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  20. ↑ Monahan, Bob (April 19, 1990). "BC, Harvard Win as Beanpot Debuts at Fenway". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Baseball Beanpot History". GoNU.com. Northeastern Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Jack Butterfield Award". NEIBA.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
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