UPDATE - Nov. 11, 2009 -- BA BASEBALL FIELD TO BE NAMED FOR HALL OF FAME COACH DOLPH REGELSKY. Dedication date is March 27, 2010, at Dolph J. Regelsky Field, Bryan Adams High School, Dallas, Texas.Anyone wishing to donate to help pay for field improvements, signs, the plaque or just give because you knew Dolph may do the following:
1. Send a personal check made out to DJR MONUMENT FUND, BA HIGH SCHOOL to one of two addresses and we will deposit the checks with Chase Bank for you.
DJR Field Fund
c/o Pepper Hastings
255 Meadowknoll
Double Oak, Texas 75077
DJR Field Fund
c/o David Hardt
9743 Larchcrest Dr.
Dallas, Texas 75238
DJR Field Fund
c/o Ricky Brockway
110 Rush Creek Dr.
Heath. Texas 75032
2. You can go to any CHASE BANK branch and take your check made out to DJR MONUMENT FUND and fill out a deposit slip for ACCOUNT 814-629-713. You may also deposit CASH into that account using a deposit slip.
Please donate generously.
Regards, DJR Field Committee (and growing)
Shayne Currin
David Hardt
Robbie Hazelbaker
Rickey Brockway
Pepper Hastings
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(Original post)
I learned most of my baseball from my dad, another guy's dad named Bill Cox, and my high school coach Dolph Regelsky.
Dolph ran off some great players because they couldn't hack his tough approach to the game, and his demands for total commitment to the team and to baseball. But I guess they really weren't that great if they were only playing for personal glory.
Dolph, a member of the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, coached great teams in Dallas at Crozier Tech and Bryan Adams from the early 1960s through the 1980s before he died of cancer in 1993. Many of his former players continue to teach baseball at high schools and in select baseball programs across Texas.
I was honored when the family requested that I help carry him the final time around the bases.
"Mother Doesn't Plant Trees?" That was Dolph's way of saying that in baseball, when the ball comes your way, there is nowhere to hide, no huddle to return to, no fast break the other way. It's just you and the ball -- and whatever happens, everybody sees. So you damn sure better be ready.
Dolph ran off some great players because they couldn't hack his tough approach to the game, and his demands for total commitment to the team and to baseball. But I guess they really weren't that great if they were only playing for personal glory.
When some guys came back from spring break complaining of a sunburn, Dolph made them practice for a week wearing flannel jerseys. He once didn't speak to a player directly for nearly an entire season, instead having other players relay messages to the guy, even if the guy was standing right next to the coach. ("He won't listen to me, maybe he'll listen to you.") When the right fielder misplayed a second fly ball, he sent out a batting helmet for the guy to wear before the next batter stepped in the box -- during a district game. Yet those who thrived under this system continued to come back to practice with Dolph -- and be berated for their shortcomings -- well after graduation and even while playing in college and the pros.
Dolph, a member of the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, coached great teams in Dallas at Crozier Tech and Bryan Adams from the early 1960s through the 1980s before he died of cancer in 1993. Many of his former players continue to teach baseball at high schools and in select baseball programs across Texas.
I was honored when the family requested that I help carry him the final time around the bases.
I just found a few photos of Dolph from 1955 and his minor league playing days up in the Dakotas. Pretty cool.
"Mother Doesn't Plant Trees?" That was Dolph's way of saying that in baseball, when the ball comes your way, there is nowhere to hide, no huddle to return to, no fast break the other way. It's just you and the ball -- and whatever happens, everybody sees. So you damn sure better be ready.
7 comments:
Great stories. Being an ex-player of his i can attest there are many more great stories and sayings that can be attributed to Dolph. If only high school coaches today 'rolled up there sleeves' and taught the game the way coach did. Most every player on my team recieved a college scholarship. Dolph prepared you for the next evel and understood the dedication required to get there.
Someday when i get some time i would love to tell some 'stories'.
I was always a baseball pitcher but after years of hardwork and tchnique taught to me by Dolph (and his prodigees/senior pitchers) I eventually became a true pitcher who could throw the ball as hard as i wanted and throw it on a dime. I truly love coach regelsky and am always thankful for the time and effort he put in to making me a baseball player/pitcher. I pass on his techniques every chance i get. Anybody know how to get his book? My youngest son could use it desperately.
he is my grandfather! :)
Dolph Regelsky was a horrible human being who knew alot about the game of baseball. He ran off many, many good young players who loved the game but because of a players perceived (by Regelsky) " lack of commitment" he wrote a kid off. Just because a player wasnt a one sport athlete didnt mean he did not love the game. It is easy to say all the things he did for SOME layers now, but the bottom line is he was not a nice person who had kids in his charge and was ignorant of the gravity of his position. I witnessed this "great " man hit a kid (probably 13)who was riding his motorcycle in the outfield (before it was fenced in) in the face with a baseball in his hand. He was a legend alright. A legend in his own mind and thats it. Players who didnt recognize him for what he really was are blind, ignorant or just glorifying him because hes not around anymore. Just because a person is deceased doesnt make him a saint.
Dear Anonymous (March 27, 2010),
It's unfortunate that you feel the way you do about Coach. While I respect your opinion, I don’t agree with it. Was he perfect? No. Did he have flaws? Sure, but don’t we all? Did he expect a lot from his player? Absolutely. Did he run kids off? Indeed he did…because he was paid to win baseball games…not babysit or hand hold. I coach, and I have great players who’s development suffers because I am forced by my sporting organization to have kids on my team who have little to no experience or talent but who’s parents think it would be ‘fun’ for them to play. Because I have to spend inordinate amounts of time with these kids, my best players languish and suffer. Coach was avoiding this very scenario.
He wanted his best players to be great and he wanted his okay players to be really good…and in order to accomplish this, he couldn’t spend his time coaching those who either didn’t have the commitment or the talent. Coach was a rare breed and in order to play for him, guys had to be rare breeds as well – and Coach was a master at spotting those who fit the bill. He was a coach who taught his players to not only play the game at higher and higher levels of performance but he also taught us to appreciate it beyond the superficial. To understand the smallest detail. To understand how the game must be played. To discipline ourselves in the skills necessary to succeed on the diamond and in life.
“Keep working, I’ll tell you when you’re a ball player.”…that’s a message that more young athletes should hear but don’t because it might hurt their feelings…it might shed light on the misguided ‘everyone’s a winner and gets a trophy’ philosophy prevalent in most sports organizations and schools today. Don’t get me wrong. Recreational, ‘just for fun’, sports are fine and are great places for anyone who wants to play and coach ‘just for fun’. However, Coach wasn’t paid to have fun. His job wasn’t to make all his players feel good. His job – and our job as players – was to win. Every time you pulled on your jersey and laced up your black spikes, you did it to win. Today, when I tied my tie and laced up my wingtips, I did it to win…thanks in part to Coach.
He was my HS coach for 2 years at N.R. Crozier Technical in 1964 and 65.
His nickname should have been "the big fundamental". He taught us techniques to which only major leaguers were familiar.
Great coach .... Greater loss.
We all loved our coach.
George Villareal
Former HS ball player for the coach
My perspective is a bit different because I was never coached by the man but only had him as a history teacher. When I saw the teacher for the American History class was a coach I figured that it would be a screw off hour break. Completely wrong. Dude was an awe inspiring hard ass that came to class completely prepared and expected the same from his students. He did not suffer fools and expected excellence. One of a very short list of high school teachers whose name I can recall. A few years back I was by the campus and saw that the ball field had been named for him and I was proud. Like him or not he was a genuine human being and what you saw was what you got.
I was a Baseball Player for W.T.White H.S. in 1972. Coach Regelsky helped me and I will never forget his kindness. RIP Coach and Thank you.
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