Sept. 22, 2008

Story courtesy of Mark Rountree, Enid News and Eagle

ENID, Okla. - In the late 1970s, former Phillips University baseball coach Joe Record didn't like his ballclub's hitting approach in the first game of a doubleheader against Southwestern Oklahoma State at Phillips-Failing Park.

So he had a heart-to-heart talk with the Haymakers between games.

"He said that if we were going to swing at the first pitch, we better do something with it,'' said former PU player Steve Hart.

Leading off the second game, Hart applied the instruction, belting the first pitch for a home run.

As he rounded third base, Record met him with a high-five slap on the hand.

Record then turned to the Haymakers' bench and yelled, "Now that's what I'm talking about.''

Hart's fondly remembered anecdote was one of many collected Sunday, one day after Record's death at the age of 80.

"The one common thread you hear from all of us that knew him is how much we loved him,'' said Hart.

Record, a 1946 graduate of Enid High School, coached 30 seasons at Phillips (1952-81), amassing a record of 648-294. He led three of his teams to the NAIA World Series.

In 1973, he was named the NAIA Coach of the Year. In 1975, he was elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame. In 1976, he was the head coach of an all-star team that played in Taiwan. In 2001, he was named Coach of the Century by the Enid News & Eagle.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday at David Allen Memorial Ballpark. The service is expected to attract many former players.

"What I remember about coach Record was the passion he had for the game itself and how much he cared about his players,'' said Hart, who joined his brother, Jimmy, as members of the Haymakers' teams from 1975-79. "Coach Record wasn't a coach who ranted and raved and threw fits. Jimmy used to say that you knew when you did something well when coach Record would give you that grin of his.

"I remember how coach Record always wanted you to be working on something in practice. He'd come by and ask, `What are you working on?' And you better have an answer.''

Wes Hurlbutt, an NAIA All-American in 1977 for the Haymakers, said Record had the greatest coaching mind in college baseball history. Hurlbutt was a key member of the 1977 team that won 29 straight games.

"Dr. Record prepared us to play the game the right way,'' said Hurlbutt. "And he had a knack for taking an average kid and making him a baseball player. If you played for him, Dr. Record holds a special place in your heart. And it wasn't all about balls and strikes. He taught you how to be tough mentally.''

Enid High School athletic director Bill Mayberry, who pitched for Record at Phillips, remembers entering a game in the ninth inning at Lubbock Christian with the game on the line. Mayberry, then a freshman right-hander, walked a batter, then hit another, before Record came to the mound for a visit.

"He said, `Do you prefer this to winning?' That got my attention pretty quick,'' said Mayberry.

Former Enid baseball coach Jerry Long, who pitched one season for Record at Phillips, said he could count on Record for advice.

Long said he had a 45-minute conversation with Record at last summer's American Legion Mid-South Regional Tournament at David Allen.

"He told story after story after story,'' said Long. "This is quite a loss, but coach Record left his mark in Enid.''

Mayberry said many players, coaches, educators and school administrators came through Record's baseball program.

"That's a tribute to Dr. Record,'' said Mayberry.

"Enid and Phillips University had a great tradition,'' said Charlie Lodes, a former college baseball coach who assisted Record for one season. "Joe will go down in history as the coach who put all that together. The biggest thing about Joe was how he developed young men to go into whatever life they wanted.''

Record's death was the second in recent weeks to stagger the local baseball community. On Aug. 22, longtime American Legion baseball chairman Les Beckham died at the age of 84.

"Obviously, that's two big losses to Enid baseball,'' said Mayberry. "It really hits home with me. They both were very instrumental in my life.''