Former Naval Academy Baseball Coach Joe Duff Passes Away at the Age of 78

7/30/2001 - Baseball
Former Naval Academy Baseball Coach Joe Duff Passes Away at the Age of 78

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ANNAPOLIS, Md.--Joseph C. Duff, 78, long-time baseball coach at the U. S. Naval Academy, died Monday morning, July 30, of pulmonary fibrosis at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Md.

Four decades of midshipmen benefitted from the tutelage of Duff in his roles as baseball coach, assistant basketball coach and physical education professor at the Academy. His 32 varsity baseball teams at Navy won 595 games (against 332 losses and 11 ties) and appeared in three NCAA Tournaments, while capturing five league championships. Eleven Midshipmen who played baseball or basketball for Duff have gone on to achieve the rank of admiral in the Navy or general in the Marine Corps or Air Force, including current Superintendent of the Naval Academy, Vice Adm. John R. Ryan, USN. Two Heisman Trophy winners, Joe Bellino and Roger Staubach, played for Duff, as did two players who were on U.S. Pan American Baseball Teams.

Duff's success was not an accident. He was a fundamentalist. His teams were versed in hitting the cutoff man, getting the lead runner and running the bases smartly. His players remember the discipline he taught them on the athletic field and the ideals he instilled in them as they headed off to their military careers. They often sought him out when returning to the Academy to let him know how he prepared them for their careers in the military and in life.

Duff began working with the Midshipmen as an assistant baseball and basketball coach in 1953, and was named the head baseball coach in 1962. He established himself as a winner immediately, as his first Navy team finished 19-2 and won the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League title. He followed that season with a 15-7 campaign and another EIBL title in 1963. Duff's squads also brought home EIBL pennants in 1979, 1982 and 1986. In his final year as head coach in 1992, he helped the Midshipmen to the Patriot League Southern Division title and an appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Tournament.

The 1979, 1982 and 1986 Navy teams played in the NCAA Tournament and the '82 team was ranked 25th in the nation in addition to its second-place showing in the NCAA Northeast Regional. Both the 1983 and '86 teams won 30 games.

"All of us, past and present, at the Naval Academy are saddened to learn of the passing of Coach Joe Duff," said Admiral Ryan. "For nearly 50 years, he has not only been a great coach, but also a mentor to thousands and thousands of grateful midshipmen. Our hearts and prayers are with his wife, Nancy, and his entire family."

"Coach Duff was a legend at the United States Naval Academy," said Navy's Director of Athletics, Jack Lengyel. "Even after his retirement, he continued working with our junior varsity baseball team. He will be missed by many former and current players, but his legacy will live on as one of the outstanding baseball coaches in the country."

"The Naval Academy has lost one of its most enthusiastic and devoted teachers on the sports field," said Bellino who played baseball under Duff. "From my days in baseball, Joe wouldn't accept anything but 100 percent effort. Winning was very important, but if you gave 100 percent, Joe could accept that. It is a sad day for Navy sports."

"Joe Duff was a great coach. He was very serious about the game and was a no-nonsense guy," said Staubach, who also played baseball for Duff. "He was a fun coach to play for and I formed a great friendship with him over the years. He taught me a lot and he will be missed."

A Marine Corps veteran in World War II, Duff was a radio operator for an artillery observer on Pelileu.

Duff excelled in both basketball and baseball at West Virginia University. He played for the 1946-47 Mountaineer basketball team that was 19-3 and finished fourth in the National Invitation Tournament. Duff once held the West Virginia single-season record for free throw percentage and received the first Roger L. Hicks Memorial Trophy in 1950, given to the outstanding Mountaineer basketball player.

After graduating from WVU in 1950, Duff coached baseball and basketball for two years at Union High School in New Jersey. He then came to Annapolis in 1953, working under legendary Max Bishop in baseball and also serving under Hall of Fame basketball coach Ben Carnevale as an assistant-a position he held for 16 years.

In recent years after his retirement, he helped coach at St. Mary's and Broadneck High Schools, at Catholic University and last spring, he tutored the Navy junior varsity baseball team.

Duff was inducted into the Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1995 and was given a Lifetime Achievement in Baseball Award from the Washington Home Plate Club. He also was inducted into the West Virginia Sportswriters Hall of Fame.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy; two daughters, Mrs. Hilary Gonzales of Annapolis, and Phebe Duff of Little Rock, Ark.; and three grandchildren, Sarah Gonzales and Elizabeth Gonzales of Annapolis, and Aaron Christie of Little Rock, Ark.; and a sister, Mrs. Ann Hale of Bridgeport, NY. He was predeceased by a sister, Janet Bilney.

Arrangements are under the direction of Taylor Funeral Home. Visiting hours will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. A Memorial Service will be celebrated at St. Andrew's By the Bay Church on College Parkway at 11:15 on Thursday morning.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Naval Academy Athletic Association for the Varsity Baseball Fund.