Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Baseball Legend Jack Cook Passes
11/26/2021 4:49:00 PM | Baseball
Legendary coach was inducted to the MU Hall of Fame in 1994
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Legendary Marshall baseball coach Jack Cook passed away Wednesday at home in Huntington.
Cook, a 1994 Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, was the department's winningest coach, tallying 422 career triumphs.
Cook guided the Thundering Herd to two NCAA tournaments (1973, 1978), with Marshall coming within one win of the College World Series in the latter. That season, the Thundering Herd won the Southern Conference and defeated Florida State and Clemson in the NCAA Tournament. Following the campaign. Marshall rose as high as 14th in the national polls, before finishing at 17th. For his efforts, Cook earned conference and region Coach of the Year honors and was a finalist for national Coach of the Year.
The Herd's skipper also led the program to a share of the 1981 conference title and, again, earned the league's Coach of the Year honor in 1989.
Marshall head baseball coach Jeff Waggoner said on social media, "Marshall, the city of Huntington and the state of West Virginia, lost a legend today. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and Marshall Baseball Alumni."
Thundering Herd Interim Director of Athletics Jeff O'Malley wrote: "Today we lost a special member of our Herd family: Coach Jack Cook. When mentioning the giants in Marshall Athletics, one cannot omit Jack. He was more than a baseball coach. He was a father, friend and mentor to so many. He has left an indelible mark on us all. We'll miss him."
Cook was 95.
Cook, a 1994 Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, was the department's winningest coach, tallying 422 career triumphs.
Cook guided the Thundering Herd to two NCAA tournaments (1973, 1978), with Marshall coming within one win of the College World Series in the latter. That season, the Thundering Herd won the Southern Conference and defeated Florida State and Clemson in the NCAA Tournament. Following the campaign. Marshall rose as high as 14th in the national polls, before finishing at 17th. For his efforts, Cook earned conference and region Coach of the Year honors and was a finalist for national Coach of the Year.
The Herd's skipper also led the program to a share of the 1981 conference title and, again, earned the league's Coach of the Year honor in 1989.
Marshall head baseball coach Jeff Waggoner said on social media, "Marshall, the city of Huntington and the state of West Virginia, lost a legend today. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and Marshall Baseball Alumni."
Thundering Herd Interim Director of Athletics Jeff O'Malley wrote: "Today we lost a special member of our Herd family: Coach Jack Cook. When mentioning the giants in Marshall Athletics, one cannot omit Jack. He was more than a baseball coach. He was a father, friend and mentor to so many. He has left an indelible mark on us all. We'll miss him."
Cook was 95.
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