Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame
John Gergic-coached teams were going to come at you...and keep coming at you. The Elizabethtown College baseball coach from 1988-96, Gergic guided the Blue Jays to two Middle Atlantic Conference championships, four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, two 30-win seasons and no less than 20 victories in any of his nine seasons.
Gergic's .704 winning percentage is tops in program history and his 228 victories second only to longtime coach Owen Wright (258). Wright's wins came over 21 seasons. Gergic filled up the win column routinely in just under a decade.
In 1988, Gergic's debut season, the Jays registered their first ever 30-win season (31-7), took home the MAC championship for the first time since 1976 and qualified for the second NCAA Tournament in team history.
Elizabethtown turned in winning seasons in all nine of Gergic's seasons with the team. The Blue Jays returned to the NCAA Tournament in 1991 and added two more trips in 1993 (as MAC champions) and 1994. The 1994 team won a school record 33 games (33-11), suffered just one defeat in 14 conference contests and was ranked as high as No. 4 in the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) national poll.
Gergic mentored more than 30 all-conference players and three conference players of the year. He coached four ABCA all-region picks and two-time All-America honoree Gary Yeager, Jr.
Five of Gergic's players were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft between 1988-95. Two more signed pro contracts as undrafted free agents.
Gergic is revered by former players for the tough-love style he showed on and off the field, which helped shape his teams into consistent winners.
