ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Elizabethtown College Athletics is mourning the loss of Frank Keath '49 and Bill Foster '54, two of the legendary names in men's basketball program history.
Keath passed away Tuesday, Jan. 5, at age 88. The Blue Jay family lost Foster on Thursday, Jan. 7. He was 86. Both men were charter inductees into the Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame in 1975.
Keath was born in Schaefferstown, Pa., on Aug. 4, 1927. He attended Cornwall High School outside of Lebanon before enrolling at Elizabethtown in the mid 1940s.
Keath's 43 points against Bridgewater (Va.) during the 1946-47 season remain tied for the most ever in a game by a Blue Jay. Keath holds the program record for career scoring average at 21.3 points per game from 1945-49 and is still the second leading scorer all-time with 1,873 points.
Following his collegiate career, Keath playing semi-professionally for the Berwick Carbuilders of the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League. Keath led Berwick in scoring with 341 points in 25 games (13.6 ppg) during the 1949-50 season.
Keath went on to teach math for more than 40 years. He coached and officiated basketball, soccer and baseball and was inducted into the Central Chapter (PA) Sports Hall of Fame in 1974.
He was born on Thursday, August 4, 1927, to the late Frank P. Keath and Anna Mae Keath nee Weik in Schaefferstown.
He was a member of Avon Zion United Methodist Church. Frank attended Cornwall and E-Town College, was a teacher of math for 41 years, and was in the Educational Honor Society. He was a high school coach and officiated basketball, soccer, and baseball. Frank was a semi-pro basketball player for Berwick and an avid golfer and bowler. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at Elizabethtown College, Central Chapter. He was involved with the local and state Retired Teachers Association. Frank was a trustee for Avon, involved with the youth department in the church, and was a life member of the PTO. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ldnews/obituary.aspx?n=frank-keath&pid=177179352&fhid=22853#sthash.n0YSv5RK.dpuf
Foster was born Aug. 19, 1930 and grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Norwood. Foster arrived at Elizabethtown College following a stint in the United States Air Force, graduating in 1954 with a bachelor of science in business education.
Foster played for the Blue Jay men's basketball team throughout the early 1950s, but served as student coach of the 1952-53 junior varsity team, leading them to a 13-6 record. It would be in the coaching realm that Foster would make his mark professionally.
In 1960, Foster landed his first collegiate coaching job at Bloomsburg State College (now Bloomsburg University), where he compiled a 45-11 record in three seasons. He went on to coach 30 seasons at the Division I level with stops at Rutgers, Utah, South Carolina, Northwestern and –most notably– Duke.
Foster guided the Blue Devils to a 113-64 record over six seasons from 1974-80, which included one regular-season ACC championship, two ACC Tournament crowns and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
Foster was named National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in 1978 after leading Duke to a 27-7 record and the national championship game.
"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Coach Bill Foster, who was such a vital part of this program's rich history," Duke head men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski told GoDuke.com. "His Blue Devil teams from the late 1970s were among the best to ever play at Duke. As accomplished as he was as a basketball coach, anyone who knew Bill would agree he had one of the uniquely exuberant personalities in the sport that he loved so much. His legacy will not only be the significant basketball contributions he made, but the millions of smiles he helped create along the way. We offer our sincerest sympathy to Bill's family, friends and the many great student-athletes who came to Duke to play for such a terrific coach and person."
Foster mentored Duke All-Americans Jim Spanarkel, Mike Gminski and Gene Banks. The Blue Devils won the 1978 ACC Tournament –their first in a dozen years– and were ranked No. 7 in the season's final Associated Press poll. Duke downed Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Villanova in the NCAA Tournament to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1966. They would fall to Kentucky in the national championship game.
Foster was a winner nearly everywhere he went. He took Rutgers from a 5-17 record in his first season (1963-64) to a 22-7 record and third-place finish in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) by his fourth season (1966-67).
Foster led Rutgers to a 120-75 record over eight seasons, before going 43-39 in three seasons at Utah. The Utes were NIT runners-up with a 22-8 overall record in 1973-74.
In 1980, Foster accepted the head coaching position at the University of South Carolina. He went 92-79 in six seasons. Foster finished his coaching career at Northwestern, spending seven seasons on the sidelines in Evanston, Ill., from 1986-93.
Foster also spent time as associate commissioner at the Southwest Conference, as well as a consultant for the Western Athletic Conference and Big 12 Conference. He was a member of the board of trustees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, serving as chairman from 1996-98.
Foster was the inaugural recipient of the Blue Jay Athletic Association's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007.
FOSTER IN THE NEWS
Chicago Tribune (1/8/16): Bill Foster remembered for kindness, humor
Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record (1/8/16): Ed Hardin: A week in time: Bill Foster and me in 1978
Duke Basketball Report (1/7/16): Former Duke Coach Bill Foster Dies at 86
NJ.com (1/7/16): Former Rutgers basketball coach Bill Foster dies at 86
He was born on Thursday, August 4, 1927, to the late Frank P. Keath and Anna Mae Keath nee Weik in Schaefferstown.
He was a member of Avon Zion United Methodist Church. Frank attended Cornwall and E-Town College, was a teacher of math for 41 years, and was in the Educational Honor Society. He was a high school coach and officiated basketball, soccer, and baseball. Frank was a semi-pro basketball player for Berwick and an avid golfer and bowler. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at Elizabethtown College, Central Chapter. He was involved with the local and state Retired Teachers Association. Frank was a trustee for Avon, involved with the youth department in the church, and was a life member of the PTO. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ldnews/obituary.aspx?n=frank-keath&pid=177179352&fhid=22853#sthash.n0YSv5RK.dpuf
He was born on Thursday, August 4, 1927, to the late Frank P. Keath and Anna Mae Keath nee Weik in Schaefferstown.
He was a member of Avon Zion United Methodist Church. Frank attended Cornwall and E-Town College, was a teacher of math for 41 years, and was in the Educational Honor Society. He was a high school coach and officiated basketball, soccer, and baseball. Frank was a semi-pro basketball player for Berwick and an avid golfer and bowler. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at Elizabethtown College, Central Chapter. He was involved with the local and state Retired Teachers Association. Frank was a trustee for Avon, involved with the youth department in the church, and was a life member of the PTO. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ldnews/obituary.aspx?n=frank-keath&pid=177179352&fhid=22853#sthash.n0YSv5RK.dpuf
