IUP Athletic Hall of Fame
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Steve Harrick is a legend at West Virginia University, as a result of 29 years as wrestling coach (1924-32 and 1947 -67) and 20 as baseball coach (1948-67). Flying high in center field at the Mountaineers baseball stadium is the Harrick Flag.
Today he is honored, in memory and for all time to come, by his origin al alma mater, where he played baseball, football and basketball in 1916-20, and roomed with 1997 Hall of Fame inductee and lifelong friend Art Rooney, founder of the Steelers.
A four-year outfielder and baseball team captain for coach Walter Murray Whitmyre, he played halfback and fullback for football teams that included coach William Smith's 1917 national normal school champion and ‘17 and ‘19 state champions. In a 14-7 loss to the Syracuse frosh, he intercepted a pass and returned it 95 yards for his squad's only touchdown.
At WVU, he played football and baseball and wrestled before completing a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1924. After playing baseball at Fairmont and Wheeling, West Virginia, in the Middle Atlantic League and semi-pro football in Steubenville, he began his unparalleled Mountaineer coaching careers.
Reflected in his induction to the WVU, West Virginia state, Helms Foundation and College Baseball (where he was presented by Rooney) Halls of Fame were more than 1000 college victories, his 156-99-4 record in wrestling and 33 1-160-1 chart in baseball.
Harrick teams won six Southern Conference baseball titles and advanced to NCAA Division I district playoffs seven times as 18 of his players signed pro contracts. His wrestling teams won five Southern Conference championships as 42 individual wrestlers captured conference crowns.
Harrick also served 13 years (1935-48) as athletic director and three-sport coach at West Virginia Tech, then known as New River State. After he retired in 1967, Harrick scouted for the Boston Red Sox and volunteered time to Little League baseball.
After passing away at the age of 91 in 1988, Harrick is survived by two sons, Thomas, of McMurray, and Bob, of Ponte Verde Beach, Florida. Of four grandchildren, three have been active in wrestling, one lettering at Yale.
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