Garden City, N.Y. - It is with great sadness that the Adelphi University Department of Athletics announces that former four-sport student-athlete and long time baseball Head Coach Ron Davies passed away on Sunday, at the age of 86.

"Coach Davies is a legendary figure at Adelphi. He touched so many lives coaching baseball, squash and soccer. I'll always be grateful to Coach Davies for giving me a warm welcome when I arrived at Adelphi. He's been a friend to me  and so many others here on campus. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, June, and the rest of the Davies Family," said Director of Athletics and Campus Recreation, Danny McCabe.

Davies stands as Adelphi's most winningest baseball coach with a record of 845-431-1 with a tenure of 38 seasons who also coached squash and freshman soccer. In 1959, he started coaching squash, winning eight Metropolitan Championships in 15 years at the helm of that program.
 
In 1964, Davies added head coaching duties for baseball, elevating the program to national prominence and making four trips to NCAA Division II College World Series. During a coaching career which lasted over 30 years on the diamond, Davies was honored as the East Coast Conference (ECC) Coach of the Year and coached 75 baseball players to All-Conference honors. 

In addition to his impressive won-loss record, Davies has also led Adelphi to 12 Knickerbocker Conference titles, five NYCAC titles, three ECAC titles, 33 winning seasons,19 post-season tournaments and has had numerous players sign professional contracts, with Joe Sambito being the first in 1976. His list also includes players Steve Lukas (1995) with Sioux City, Dom Gatti (1993) and Dan Mascia (1992) with the Texas Rangers, Scott Davis (1990) with the Kansas City Royals, Helmut Bohringer (1989) with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tim Byrnes (1987) with the Kansas City Royals.
 
As an Adelphi student, Davies earned varsity letters in soccer, squash, basketball and baseball.  He was named the Outstanding Freshman Athlete in 1955 and Most Valuable Player for the squash and baseball teams in 1958.

In 1968, he was inducted into the Adelphi Hall of Fame, the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, and most recently, in 2018, was honored at the 30th Annual University Golf Classic. Additionally, the renovated clubhouse at William J. Bonomo Field features a coaches' office named in honor of Davies. The project was generously completed and presented by John Jeffrey '75 at an unveiling event.

In 2020, the first ever Coach Ron Davies Scholarship was awarded, which is given annually to a student-athlete who shows advanced levels of dedication to their teammates, and academics, in addition to their success on the field. For the scholarship's opening year, the funds were raised by alumni of the baseball, squash, and freshman soccer programs. The efforts were spearheaded by Pablo Pick, Jeffrey, Gus Scacco, and Steve Shapiro, in honor of their head coach, Ron Davies.

In addition to his business administration degree at Adelphi, Davies earned a Bachelor of Laws and a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School. 

A celebration of Davies's life will be held at a later date. A memorial service is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11 at 11:00 AM at Saint James Episcopal Church in St. James, NY. 


Former Student-Athletes and Coaches Reflect on Coach Davies' Passing:
Current Adelphi Baseball Head Coach Bill Ianniciello: " Ron has a truly storied history with Adelphi baseball and remained an integral part of our program. Beyond his winning tradition, he is revered by generations of alumni. Ron's passion for the University, his players and the game of baseball will stand unsurpassed."

Helmut Bohringer '89: "Coach was a player's Coach long before that was a term. He treated you like an adult from the beginning of your Adelphi career whether you were a transfer or an incoming freshman. He expected you to be ready to play and as a former offensive player, I always felt that he would prefer to win 12-10 then to win 1-0. He was a father figure to many of his players or that Uncle that you could just feel comfortable speaking to about your problems.  He was a coach who loved to talk about hitting, he would talk about visualization long before that became popular, he would buy all these little gimmicks to improve us as a hitter.  He taught many of us to stand up for yourself in all facets of your life whether it was in the classroom, on the ballfield or in your daily life. Basically, If you played for coach, you had a friend for "LIFE "."

Gus Scacco '84: "Playing under Coach Davies was a true blessing. As Captain of Adelphi's Baseball team, I interacted closely with Coach and  knew him at a different level than many of my teammates. He gave you an example to grow into as an adult. He taught you that you were responsible for yourself and your teammates. He encouraged us to be a leader both on and off the field and is now, I'm sure, putting a lineup together in heaven." 

Pablo Pick '65: "Though I always called him Coach, Ron Davies was much more than that to me. He was my mentor, my teacher (winning a national team squash championships  I always considered only half mine) but most of all Ron was my friend. He and I go back many years, all of my adult life. Ron and June attended both of our children's weddings and during the many years they offered prayers, encouragement and kindness during my wife's long illness. Ron you will be greatly miss by many."

Russ Huber '69: "It is a terrible loss for those of us lucky enough to have played for him (squash and baseball) and could call him "Friend.," long after calling him "Coach."  While his outstanding coaching record is the visible and obvious part of coach's legacy, the most important part for us, and I believe for him, was the influence he had on each of us to grow into the best people we could possibly be. I have no doubt, the years we played for him and what we achieved as student/athletes were important to him, but not nearly as important to him as what we did with our lives in the years after!"