University News | August 17, 2012

Harvard's baseball coach Joe Walsh dies suddenly at 58

He coached for the past 17 seasons and won five Ivy League championships.

From The September-October 2012 Issue

Joe Walsh

Head baseball coach Joe Walsh died suddenly at his Chester, N.H., home early on July 31.

Walsh, 58, served proudly in his self-professed “dream job” for the past 17 seasons, winning five Ivy League championships. He played baseball at Suffolk University, where he assumed his first head-coaching job in the 1980-81 season. He came to Harvard in 1996 as the first full-time, endowed baseball coach, a position funded by former player (and now Harvard Corporaton member) Joseph J. O’Donnell ’67, M.B.A. ’71.

Walsh’s college coaching record is 569-564-3, including the Crimson record 1998 season of 36-12. He is survived by his wife, Sandra, and their four daughters.

Published in the September-October 2012 print issue under the headline “Head Baseball Coach Joe Walsh Dies Suddenly,” in the John Harvard's Journal section.

Related topics

University News

You might also like

A man in a suit speaking at a podium with a red drape and a university crest.

Garber to Serve as Harvard President Beyond 2027

A once-interim appointment will now continue indefinitely.

Union Jack flag waving next to the Harvard University crest against a blue sky.

Harvard Students, Alumna Named Rhodes and Marshall Scholars

Nine Rhodes and five Marshall scholars will study in the U.K. in 2026.

Historic church steeple framed by bare tree branches against a clear sky.

Harvard’s Financial Challenges Lead to Difficult Choices

The University faces the consequences of the Trump administration—and its own bureaucracy

Most popular

Students writing at desks on wheels, racing ahead of a stationary student at a fixed desk

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

What to do as men and boys fall behind

Smiling man in a checkered shirt poses outdoors with greenery in the background.

Sam Liss to Head Harvard’s Office for Technology Development

Technology licensing and corporate partnerships are an important source of revenue for the University.

Skyline view of Harvard University with trees in autumn colors and a river under a cloudy sky.

Harvard’s Class of 2029 Reflects Shifts in Racial Makeup After Affirmative Action Ends

International students continue to enroll amid political uncertainty; mandatory SATs lead to a drop in applications.

Explore More From Current Issue

Four young people sitting around a table playing a card game, with a chalkboard in the background.

On Weekends, These Harvard Math Professors Teach the Smaller Set

At Cambridge Math Circle, faculty and alumni share puzzles, riddles, and joy.

Four men in a small boat struggle with rough water, one lying down and others watching.

Politics and Law

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

A girl sits at a desk, flanked by colorful, stylized figures, evoking a whimsical, surreal atmosphere.

Undergraduate Column

The Trouble with Sidechat

No one feels responsible for what happens on Harvard’s anonymous social media app.