Just one week after the loss of Chicago Mount Carmel senior second baseman Steven Bajenski shocked and saddened many in the Illinois baseball community, there came more bad news out of Peoria this weekend.
Early Saturday morning, Western Illinois University head coach Stan Hyman, age 50, lost his battle with leukemia, which he had been diagnosed with a little more than a month ago. He will be honored with a memorial service on Sept. 10 at WIU's Boyer Stadium at 5 p.m.
“It is a sad day not only for Western Illinois University and the Athletics Department, but also for all of college baseball,” Western Illinois Director of Athletics Dr. Tim Van Alstine said in a prepared statement. “Stan revitalized the Leatherneck baseball program and was a catalyst in the construction of Alfred D. Boyer Stadium, a state of the art facility that opened in 2006.”
Hyman gained notoriety for a variety of reasons in west-central Illinois. Chief among them was his willingness to play some of the nation's top teams. In his eight-year tenure, Hyman's teams recorded wins over the likes of Long Beach State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts.
But his resume' also gained attention as well. There was, without a doubt, no Division I baseball coach with as varied a career path as his.
From 1982-85, he was a press agent and president of the Los Angeles-based Hyman and Associates. During that time, he represented athletes such as boxer Roberto Duran and football great Bubba Smith, as well as musicians like Al Jarreau.
Prior to forming his own agency, Hyman was a sportswriter and a music columnist and even had work published in Rolling Stone.
Hyman is survived by his wife, Robin, and his three children -- Cara (22), Mychal (18) and Jordan (11).
WIU assistant Brock Bainter, a Macomb native, will lead the Leatherneck program in the interim and will likely be named as Hyman's successor as well.
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