Former Pirate Coach Fred Hopke Passes Away
11/12/2018 1:55:00 PM | Baseball
Former long-time Seton Hall baseball hitting coach Fred Hopke passed away in October. The former professional spent parts of two decades assisting head coach Mike Sheppard's clubs in the 1980s and 1990s.
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The coach known as "Hop" was the hitting instructor for Seton Hall's first BIG EAST Championship in 1987, which featured sluggers Mo Vaughn, National Co-Player of the Year Marteese Robinson and future MLB Hall of Famer Craig Biggio.
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A former All-State basketball and baseball player at Irvington Tech High School, he went on to play professionally for 11 years in the Philadelphia, Cincinnati, New York Yankee and Detroit baseball organizations. A five-time minor league All-Star selection, Hopke was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player in 1959. In 1963, his best season as a professional, he hit .337 with 30 home runs and 130 RBIs.
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During his playing days, Hopke played with some of the game's most well-known figures such as pitching great Satchel Paige, former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda and MLB Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.
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The coach known as "Hop" was the hitting instructor for Seton Hall's first BIG EAST Championship in 1987, which featured sluggers Mo Vaughn, National Co-Player of the Year Marteese Robinson and future MLB Hall of Famer Craig Biggio.
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Seton Hall baseball mourns the passing of long-time assistant coach Fred Hopke. pic.twitter.com/3ctqK2ctjo
— Seton Hall Baseball (@SHUBaseball) November 12, 2018
A former All-State basketball and baseball player at Irvington Tech High School, he went on to play professionally for 11 years in the Philadelphia, Cincinnati, New York Yankee and Detroit baseball organizations. A five-time minor league All-Star selection, Hopke was named the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player in 1959. In 1963, his best season as a professional, he hit .337 with 30 home runs and 130 RBIs.
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During his playing days, Hopke played with some of the game's most well-known figures such as pitching great Satchel Paige, former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda and MLB Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.
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