ALTON - On Monday, August 14, the Alton School District will dedicate the Alton Middle School baseball diamond to former coach Wayne Tyler at 3:45 p.m.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
Coach Tyler started coaching at Alton High in 1962 and during his career he led the team to five Southwestern Conference Championship titles, six district championships, three regional titles, three sectional titles, took the team to the state semifinals in 1966, brought home second in the sate finals in 1972 and was inducted into the Illinois Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1982.
Alton Superintendent Mark Capple said that Coach Tyler had a very positive impact on the school, the community and the baseball program.
"Many of his players went on and attended college on baseball scholarships," Capple said. "That's the affect he had on students. Instilling in them to do better and take the skills that you have and use them to pursue other avenues that are going to improve your livelihood."
Capple said Coach Tyler was a great motivator which led to several of his former students going on to play baseball in both the minor and major leagues.
"He could be summed up as a players coach," Capple said. "He was very well liked and players enjoyed playing for him. We're hoping that we're going to have a number of his players come back for the dedication."
The recently refurbished baseball diamond at the Alton Middle School was chosen to be dedicated to Coach Tyler. Being Alton's most winning coach with an 84 percent win record, 281 wins and 44 losses, the district felt it would be most appropriate to dedicate the diamond that Coach Tyler called home.
More like this:
