Chal Port | |
Birth Date: | August 9, 1931 |
Birth Place: | Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Death Place: | Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. |
Player Years1: | 1954 |
Player Team1: | Eau Claire Braves |
Player Years2: | 1956 |
Player Team2: | North Carolina (baseball and football) |
Player Positions: | Pitcher |
Coach Years1: | 1965–91 |
Coach Team1: | The Citadel |
Overall Record: | 641–386–2 |
Championships: | 1990 Atlantic Regional SoCon Regular season: 1971, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1990, 1991 SoCon tournament: 1990 |
Awards: | 1990 The Sporting News National Coach of the Year South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame Southern Conference Coach of the Year |
Chalmers "Chal" Port (August 9, 1931 – August 20, 2011) was an American college baseball coach at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. Most famous for leading Bulldogs to the 1990 College World Series, Port coached for 27 seasons garnering a 641–386–2 record.[1] His win total was only surpassed in 2010 by successor Fred Jordan, who played for Port.
Port played football and baseball at the University of North Carolina prior to a brief minor league career.
In his 27 seasons at The Citadel, Port led the Bulldogs to five NCAA Division I Baseball Championship appearances and graduated all but two players he coached.[2]
In his second to last season, Port led the 1990 The Citadel Bulldogs baseball team in a dominant season, claiming the Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships, the nation's longest winning streak of 26 games, and the school's first appearance in the College World Series. Sweeping through the SoCon Tournament and the Atlantic Regional in Coral Gables, Florida, the Bulldogs defeated national power on its home field twice to advance to Omaha. Following an opening round loss to LSU, the Bulldogs defeated Cal State Fullerton in extra innings. The Citadel was eliminated by LSU in its third game in Omaha. The Bulldogs were ranked sixth in the Collegiate Baseball final poll.[3] Following the season, Port was named Sporting News National Baseball Coach of the Year.[4]