Alex Nahigian

Alex Nahigian (April 3, 1919[1] – July 30, 2001[2]) was an American college baseball and football player and coach. He was the head baseball coach at Providence (1960–1978) and Harvard (1979–1990), making a total of nine NCAA Tournament appearances between the two schools. He also served as an assistant football coach at Brown and Harvard.[3][4][5][6][7]

Alex Nahigian

Biographical details
Born	April 3, 1919 Cambridge, Massachusetts
Died	July 30, 2001 (aged 82) Cranston, Rhode Island
Alma mater	College of the Holy Cross '42
Playing career
Football
1938–1941	Holy Cross
Baseball
1939-1942	Holy Cross
Position(s)	Halfback (football) Outfielder (baseball)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1949–1972	Brown (asst.)
1973–1975	Harvard (asst.)
1978–1981	Harvard (asst.)
Baseball
1960–1978	Providence
1979–1990	Harvard
Head coaching record
Overall	470-325-5
Tournaments	NCAA: 9-18
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
EIBL: 1980, 1983, 1984
Awards
New England Coach of the Year: 1973, 1983, 1984, 1985 Rhode Island Words Unlimited Coach of the Year: 1970 Providence Athletic Hall of Fame (Inducted 2007)

Early life

Nahigian was born on April 3, 1919. Nahigian came from an Armenian background but was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended both Medford High School in Medford, Massachusetts and St. John's Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts.[1][8][9][10]

Playing career

Nahigian played football and baseball at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. An injury prevented him from playing football past his sophomore season, but he played baseball for College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Jack Barry all four years, captaining the team his senior year.[9][11][12][13][14][15]

After graduating in 1942, Nahigian worked as a teacher and a high school baseball and football coach in Rhode Island. He also played three season of minor league baseball from 1946–1948, appearing in the Class B New England League with the Pawtucket Slaters, Portland Pilots, and Providence Grays.[1][9][15]

Coaching career

Football

After his baseball playing career was over, Nahigian started his collegiate coaching career as a football coach. He was an assistant at Brown from 1949–1972. He also served two stints as an assistant at Harvard, 1973–1975 and 1978–1981.[6][7][9][15]

Providence

Nahigian was a successful high school baseball coach in Rhode Island in the 1940s and 1950s, and he was chosen to succeed Robert Murray as Providence's head coach for the start of the 1960 season. Providence then competed as an independent in the NCAA's District 1, which encompassed New England.[15][16][17]

In his fourth season, 1963, he led Providence to the program's first NCAA Tournament. At the District 1 Regional, the Friars defeated Connecticut in the opening three-game series but fell to Holy Cross in the regional final.[18]

In his 19-year tenure at Providence, Nahigian led the Friars to five more NCAA Tournaments and had an overall record of 221-173-2. His best season at Providence was 1973, when the team went 23-6-1 and appeared in its 5th NCAA Tournament. At the District 1 Regional, the team dropped its opening game to Northeastern. It recovered in the losers bracket to beat Massachusetts and Northeastern to reach the regional final. There, it lost to Harvard, 8-1. Nahigian was named the 1973 New England Coach of the Year.[3][18]

Harvard

Nahigian replaced Loyal Park as Harvard's head baseball coach for the start of the 1979 season. Nahigian was a Cambridge native, attended high school near Boston, and had served as an assistant football coach at Harvard from 1973–1975. He was the unanimous selection of Harvard's search committee, largely due to his success at Providence. Nahigian spent 12 seasons at Harvard, leading the Crimson to three NCAA Tournaments.[9][10][15][17][18]

The Crimson's three NCAA Tournament appearances came at the Northeast Regional in 1980, 1983, and 1984 after it won the EIBL title in each of those seasons. The program reached regional finals in 1980 (6-3 loss to St. John's) and 1983 (4-3 loss to Maine). In 1985, Harvard shared the EIBL title with Princeton but was defeated in a playoff and did not reach the NCAA Tournament. In 1990, Nahigian's final season, Harvard participated in the first Baseball Beanpot, finishing as the runner-up to Boston College.[18][19][20][21]

Nahigian was named the New England Coach of the Year in 1983, 1984, and 1985. In 1989, he received the Jack Butterfield Award.[6][22]

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Nahigian's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[3][4][16][18][19]

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Providence (Independent) (1960–1978)
1960	Providence	6-7
1961	Providence	7-5
1962	Providence	7-8
1963	Providence	10-5			NCAA Regional
1964	Providence	13-9
1965	Providence	12-5
1966	Providence	6-15
1967	Providence	7-6
1968	Providence	11-5			NCAA Regional
1969	Providence	9-7
1970	Providence	11-9			NCAA Regional
1971	Providence	5-14
1972	Providence	13-9			NCAA Regional
1973	Providence	23-6-1			NCAA Regional
1974	Providence	17-9			NCAA Regional
1975	Providence	21-9
1976	Providence	13-16
1977	Providence	13-19
1978	Providence	17-10
Providence:		221-173-2
Harvard (Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League) (1979–1990)
1979	Harvard	22-14	9-5	4th
1980	Harvard	24-12	10-4	T-1st	NCAA Regional
1981	Harvard	17-14	6-7	T-5th
1982	Harvard	17-16	9-9	T-3rd
1983	Harvard	27-8-1	15-3	1st	NCAA Regional
1984	Harvard	28-6	14-3	1st	NCAA Regional
1985	Harvard	29-9	15-3	T-1st	EIBL Playoff
1986	Harvard	19-11	10-8	T-3rd
1987	Harvard	19-7	12-4	3rd
1988	Harvard	16-18	9-9	T-5th
1989	Harvard	16-17-1	9-9	T-5th
1990	Harvard	15-20-1	9-9	6th
Harvard:		249-152-3	127-73-1
Total:		470-325-5
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

References

1. "Alex Nahigian". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
2. "Nahigian, Former Baseball Coach, Dies at 92". Harvard.edu. Harvard Gazette. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
3. "All-Time Coaching Records". Friars.com. Providence Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
4. "All-Time Coaching Records". GoCrimson.com. Harvard Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
5. "Providence College to Induct 14 Into Athletic Hall of Fame: Ceremonies to Take Place During Homecoming Weekend, February 16". CSTV.com. Providence Athletic Communications. December 21, 2007. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
6. Cole, John. "A Man for All Seasons". BrownAlumniMagazine.com (January/February 2002). Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
7. Schoenfeld, Bruce (November 24, 1981). "Greg Brown Named Football Captain; Callinan Gets Crocker MVP Award". TheCrimson.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
8. "New Headline Makers: Nahigian Bucks Cahill at Holy Cross". The Pittsburgh Press. October 5, 1939. p. 29. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
9. "Pawtucket Coach Named by Brown". The Portsmouth Herald. Associated Press. June 17, 1949. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
10. "Alex Nahigian, 82, Was Baseball Coach". Highbeam.com. The Boston Globe. August 1, 2001. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
11. Carew, Wally (2003). A Farewell to Glory: The Rise and Fall of an Epic Football Rivalry, Boston College and Holy Cross. Worcester, MA: Ambassador. p. 45. ISBN 1929039174. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
12. Noonan, Tom (December 3, 1939). "Holy Cross Falls Before Eagles, 14-0: Boston College Flashes Form in Two Final Quarter Scores". The Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 15. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
13. "Strong Crusaders Favored Over Stahlmen Saturday: Klarnick Will Oppose Ayres on Mound in Return Match". TheCrimson.com. June 7, 1940. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
14. "Eleven Elected to College Baseball Hall of Fame". ESPN.com. Associated Press. April 10, 2007. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
15. Stylianos, John (July 18, 1978). "The Quick and the Dead". The Telegraph. Nashua, NH. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
16. "Annual Conference Standings". BoydsWorld.com. Boyd Nation. Archived from the original on June 25, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
17. "Nahigian Named to Replace Park". TheCrimson.com. July 7, 1978. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
18. "NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
19. "2014 Ivy League Baseball Records Book" (PDF). IvyLeagueSports.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
20. Monahan, Bob (April 19, 1990). "BC, Harvard Win as Beanpot Debuts at Fenway". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
21. "Baseball Beanpot History". GoNU.com. Northeastern Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on December 3, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
22. "Jack Butterfield Award". NEIBA.org. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 6, 2014.