STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College Softball Co-Head Coach Dick Bailey notched the 600th win of his esteemed career when the Monks swept Albertus Magnus College with 9-1 and 6-2 triumphs in New Haven, Connecticut on Sunday.
Bailey, who headed up the Monks for 11 seasons (1985-95), is now 600-380 (.612) during 29 years as a collegiate softball coach. Appointed as a co-head coach at Saint Joseph's prior to the 2013 season, Bailey was 244-101 (.707) in his first stint at SJC, added two wins at Westbrook College in 1996, and posted a 197-177 (.527) record in 13 seasons (1997-09) as the head coach at Colby College. In his current role, Bailey has accumulated a 157-84 (.651) record in nearly six full seasons while sharing the coaching duties with fellow Co-Head Coach Jamie Smyth '92.
Coach Bailey was appointed as the Monks' softball skipper in the fall of 1984, inheriting a team that was just 1-12 the previous spring. After enduring his only losing season at Saint Joseph's – the Monks went 6-15 in 1985 – Bailey guided the Royal Blue to a 22-7 record in 1986 and the program's first-ever conference championship with a 22-7 win-loss mark in 1988.
In 11 seasons (1985-95) as the SJC head coach, Bailey notched six conference championships, four NAIA New England Championships and one NAIA Northeast Championship, which resulted in the program's first appearance in the NAIA National Tournament in 1994. Bailey's Monks won 20 or more games nine times and broke the single-season wins mark six times while he was at the helm.
In 1992 Bailey was named the District 5 Coach of the Year and collected the same honor for the Maine Athletic Conference in both 1990 and 1995. Bailey originally came to Saint Joseph's in the fall of 1979 when he was hired as the College's Dean of Students, after having served 20 years in the United States Marine Corps, and worked in this capacity at SJC for 16 years (1979-95).
Coach Smyth, who served as an assistant on Bailey's staff for two years (1994-95) and joined his mentor for one season at Westbrook College (1996), also reached an important career milestone earlier this season. Smyth (512-329, .609), the winningest coach in team history, notched the 500th victory of his 21-year career when the Monks defeated Lasell College, 9-0, on Friday, April 13th in Newton, Massachusetts.
The NCAA provides clarification on co-head coach won-loss records, stating that both individuals designated with the "co" title earn credit for results:
Both coaches must be declared co-head coaches by the institution before the season begins OR at the time of a coaching change. Both co-head coaches will be credited with the team's won-loss record. (Information found on page 5 of the NCAA Statistics Policies and Guidelines document).
COACH BAILEY'S CAREER:
