Cooke Named Recipient of CBI Inspiration Award
7/26/2013 4:51:00 AM | Baseball
2013 Tom Walter Inspiration Award Article
Coach Cooke Video Feature (YouTube)
RICHMOND, Va. – Davidson head baseball coach Dick Cooke was named as one of six recipients of CollegeBaseballInsider.com's 2013 Tom Walter Inspiration Award, the website announced Thursday.
The award recognizes examples of inspiration in college baseball and is named for Wake Forest coach Tom Walter, who donated a kidney to freshman outfielder Kevin Jordan before the 2011 season. Finalists were chosen by the staff of CollegeBaseballInsider.com and Walter.
"It's not the recognition you necessarily seek, considering the circumstances, but throughout this process and continuing daily, I have been humbled by the support I have received from everyone here at Davidson College, the town and the baseball community as a whole," said Cooke. "I have heard from countless coaches, past teammates and even umpires. Most importantly, an incredible level of thanks is owed to my family, which has done an amazing job trying to maintain a sense of normalcy as I continue to recover. I'd like to extend my thanks to the CollegeBaseballInsider.com staff for honoring me along with many other great people and examples in our game."
Other winners included Boston College director of baseball operations Pete Frates, llinois State pitching coach Bill Mohl, Minnesota pitching coach Todd Oakes and pitcher Jordan Jess, Northwestern infielder Cody Stevens, and the entire University of Texas-Pan American baseball team.
"It's our honor to shine a well-deserved light on an incredible group of student athletes and coaches," said Sean Ryan, co-founder of CollegeBaseballInsider.com, which has covered Division I college baseball since 2002. "Our winners, as well as the other finalists, have made a tremendous impact to their teams, and more important, their communities and beyond. We congratulate them and thank them for being an inspiration on and off the field."
In September 2012, Cooke was driving home from a recruiting visit when he was rear-ended on Interstate 77, forcing his car off the highway and into a wooded area. Cooke sustained multiple serious injuries, including bleeding on his brain, broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken right tibia, a broken right ankle and a broken right cheekbone. Despite a strenuous rehab regimen and lingering effects from injuries that often required him to use a crutch and continue to slow him to this day, Cooke returned to the dugout for the 2013 season to guide the Wildcats for a 23rd season.
No other coach in Davidson history has coached or won as many games as Cooke. Last July, Cooke was appointed as the Chair of the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee, where he is responsible for leading the committee's deliberations at the annual meeting and serves as the committee's spokesperson.
Ten of Cooke's Davidson players have been selected in the Major League Baseball draft. In the summer of 2008, Cooke made his second appearance in the Olympics with Team USA baseball in Beijing, where he served as an auxiliary coach for manager Davey Johnson. He also served as an auxiliary coach on Tommy Lasorda's staff that led Team USA to the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
