Hall of Fame
From 1971 through 1997 as the head coach of the Pitt-Johnstown baseball program, Mr. Ken Keiper accumulated 336 victories, spearheaded the drive to build an on-campus baseball facility, and tutored many outstanding players, including several who turned professional following their collegiate playing days.
In 1971, Mr. Keiper became the second head baseball coach in the program’s history and posted an impressive 182-152-2 record from that initial season through the 1983 season. When he retired in 1997, Mr. Keiper closed out his career with a 336-432-5 overall record.
Mr. Keiper, who also served several decades as Pitt-Johnstown’s intramural director, had several players go on to play professionally, including Ted Baird, Eric Dinyar, and Dave Hoff. In addition, former players Mike Gresik, Paul Leonard, and Hoff are currently members of the Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame, while Dinyar will be inducted this year along side his former coach.
Along with the on-field work, Mr. Kepier was appointed to the Division II Baseball National Committee in 1989 and chaired the North Atlantic Region, which consisted of schools from Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia. The following year, Mr. Keiper was named chairman of the 146-school NCAA Division II Baseball Committee, where he served as chairman for six seasons. During this time, Mr. Keiper was instrumental in establishing the National Tournament in Montgomery, Ala. For his efforts in Montgomery, former Alabama Governor Robert James made Mr. Keiper an honorary colonel in the Alabama National Guard.
Mr. Keiper also led a 15-year drive to build an on-campus baseball field after the original field was lost due to campus housing expansion in 1978. For those years, the Mountain Cats were forced to both practice and play at a handful of off-campus locations. Mr. Keiper’s efforts paid off, because on October 3, 1993, Pitt-Johnstown’s George R. Walter Field became a reality.
Mr. Keiper also made his name in the community as both a player and a manager in the Johnstown Junior League. Mr. Keiper played in Johnstown’s first National All-American Amateur Baseball Association (AAABA) Tournament in 1945, before managing teams for 13 seasons, where he won six league championships. In 1956, Mr. Keiper’s status rose even more as he led his Hahn Packing Company team to a National Runner-up finish in the AAABA Tournament.
Mr. Keiper and his wife, Lois, reside in Bolivar. The Keiper’s have three grown children Deborah, Bill, and Keith, and eight grandchildren.