Calvin Bailey

Calvin Lee Bailey

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 205 lb.
• School West Virginia State College
• High School Spencer High School

• Born April 8, 1943 in Newton, WV USA
• Died April 19, 2020 in Cross Lanes, WV USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Calvin Bailey reached AAA as a player and coached for 37 years at West Virginia State University, winning at least 17 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles.

He was all-WVIAC as a college senior. The Pittsburgh Pirates chose him in the 23rd round of the 1966 amateur draft. Bailey hit .240/.367/.370 as a first baseman for the 1966 Salem Rebels and struggled on the hill, going 0-2 with a 8.18 ERA and walking 17 in 11 innings.

Despite hitting better than pitching, Bailey was used full-time as a pitcher after that. He was 4-4 with a 2.78 ERA for the '67 Raleigh Pirates. Cal split 1968 between Salem (10-4, 3.38) and the York Pirates (1-3, 3.14). In 1969, Bailey was 4-5 with four saves and a 3.50 ERA for York.

The tall right-hander spent 1970 with the Waterbury Pirates (5-5, 3.88, 45 BB in 65 IP) and the Salt Lake City Bees (2-4, 5.62 in his AAA debut). In '71, he pitched for Salem (2-2, 5.25), Waterbury (1-1, 3 Sv, 2.70) and the Charleston Charlies (4 R in 5 IP). He was 29-30 with a 3.80 ERA for his minor league career.

Bailey became head coach at West Virginia State in 1978. His teams played in the 1999 Division II College World Series and 2005 Division II College World Series and he won 17 WVIAC titles in his first 31 seasons. He retired after the 2014 season.

Sources: WVSU bio, 1967 Baseball Guide