Irish O'Reilly

Henry Marshall O'Reilly (Irish)

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• School Illinois State University
• High School Bishop McNamara High School

• Born September 13, 1944 in Kankakee, IL USA
• Died October 15, 2018 in Kankakee, IL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Irish O'Reilly made his name as head coach at Lewis University in Illinois, leading the club to a 982-771-8 record over 29 seasons from 1979 to 2007. At the time of his passing, he had the 8th-most victories by a head coach in NCAA Division-II history. He replaced Tom Dedin in the position and was replaced by Tim McDonough.

He led the team to the final game of the 1980 NAIA College World Series, ultimately losing to Grand Canyon College. He also led the club to the 1992 Division II College World Series, being eliminated after a loss to University of Tampa, and the 1994 Division II College World Series, eliminated after a loss to Florida Southern College.

Elected in 2008, he is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Lewis University retired his number 14 jersey in 2014. He won the ABCA/Wilson Lefty Gomez Award in 2018.

He also served as head coach at Kankakee Community College for four seasons, leading them to a 130-66 record and a spot in the 1974 NJCAA Baseball World Series (losing to Mitchell Community College). In addition, he served as head coach at Bishop McNamara High School.

Before his long coaching career, he pitched in the Boston Red Sox system from 1966 to 1968. In 72 games (12 starts), he was 12-11 with a 4.09 ERA. He slashed .238/.304/.286 in 42 at-bats at the plate.

Year-by-Year Coaching Record

Year	School	Overall Record	Conference Record	Notes
1979	Lewis University	35-18
1980	Lewis University	61-24		NAIA District Tournaments / NAIA Area Tournaments / NAIA CWS
1981	Lewis University	55-17	4-0	GLVC / Division II Regionals
1982	Lewis University	36-31-1	3-2	GLVC
1983	Lewis University	31-28	4-2	GLVC
1984	Lewis University	42-24-2		GLVC / Division II Regionals
1985	Lewis University	42-24-1	4-0-1	Division II Regionals
1986	Lewis University	42-26-1	15-3	GLVC / Division II Regionals
1987	Lewis University	36-26-1	11-3	GLVC / Division II Regionals
1988	Lewis University	46-19	14-4	GLVC / Division II Regionals / Division II CWS
1989	Lewis University	42-23	9-6	GLVC / Division II Regionals / Division II CWS
1990	Lewis University	49-14	15-3	GLVC / Division II Regionals / Division II CWS
1991	Lewis University	32-21-1	15-3	GLVC
1992	Lewis University	45-22	14-4	GLVC Division II Regionals / Division II CWS
1993	Lewis University	29-24	11-3	GLVC
1994	Lewis University	47-17-1	14-4	GLVC / Division II Regionals / Division II CWS
1995	Lewis University	38-22	13-5	GLVC / Division II Regionals
1996	Lewis University	46-16	21-7	GLVC / Division II Regionals
1997	Lewis University	31-23	18-8	GLVC
1998	Lewis University	22-27	10-15
1999	Lewis University	25-31	10-17
2000	Lewis University	34-26	14-13	GLVC
2001	Lewis University	25-29	10-16
2002	Lewis University	29-27	14-16	GLVC
2003	Lewis University	17-37	10-20
2004	Lewis University	16-39	10-29
2005	Lewis University	11-43	9-31
2006	Lewis University	10-46	9-39
2007	Lewis University	8-47	5-34

Further Reading

• Obituary
• Former Lewis Baseball Coach Henry “Irish” O’Reilly Passes Away
• ABCA Hall of Fame entry
• Disabato: Former Lewis baseball coach Irish O'Reilly made impact on his players beyond the field