TRAGEDY STRIKES AIC AGAIN 

Published by the Springfield Republican, Date: Sept 5 2003, Page C2, Sports Section, Author: Dick Baker

SPRINGFIELD - When Chuck Lelas accepted the head baseball coaching job at American International College in 1998, he said that he wanted his players to be "good people first, then good students, and then good players". 

Lelas, who died Tuesday at the age of 57 of a heart attack, followed his own example of "good people first" in a career that touched all the bases in Western Massachusetts. 

"I don't think there's a person that had a bad thing to say about him," AIC athletic director Bob Burke said. "He was a very well liked person around the college. He got along with all of us. There was a lot of respect for him." 

Lelas' impact on the area can be seen by his extensive experience in guiding and coaching students. An All-America baseball selection from Springfield College and a 1967 first-round draft pick of the New York Yankees, Lelas taught at Putnam Vocational High School, served as a guidance counselor at West Springfield High, was head baseball coach at Longmeadow High, was head coach of the girls basketball team at East Longmeadow, and held both the assistant and head baseball coaching posts at AIC as well as the head position at Westfield State. 

It was the third straight season that the AIC athletic department has suffered a tragic death.
 
Samuel Gil Alfaro of the men's basketball team collapsed at a practice and died last season. Baseball player Brendan Grant died from an off-season collision in the outfield during a Middlesex Senior Babe Ruth League game in 2001. Lelas was the AIC coach at the time. 

"I remember when Sammy died, Chuck pulled me aside and had some very special words to say to me, because he had it happen (with Grant)," AIC men's basketball coach Art Luptowski said. 

Assistant men's basketball coach Paul Scoville said that the mild-mannered Lelas was a mentor, someone who always had something positive to say. 

"He was a pure coach, and not just baseball," Scoville said. "I'd be able to talk to him about basketball. He was always able to get a point across in a very professional manner."
 
The stunned AIC baseball team came together for a meeting after hearing the news. 

"He never walked by anyone without asking them how they were doing," said assistant baseball coach Nick Callini of Westfield. 

Callini got to know the Lelas family when he played with Chuck Jr. at the Baystate Games. After graduating from Trinity College in 2002, Callini applied for the open assistant job at AIC, and was delighted to find that Lelas was the head coach. 

"He was dedicated to the game, and loved being around people," Callini said. 

Lelas had attended his daughter Jennifer's wedding last weekend. She and her husband Thomas Andreas Johansson were on their honeymoon in Sweden at the time of the death. 

"Thankfully, he got to the wedding to give his daughter away," Callini said. 

When Grant died, Lelas said that "he was the kind of kid you build your team around". 

As far as the AIC coaches are concerned, Chuck Lelas was the type of person to build your department around. 

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