This Tri-Cities CBC coach helped 12 players into the majors. But his legacy was much more
When news of Ed Maxwell’s death was shared on Facebook, the stories about the Columbia Basin College Hall of Fame coach started to pour in.
“It was overwhelming,” his son, Donnie Maxwell said. “People said he was their favorite instructor, or he was their favorite coach.”
The 87-year-old former Columbia Basin College baseball coach died Tuesday at home in Pasco.
He spent 29 years at the college, five as the head baseball coach, where he never had a losing season, led 12 players in the major leagues and helped shape the college athletics program for years to come.
Maxwell came to the college in 1966 from a successful career as a high school football coach at Center High School and Florence High School, both in Colorado, his son told the Herald.
Maxwell had a 21-9 record and second-place finishes in the East Region in 1967 and 1970, and his team finished third in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) playoffs in 1971, according to his profile on CBC’s Hall of Fame.
Among the players on the team to sign professional contracts was Arizona Diamondbacks first-base coach Dave McKay. He was an infielder for the Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays and the Oakland Athletics.
While Maxwell was disciplined as a coach, his players loved him, many staying in contact long after they left, said Donnie Maxwell.
“He really touched these guys’ lives,” he said. “There are so many kids that he’s touched their lives. The guy was loved.”
He didn’t stop at being a baseball coach.
Over the years, Maxwell was head coach for women’s basketball and men’s track, and the assistant golf coach and assistant football coach.
During his five years as the division head of the Health and Physical Education Department, he founded the school’s intramural program.
It was a program that Donnie and, his brother, Ronald, participated in.
“He was able to provide hundreds of students over the span of two decades with a chance to develop lifelong relationships,” said his obituary.
He retired in 1995 and was named a professor emeritus. He also was inducted into the Northwest Athletics Conference Hall of Fame.
Passion for sports
His son remembers the passion his dad had for sports. And though, the longtime coach wouldn’t bring up his teams, once someone started talking to him about it, he had many stories to tell.
Columbia Basin College’s Athletic Director Scott Rogers shared a similar tale. Rogers started at the community college two years after Maxwell retired, and saw him at the fitness center.
“He would talk about the days when he was coaching multiple sports and try to give us a little reflection on the history,” Rogers recalled. “He was just a gregarious guy and loved the students. ... He had nothing but great memories of his time coaching. He was just an all-around great guy.”
Even after retiring from the college, Rogers would often come around the baseball fields to watch practices.
He also made sure to support his children’s interests, as well. Donnie Maxwell remembers his father participating in a parent’s relay race during a swim meet.
“He anchored the relay, and (the parents) whipped everyone,” he said.
Coaching youth
Maxwell met and married his wife Arlene the year before he came to CBC. They had three children — a daughter, Sheri, and twin sons, Donnie and Ronald.
In addition to his professional coaching job, he spent hours coaching youth sports in the summer, including Donnie’s Little League team, which went undefeated, Donnie Maxwell recalled.
Coach Maxwell also was an avid golfer and would often be out at the Sun Willows golf course in Pasco. And he was a skilled woodworker and handyman.
The Maxwell’s backyard had a pickle ball and basketball courts and an in-ground pool.
“He just tried to give everything he could to his family,” Donnie Maxwell said. “He wasn’t flashy. ... I am really proud of what our parents did for us.”
He is survived by his wife Arlene, his children, and seven grandchildren.