A native of the Bronx, New York, Bob Koehler was the ace of the Lions’ pitching staff from 1960-62. Upon graduation, he held numerous Columbia and Ivy League records for decades, and his name still has an indelible mark on both record books.
In 1960, Koehler posted eight victories, tied for the program’s single-season record with a 1.11 ERA to earn team MVP and All-Eastern League honors.
The following spring, he dominated again, going 6-3 and posting a 1.04 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 77 innings, breaking both of his own team records from the previous season. In Ivy League play, he was even better, going 5-2 with a 1.31 ERA to achieve first-team Ivy League honors, guiding the Lions to a first-place finish among Ivy schools and second in the old Eastern League.
Throughout his time at Columbia, Koehler set new single-season Lions standards for wins, ERA and strikeouts and finished atop the career record board with 19 complete games, 17 wins, 253 strikeouts and 231 innings pitched. His strikeout total was an Ivy League record, which stood for more than two decades.
Koehler was signed by the New York Yankees in 1962, playing two years in the minor leagues before receiving his Master’s in Education from Columbia’s Teachers College. He then taught for 31 years at H. Frank Carey High School in Long Island. During the summer, he played summer ball in Canada and served as a batting practice pitcher for the New York Mets and Yankees.
He returned to Alma Mater in 1998 to join the coaching staff as a volunteer pitching coach, a role he held until his retirement in 2005.
