Baseball Mourns the Passing of Bob Koehler '62CC, 65TC
1/25/2018 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
NEW YORK – Former Columbia baseball standout and assistant coach Bob Koehler '62CC, '65TC passed away December 12, 2017, after a long-time battle with Alzheimer's disease.
“Bob was a special man, a proud Lion, and someone who will be dearly missed but remembered fondly in spirit by the teams that played with him and were coached by him,” said Tim Murray '04CC, a former player under Koehler.
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A native of the Bronx, New York, Koehler was the ace of the Lions' pitching staff from 1960-62. Upon graduation, he held Columbia's record for career strikeouts (253) and ERA (2.02) and currently ranks second and third, respectively, in those categories. 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. He followed that up with 90 punch outs and a 1.04 ERA the following season.
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 2005.
Koehler is survived by his wife, Shan Bradley Koehler; three children and their spouses, Catherine and Greg Lowe, Michael Koehler and Kimberly Dukes, Christopher Koehler and Dede Clapp; four grandchildren Austin, Cameron and Jeffrey and Douglas Lowe; and his brother Edward.
