By Andy Walter

WILMINGTON — Chuck Coker has always been proud to be Ed Coker’s son.

Coker knows how much his dad is respected around Delaware for the endless hours he’s devoted to helping kids play baseball at Dover Little League.

“I’ve never met one person who said a bad thing about my dad,” said Chuck.

So it was a proud moment for the former Dover High standout when he followed his dad into the Delaware Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Wednesday night.

The 63-year-old Coker was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with seven other inductees, during the Wilmington Blue Rocks’ game at Frawley Stadium.

Also among the people honored were Smyrna native Biff Newnam, the retired long-time Little League administrator, and Middletown native Pedro Swann, Jr., who was a standout at Delaware State.

Ed Coker went into the Hall of Fame in 2004.

“It’s a great honor, especially with my dad being in as well,” said Chuck, who now lives in Downingtown, Pa.. “I’m not sure how many other father-son tandems are in but it’s really cool.”

Not surprisingly, it was the elder Coker who first got his son interested in baseball.

Chuck Coker was a standout first baseman a the University of Delaware between 1979-82. UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE PHOTO.

In those days, Dover Little League was still playing at its complex in the middle of town. Later, it moved to its former fields on Horse Pond, Rd.

“Playing for my dad, that was always a special memory,” said Coker. “My dad always coached.

“There were a lot of good friends. I got to play with the same guys in high school so it was really fun.”

Seaford’s Bob Vantrease, who went into the Hall of Fame in ‘22, probably saw Coker play baseball as much as anyone.

The two went from Little League and high school rivals to teammates and roommates at the University of Delaware.

Vantrease just remembers how Coker seemed a little older and stronger than the rest of the kids when they were little.

“He was just so competitive and a student of the game,” said Vantrease. “His technique — he was just so polished at first base. He was just unbelievable.

“He was a man playing with boys back in high school and Little League.”

A Little League all-star in all 12 years that he played in the organization, Coker helped Dover reach the Major League Eastern Regional before falling a couple wins shy of the World Series in Williamsport, Pa.

But Coker always seemed to be playing on good teams.

At Dover High, the Senators won back-to-back Henlopen Conference titles in 1977-78. As a senior in ‘78, Coker batted .380 and made All-State.

Dover's Chuck Coker helped the Blue Hens win three East Coast Conference titles in four seasons. SUBMITTED PHOTO FROM CHUCK COKER.

At Delaware, the Blue Hens posted 30-plus victories in each of Coker’s four seasons (1979-82) and won three East Coast Conference crowns with three NCAA Tournament appearances.

Coker ranked among Delaware’s all-time career leaders for RBI (10th with 163), walks (16th with 100), hits (18th with 234), and games played (17th with 193).

“He was such a good hitter,” said Vantrease. “He was a hard out to get.

“He was a good pitcher,” Vantrease added. “He definitely shut us out one year at Seaford. He moved the ball around really well. I just remember looking at a third strike.”

A three-sport athlete at Dover, Coker was also a highly-regarded linebacker on the Senators’ 1977 Division I state championship football team.

After college, Coker earned MVP honors in the All-American Amateur Baseball Association in Baltimore and also played in the Cape Cod League.

Coker would have loved to have won some more championships and gotten a chance to play professionally, of course. That’s every athlete’s dream.

“It kind of got me a little bit there for a while,” he said. “I played with a lot of great ballplayers that never got a chance. I’m not sure why, back in the day.

“It seemed to be less opportunities back then. But, yeah, there were a lot of great ballplayers who never got the chance to go to the next level. But, the guys who did, hats off to them.”

In the end, Coker said he doesn’t have anything to complain about.

A development manager in real estate, he coached his three daughters in softball — all three of whom ended up playing in college. The youngest, Caitlin, was an academic All-American on Boston University’s nationally-ranked squad this spring.

Playing baseball left him with a lot of good memories and a lot of good friends.

“I‘ve had a great life and really enjoyed playing ball for sure,” said Coker. “Bob Vantrease and (former UD player) Mike Stanek both got in (the Hall of Fame) like two years ago. So I went to their ceremonies and you catch up with guys that you haven’t seen in a long time.

“It’s good to be part of the club, absolutely, I’m not going to lie.”