PROGRAM HISTORY

Year(s):                      Coach:                  Record:

1953                            Jack Kinder          7-3

1954                            Bob Madding      2-3

1955-1957                   Bob Murphy        10-18-1

1958                            Dave Gehler         12-8

1959-1964                   Bill Graham          57-58-1

1965-1967                   Don Bock             37-27-1

1969-1976                   Joe Plaskas          182-83-1

1977-1998                   Kirby Smith          539-196-7

1999-2012                   Jim Hawrysko     284-224

2013-                            Pat Wire

Coach Kirby Smith is the winningest coach in BHS baseball history.  Under his tenure, teams won the 1986 state championship, 1987 and 1988 state runner ups, a third place finish in 1998 and a fourth place finish in 1980.  In addition he won 6 sectionals, 9 regionals and 15 MSL north or MSL Championships. His 1978 squad remains the only team to ever be undefeated in MSL conference play with a 19-0 record.

Kirby’s American Legion teams won 875 games from 1968-1998 (875-423). This included seven state titles and coming in 3rd in the country in 1978. In addition there were fourteen (14) district, 9 division and 1 Great Lakes Regional Titles. Over 100 of his players have gone on to play college baseball.  Sixteen of those went on to play at the professional level playing at various levels of professional baseball, including MLB All Star and Seattle Mariners’ Hall of Famer Dan Wilson (1987), John Trautwein (1980), Boston Red Sox, and David Trautwein (1984), New York Mets (40 Man Roster). During his coaching career, he and his teams built the current freshman and sophomore fields and re-built the varsity field.

Kirby’s retirement in 1998 began the 14 year tenure of Coach Jim Hawrysko from 1999-2012. Jim is a Prosser HS (Chicago) graduate where he played for Coach Les Callas. He coached at Northeastern University, Illinois before coming to Barrington High School. Jim compiled a 284-224 record including 2 MSL Titles, 5 Regional, 2 Sectional 1 Super Sectional Titles and third place finish in 2005 that still holds the record with the number of school wins - 35. 

Many assistant coaches, staff and others have epitomized the Barrington Baseball program’s commitment to excellence including: under Coach Smith's tenure: David Engle, Jim Larson, Tim Rife, Tom Moony, Emil Rode, Jim Hicks, Rick Bremer, Jimmy Walsh, Eric Porter, Rob Holton, groundskeeper-Kermit Smiddy, Gene Dawson, Mike Gordon, Jack Knobloch, Bob Carpenter, Scott McKeever, Elliott Skorupa, groundskeeper-Steve Jenne, Al Kamradt, Eric Porter, Doug Schertz, Bob Lawler, Chuck Thorp, Scott Juhl, Mike Kallenbach, Joe Kelsch-dugouts, Chuck Dunn-dugouts and Bill Bajorat. Under Coach Hawrysko's tenure: Ray Piagentini, Les Callas, Tim Rife, Pat Wire, Eric Kuffel and Kevin Wisniewski.

The Barrington High School Baseball Committee created in 1990,  raised funds to improve the high school baseball fields. New bleachers were installed for the 1990 American Legion State Championship hosted in Barrington. The committee raised over $150,000 to install the Press Box, PA System, concession stand, underground sprinkler system, and the current Varsity Scoreboard. 

Founding Committee Members were Bill Holke (BHS-1971), Bill Raymond, Glenn Reed (BHS-1971), Chairperson Denny Coll, and Steve Welch. Other members were Bob Eckl (BHS-1984), Jim Franzese, Bud Pohlman (BHS-1967), Stan Wilson (Dan’s Dad), Kathy Boka, Blaine and Regina Schmalz, Leroy and Kathy Smith, Kathy and John Alley, Fritz Gohl, Marc Brignola, Joe Oliva, George Allendorf, Jim McQueen, Joe Armetta, Dan Boka, Karen Jensen, and Paul Tichy (BHS-1980).