Hall of Fame
Charlie Redd could hardly believe the message on the phone.
On the other end of the line was Coyotes Director of Athletics Dr. Kevin Hatcher, who just informed the one-time baseball All-American that he had been named to the Coyote Hall of Fame.
“Initially, I thought I was being pranked,’’ said Redd with a laugh. “I’m humbled to be honored and it’s wonderful to be remembered for a tremendous period of time in my life.’’
Actually, what Redd accomplished during his time at CSUSB was monumental. He became the first four-year letterman in the history of the sport and he helped put the Coyotes’ baseball program on the map when the ’Yotes reached the Division III College World Series in consecutive seasons (1990-91).
He capped his senior season earning All-American honors on the strength of a .381 batting average and earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Services.
He and his family (wife Colene, a CSUSB graduate; sons Chauncey and Courtney; and daughter Cydnee) reside in Columbus, Ga., where Charlie is the Deputy County Director for the Division of Family and Children for the state of Georgia.
“When I got to CSUSB, I was only 17 and playing with guys in their early 20s,’’ he said. “Looking back, it greatly helped in my development, both as a person and as a student-athlete, by paying attention and learning from others.’’
That Charlie would earn All-American honors in his final season of play is noteworthy when one considers he had just 35 at-bats combined in his first two seasons.
“I learned so much from my time at CSUSB,’’ Redd said. “Baseball is a reflection upon life. The elements of teamwork, trust, triumph, disappointment. Everything you find in your time as a Coyote, you find in life.
“In life, you have to find your sense of purpose. My home runs now are making sure children are safe.’’
Perhaps overlooked for an athletic scholarship due to the fact that he was 5-foot-7, Charlie thought CSUSB made sense in terms of both baseball and academics. His father was a guidance counselor at Fontana High School and worked with the former Coyotes’ coach Chuck Deagle at Fohi.
Said Deagle in a 1991 The Sun interview: “He’s so mentally tough. He’s so positive. He came to us as a freshman (and) he didn’t play much. But he’d go out every day and never complain.’’
