American Baseball Coaches Association Board member and Hall of Fame inductee Glenn "Bud" Daniel passed away over the weekend. Daniel first joined the association in 1953, just eight years after its inception, and was a 68-year continuous ABCA member.
Daniel spent 20 seasons as the head coach of the University of Wyoming baseball team and won a school-record 295 games. Daniel began his coaching career after serving as a fighter pilot in World War II. The book Cowboy Down: A WWII Marine Fighter Pilot's Story documents Daniel's military service and particularly the story of his Marine unit, VMF-114, a squadron of Corsair fighter pilots during the Battle of Peleliu. Daniel was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with two Gold Stars, the Purple Heart and the Navy Unit Citation for his service in World War II.
Upon returning from his service, Daniel completed his undergraduate degree at Wyoming while playing catcher on the team. Daniel compiled a three-year batting average of .486 before graduating in 1948. He was hired as Head Baseball Coach and the Athletics Business Manager in 1950.
During his two decades at Wyoming, Daniel guided the team to four Mountain States Conference Championships (1954-56, 1961) and one Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Division Title in 1966. He also led Wyoming to the school's only College World Series appearance in 1956. He also coached 15 first-time All-WAC selections, including one of his most famous pupils, Art Howe. Howe went on to play a decade in Major League Baseball before following in Daniel's footsteps as a coach & manager.
The book Lost Cowboys: The Story of Bud Daniel and Wyoming Baseball highlights Daniel's process to recruiting players nationally and playing one of the nation's most difficult schedules while building the Wyoming baseball program.
Daniel, the 1963 ABCA President, served on the ABCA Board of Directors for over five decades. He served as Chairman of the ABCA Board of Directors from 1992-1995 and was also a member of the ABCA Hall of Fame Veterans Committee. Daniel received the ABCA Meritorious Service Award in 1982. The award, which is presented to a person who has proven himself/herself in service to amateur baseball and whose actions and involvement have resulted in a notable impact on the sport, was given in honor of his many years of participation in the sport & ABCA as well as his contributions as coordinator of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Japanese Organization Committee for the 1964 Olympic Games and as a clinician at the U.S. Air Force Far East Command Baseball Clinics held in Hawaii and Japan.
In addition to the ABCA Hall of Fame, Daniel is also a member of the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame and the Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame.