MACOMB, Ill. - The college baseball world was saddened on September 5 when former Albright College baseball coach Stan Hyman died in the early morning hours. Hyman, who coached at Albright from 1994-98, lost his long battle with cancer at the age of 50.

Hyman is survived by his wife Robin and children, Cara, 22, Mychal, 18, and Jordan, 11.

Hyman, who served as the head coach at Western Illinois College since 2002, was named head coach of the Lions in 1994. During his tenure at Albright, Hyman compiled a record of 116-59-1, to make him the all-time winningest baseball coach in program history.

Prior to taking over the Lions, Hyman served as the team's pitching coach from 1992-94. In just three seasons, Hyman transformed Albright's bullpen into one of the best in the nation. Following the 1993 season, the Lions' pitching staff ranked seventh in the nation with an ERA of 2.70. Amongst his many responsibilities at Albright, Hyman also served as the college's Sports Information Director. 

“Stan was a very successful coach and did many different things within the athletic department. He was very high energy, and had a one of a kind personality,” said Sally Stetler, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and who was the Athletic Director during Hyman's time at Albright. 

Following his time at Albright, Hyman took over his final Division III program at Rutgers University at Newark. Prior to his departure for Western Illinois in 2002, Hyman led Rutgers-Newark to a 12th-place national ranking, and the longest winning streak in any NCAA division after starting the season with 17 consecutive victories. 

At Western Illinois, Hyman served as head coach for the Leathernecks for eight seasons. He won his 350th career game against Centenary on May 16 and has recorded some of his proudest victories over nationally-ranked opponents such as Long Beach State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Iowa, Kansas State, Michigan State, Illinois-Chicago and Oral Roberts during his tenure at Western. 

Three times in his 15-year head coaching career Hyman was selected as coach of the year. Hyman came to Western as the 39th winningest active coach in NCAA Division III, with an overall record of 178-106-1 (.624). 

Prior to his coaching career, Hyman was a press agent from 1982-85, representing professional athletes such as boxer Roberto Duran and football great Bubba Smith. As president of the Los Angeles-based Hyman & Associates, he also represented recording artists, including Al Jarreau and Kim Carnes. 

A former sportswriter and music columnist, Hyman's work has appeared in such publications as Rolling Stone, Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Interview and Dallas Morning News. 

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Stan Hyman Memorial Scholarship Fund can send their contributions to Western Illinois University, 1 University Circle, 103 Western Hall, Macomb, IL 61455.