Alex Nahigian (April 3, 1919 – July 30, 2001) was an American college baseball and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and coach. He was the head baseball coach at Providence (1960–1978) and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(1979–1990), making a total of nine NCAA tournament appearances between the two schools. He also served as an assistant football coach at Brown and

Early life

Nahigian was born on April 3, 1919. Nahigian came from an Armenian background but was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended both Medford High School in

Medford, Massachusetts Medford is a city northwest of downtown Boston on the Mystic River in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 59,659. It is home to Tufts University, which has its campus alo ...

and St. John's Prep in

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the renowned beaches of Glo ...

Playing career

Nahigian played

and baseball at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

in Worcester, Massachusetts. An injury prevented him from playing football past his sophomore season, but he played baseball for College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Jack Barry all four years, captaining the team his senior year. After graduating in 1942, Nahigian worked as a teacher and a high school baseball and football coach in Rhode Island. He also played three season of minor league baseball from 1946 to 1948, appearing in the Class B New England League with the Pawtucket Slaters, Portland Pilots, and Providence Grays.

Coaching career

Football

After his baseball playing career was over, Nahigian started his collegiate coaching career as a football coach. He was an assistant at Brown from 1949 to 1972. He also served two stints as an assistant at

, 1973–1975 and 1978–1981.

Baseball

Providence

Nahigian was a successful high school baseball coach in Rhode Island in the 1940s and 1950s, and he was chosen to succeed Robert Murray as Providence's head coach for the start of the 1960 season. Providence then competed as an independent in the NCAA's District 1, which encompassed New England. In his fourth season, 1963, he led Providence to the program's first NCAA tournament. At the District 1 Regional, the Friars defeated Connecticut in the opening three-game series but fell to

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast ...

in the regional final. In his 19-year tenure at Providence, Nahigian led the Friars to five more NCAA tournaments and had an overall record of 221-173-2. His best season at Providence was 1973, when the team went 23-6-1 and appeared in its 5th NCAA tournament. At the District 1 Regional, the team dropped its opening game to Northeastern. It recovered in the losers bracket to beat Massachusetts and Northeastern to reach the regional final. There, it lost to

, 8-1. Nahigian was named the 1973 New England Coach of the Year.

Harvard

Nahigian replaced Loyal Park as Harvard's head baseball coach for the start of the 1979 season. Nahigian was a Cambridge native, attended high school near Boston, and had served as an assistant football coach at Harvard from 1973 to 1975. He was the unanimous selection of Harvard's search committee, largely due to his success at Providence. Nahigian spent 12 seasons at Harvard, leading the Crimson to three NCAA tournaments. The Crimson's three NCAA tournament appearances came at the Northeast Regional in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

after it won the EIBL title in each of those seasons. The program reached regional finals in 1980 (6-3 loss to St. John's) and 1983 (4-3 loss to Maine). In 1985, Harvard shared the EIBL title with Princeton but was defeated in a playoff and did not reach the NCAA tournament. In 1990, Nahigian's final season, Harvard participated in the first Baseball Beanpot, finishing as the runner-up to

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

. Nahigian was named the New England Coach of the Year in 1983, 1984, and 1985. In 1989, he received the Jack Butterfield Award.

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Nahigian's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahigian, Alex 1919 births 2001 deaths Brown Bears football coaches Harvard Crimson baseball coaches Harvard Crimson football coaches Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players Holy Cross Crusaders football players High school baseball coaches in the United States High school football coaches in Rhode Island Pawtucket Slaters players Providence Friars baseball coaches Providence Grays (minor league) players Baseball players from Cambridge, Massachusetts Baseball players from Rhode Island American people of Armenian descent Sportspeople from Cranston, Rhode Island