Baseball coach and former Cedar Rapids Reds player dies in clubhouse after game

Baseball coach and former Cedar Rapids Reds player dies in clubhouse after game April 15, 2008

Posted by John in Biography, Sports.
Tags: Baseball, Cedar Rapids Reds, Emil Drzayich
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[Emil] Drzayich, a longtime baseball figure in the Treasure Valley and the assistant baseball coach at Eagle for the past 10 years, died in the Eagle Yard clubhouse after Friday night’s game against Boise. He was 53. The cause of death has not been released. Services are pending, under the direction of Summers Funeral Homes, Ustick Chapel.

“If you could pick a place for that man to pass, it would be in a clubhouse,” said Eagle coach Frank Wright, a longtime friend who was at Drzayich’s side when he collapsed. “He had great compassion for baseball and love for the game. Our kids absolutely loved him.” …

Drzayich grew up in Mingo Junction, Ohio, and played at Ohio University, where he broke major league Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt’s career home run record. He later played professionally for the Boise Buckskins and the Cincinnati Reds’ affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.