FARMVILLE, Va. -- Longwood University baseball head coach Charles Buddy Bolding was recently inducted into the Milligan College Athletics Hall of Fame in Tennessee. A 1973 graduate of Milligan, he was a multi-event standout in track and field at the school located just minutes from Elizabethton and near the Tri-Cities region of Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol. Bolding set school records in the 440, pole vault, discus and javelin, and he posted an impressive 47.8-second outdoor 440 at the 1972 Davidson Relays.
“I feel very honored and humbled to be included with such a special group of people, including guys like Del Harris and Sonny Smith, at Milligan College,” said Bolding, who
recently announced that 2013 would be his last season at Longwood.
The following is an excerpt from the Milligan College Athletics Hall of Fame induction dinner on October 26.
After graduating, Bolding went on to earn a master's degree at UT and began what has been an illustrious 39-year coaching career to date. He cites his Milligan Track Coach, Duard Walker, as well as the overarching Milligan College experience, as the primary inspirations that led him to serve God and humanity through the ministry of coaching.
Beginning his career as a high school biology teacher and coach, Buddy's teams won cross country and baseball championships at Staunton River High School between 1974 and 1978. For the past 34 years, he has served as head coach of baseball at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, where his teams have an overall record of 927-516-4.
Along the way, his teams have advanced to NCAA regional baseball tournaments six times, and twice have played in the college world series. One of his baseball players, Michael Tucker, was the clean-up hitter on the 1992 U.S.A. Olympic team in Barcelona and later a first round draft pick who enjoyed a twelve-year major league career, appearing on the All-Star Ballot with the Atlanta Braves in 1997.
In 2009, Longwood University named its baseball complex Charles Buddy Bolding Stadium and Bolding's former players gave more than $100,000 in donations to establish the Charles B. and Andrea G. Bolding Scholarship.
Highly regarded by his players and peers, Buddy has served on many NCAA committees. He has been voted Virginia College Division Baseball Coach of the Year four times and South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year twice. Buddy has served on the Wesley Foundation Board of Trustees for his home church, Farmville United Methodist, where both he and Andrea, his wife of forty-four years, are members.
Buddy and Andrea have three adult children and two grandchildren.
Coach Bolding is shown above with Milligan College President, Dr. Bill Greer.
