For Dennis Vince, the love of sports runs in the family. Vince's father, Ray, played minor league baseball and scouted for various professional teams for 50 years. His middle son grew up playing and loving the sport as well, admiring how his father was able to help young players get a start. Eventually, Vince himself became a scout and worked for the Philadelphia Phillies for 3 years and for the Colorado Rockies for the past 22 years. Father and son even scouted together for several years.
Before scouting, though, Vince began establishing an impressive list of coaching credentials, building programs that focused on hard work, discipline, and responsibility.
Over the course of 35 years, Vince coached baseball for Franciscan University, the former Jefferson Community College, Youngstown State University, American Legion baseball and the Steubenville Stars.Â
During 12 Years as head basketball coach at what is now Eastern Gateway Community College, Vince's undefeated 1974-1975 team sparked a 33-game winning streak, leading to four conference and two state championships from 1974-1979. He also coached for several years at both the College of Steubenville and the Franciscan University.
In 2015, Vince served as an assistant coach for the Reese's College All-Stars Game that featured 20 of the top senior Division I basketball players. Along with former Barons head coach John Lamanna's coaching staff at Ave Maria University in Florida.
Vince is retired from Eastern Gateway Community College, where he served as a professor of engineering technologies for 33 years and worked part-time for 10 years in various departments. He and Linda, his wife of 43 years, divide their time between Wintersville and Florida. They have a son, Michael, who resides in Brooklyn, New York.
