The Baron Club Dinner serves as the chief fundraising effort for the Franciscan Athletics Department in conjunction with the Community Relations office. The dinner helps support the Franciscan student athletes in their Academic and Athletic endeavors and funds major projects to benefit our athletes.
Previously named the Century Club, the Baron Club honors those from the Ohio Valley and Pittsburgh area who have made exceptional contributions to sport and the community. Previous honorees include Kaleena Davidson, Zach Collaros, Derek Wolfe, Frank "Digger" Dawson, and Gerald "Yonk" DiLoreto, though the complete list is long and impressive. This year the Baron Club is excited to honor Dick Riederer, Mike Haney, and Laurie Labishak.
Each year, the Baron Club is blessed with an extraordinary keynote speaker, with the likes of Jim Leyland, John Calipari, Jamie Dixon, and Lou Holtz once gracing the stage. This year we are excited to bring to the valley, Clint Hurdle.
Clint Hurdle Biography:
Clint Hurdle began his baseball career as one of the most coveted high school players in the country. This hype is highlighted by his draft position at ninth overall and making the cover of the March 20, 1978 Sports Illustrated cover page. After working his way up the minor league system, he played in 515 games over 10 seasons for the Royals, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals.
His baseball career exploded when he found his true calling of managing. Hurdle began managing clubs in 1988 within the Mets organization. In 1993, he joined the Colorado Rockies organization as a minor league hitting instructor. He worked his way up to the major league team as a hitting coach, and in 2002 was elevated to the Rockies manager after they fired their existing manger for a 6-16 start. Hurdle went on to lead a team that had finished at or near the bottom of the standings for many years to finishing over .500. He went on to bring that team to the 2007 World Series after the famed "Rocktober" push to make the post season.
After leaving the Rockies in 2009, he joined the MBL Network as a studio analyst before signing with the Rangers as their hitting coach the same year.
In 2010, he signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hurdle joined an organization that had not been to the postseason since 1992 and was on an 18-year losing record streak. Turning the club around took some time. His first two seasons with the Pirates were losing seasons to extend the streak to 20 years. His turnaround was complete in 2013 when he led the Pirates to the postseason and defeated the Cincinatti Reds in the Wild Card series. He brought the Pirates back to the post season in 2014 & 2015. 2019 was his final season with the Pirates. After the conclusion of his tenure with the organization he was the first manager to have a winning record since Chuck Tanner, the winning manager for the 1979 World Series. 3
Famed for his revolutionary style of coaching, after leaving baseball he has continued to make an impact on people he cares about. In 2009, he started sending a daily group text of encouragement to 12 close friends. Two months into the season, he was let go by the Colorado Rockies and stopped sending the messages. Six weeks later, he received a text from one of those friends asking how he was doing. He replied, "okay." She said, "Well I'm not. I haven't received a text from you in six weeks! You'd sign your texts with 'Make a difference today. Love Clint' and you're not making a difference, and I don't think you love me."
The next day, he started sending the texts again. Since 2009, the daily messages have turned into emails, and the group of 12 has grown to more than 7,000 subscribers.1
Hurdle has gone on to write a book of wisdom and phrases coined "Hurdle-sims". In his book Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball, he shares a collection of some of my most memorable stories, anecdotes, and quotes from years spent on the fields, in dugouts, and locker rooms across Major League Baseball.
Each chapter dives into the experiences, hope, and strength gained throughout his time as a player, coach, and manager in the big leagues. From his take on patience and focus—“Multi-tasking makes me multi-mediocre”—to timeless insights on humility, maintaining high standards, and celebrating others, the book inspires and motivates through his approach on sports and life.2
2011-Present Baron Club Speakers and Videos
