Former Motley and Staples-Motley high school coach Pat Held will be one of eight men who will be inducted into the Minnesota State High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Oct. 25 at the Ramada Plaza in Minneapolis.
He will be inducted with Pete Cheeley, St. John's Prep; Pat Collins, Chisago Lakes; Ken Mauer, St. Paul Humboldt; John O'Brien, Centennial; Terry Ryan, Minnesota Twins; Bob Weier, New Ulm Cathedral; and Bruce Woitas, Sleep Eye St. Mary's.
Held has coached full- or part-time for 45 years at a variety of amateur levels and plans to continue for the foreseeable future. He was an assistant and head coach at Motley before becoming head coach at Staples-Motley and later served as an assistant and head coach at Central Lakes College in Brainerd.
He coached in summer recreation programs in St Augusta, Motley and Staples with stints as Babe Ruth, VFW, and American Legion coach in all of those communities.
Held coached at and/or organized camps in River Falls, Wis., Staples, Motley, Nisswa and Brainerd, working with youths of all ages.
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He has spoken at coaching clinics and conducted sessions for youth coaches.
While on vacation visiting relatives, he has been a volunteer coach in two different high schools in Texas.
Held was also active in the amateur baseball ranks, playing for St. Augusta and Sartell and was player-manager of the Motley Mets, whom he guided to nine state tournament berths.
He also served two terms as president of the Hi-10 League.
Twice he has coached in the Minnesota High School All-Star Series. He was named District 24 Coach of the Year in 1988 and received the Dick Siebert Award from the MSHSBBCA in 2010.
The banquet will be at 7 p.m. at the Ramada Plaza Hotel, 1330 Industrial Blvd, Minneapolis. For ticket information contact Melanie Thompson at 218-296-1595.
