Legendary Coach George 'Buddy' Pellerin Dies at 77
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A coach even while he was still a student, George J. “Buddy” Pellerin spent half a century mentoring generations of Pittsfield youth.
Pellerin died on Monday after a career that included coaching stints at all three city high schools.
The Pittsfield native left a long coaching legacy at every level and in multiple sports, but he is perhaps most remembered as the head baseball coach at Pittsfield High, a post he held from 1964-82, leading the Generals to a state title in 1966 and two other trips to the state finals.
He later took Pittsfield’s and Taconic’s softball teams to state finals.
This spring, the city decided to name the varsity baseball field at Clapp Park in Pellerin’s honor.
Calling hours will be held Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Dery Funeral Home, 54 Bradford St., Pittsfield. A Liturgy of Christian Burial will be held Friday at noon at St. Charles Church in Pittsfield.
Born to the late George J. Sr. and Mary Tobin Pellerin in Pittsfield on Jan. 9, 1939, George Pellerin graduated in 1957 from St. Joseph High School, where he achieved all-Berkshire County recognition on the baseball diamond. A graduate of then-North Adams State College in 1962, he was called upon by the college to serve as player-coach his senior year, launching a 50-plus-year career of championship coaching.
While he was best known for his legendary coaching style that yielded countless come-from-behind victories, his impact was also significant in the classrooms of Pittsfield High School, where he spent nearly four decades motivating and educating students.
His imprint and achievements in youth sports are chronicled from 1959-2012 and include:
• 1959-1962: Coached Babe Ruth Youth Team (State Championship)
• 1964-1982: Coached Pittsfield High School Baseball Varsity Team (1966 Massachusetts Division I Baseball Championship; 1972 and 1974 - Massachusetts State baseball finals)
• 1971: National Area 1 Coach of the Year
• 1986-1987: Massachusetts Coach Hall of Fame Inductee
• Member of the UNICO Baseball Hall of Fame
• Member of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Hall of Fame
• 1996-2000: Coached Pittsfield High School Girls varsity softball team (three state finals); Coach St. Joseph High School Girls Softball Team; Volunteer Coach for Taconic High School Girls Softball Team (one state final)
• 1997-2000: Pittsfield High School Athletic Director
• Coached varsity football at all three of the City's high schools (Pittsfield High School, Taconic High School and St. Joseph High School). Also coached football at Cranwell Prep School
• 2000: Retirement from Pittsfield School Department after 38 years of service
• Post retirement volunteered as Little League coach (five years) and Babe Ruth All Stars team (many years)
• 2003: Dan Duquette, general manager of the Baltimore Orioles and former general manager of the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, appointed Coach Pellerin to establish the Dan Duquette Sports Academy inaugural youth baseball programs in the Berkshires.
• 2010: Coach Pellerin was named assistant coach of the Pittsfield Colonials, a baseball team in the independent Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball.
• 2012: Assistant Coach Babe Ruth All Star Team (State and Regional championship titles and competed in Babe Ruth World Series in Arkansas)
• Coach Pellerin ran summer baseball camps at the Boys and Girls Club of Pittsfield for 15 years with Tom Mooney, now a Major League Baseball scout who signed Ken Griffey Jr.
• Founder and coach of "Rip City Training Center" for softball and baseball in Pittsfield. Rip City granted numerous scholarships to youth for training at the center. Rip City graduates continued in High school, college and professional careers
The magnitude of Coach Pellerin's accomplishments on the playing field cut across generations throughout his five decades of coaching and resulted in inductions into the Hall of Fame at the local and state levels, regional championships and the famed 1966 State Championship. His life's proudest role, however, was as a devoted husband, father and grandfather.
In 1961, he married his high school sweetheart, Anne Matthews, who served as his tireless and dedicated caregiver throughout his long and difficult illness. He also is survived by their six daughters and sons-in-law.
The family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the fund to renovate Buddy Pellerin Field at Clapp Park.
More information is available in his obituary here.