Former NIU head baseball coach Darrel Black, 77, died last week at Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

A memorial service for Black was held on July 21 at the Jacobsen Funeral Home in Shabbona.

Black coached at NIU from 1956 to 1963. His won-lost-tied record was 90-108-3.

He coached two players who won All-America honors—Terry Dooley and Jack Merlet, as well as several Huskie Hall of Famers.

Bill Minnihan, a former NIU football and basketball coach, commented on Black’s love for what he did.

“He was just devoted to his job,” he said. “He was very serious and an excellent teacher.”

Minnihan also said Black was well-liked in his job.

“They (the kids Black coached) all loved him,” Minnihan said. “He was an all-around good guy.”

One of Black’s players, pitcher Fritz Peterson, spent 11 seasons in the major leagues, playing for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers.

In 1970, the high point of Peterson’s career, he won 20 games, had a 2.91 earned run average and played in the All-Star game.

Another player, Steve Land, followed in Black’s footsteps, becoming the head coach at the University of Wisconsin.

Black was born on March 13, 1916 in Barum, Iowa. He received his undergraduate degree at the University of Northern Iowa in 1937 and received his masters at Indiana University in 1940.

Black then served in the U.S. Army in World War II. He was also the 8th Armored Division’s athletic officer.

After the war, Black continued with his interrupted education, obtaining his doctorate from IU in 1953.

Black then went to Lock Haven, Pa. to become a baseball and basketball coach at Lock Haven University. He was also Lock Haven’s athletic director.

During his three years at Lock Haven, the university’s baseball team won two baseball conference titles.

Former NIU sports information director Hallie Hamilton, a contemporary of Black, remembers him fondly.

“He was a good coach. The kids really loved him,” Hamilton said. “Most of all, he was a good man to work with. He was a positive influence on my own work and my life as well as the kids.”