FROM: The News and Tribune ~
By Mike Hutsell
Jeffersonville natvie Ernie Andres, a former Major
League Baseball player and head baseball coach
at Indiana University, passed away on Friday at
age 90 at his home in Bradenton, Fla.
A member of both the Indiana Basketball and
Baseball halls of fame, Andres was also
a graduate of Jeffersonville High School and IU
where he is a member of both schools’ respective
halls of fame.
Andres played both basketball and baseball for
Indiana University from 1937-39 and twice was
a recipient of the Balfour Award, which is
awarded to the school’s top athlete.
He was an All-Big Ten and All-American selection
in basketball in both 1938 and 1939 and is the lone
Hoosier to ever crack the professional ranks in
two sports.
Andres played professional basketball for the
Indianapolis Kautskys of the National Basketball
League and played 15 career games with the Boston
Red Sox in 1946 at the age of 28. His career in both
sports was interrupted by service in World War II.
As a coach, Andres was the longest-tenured baseball
coach in the history of IU, serving as the school’s
varsity skipper from 1948-73 where he accumulated
388 career victories.
“Ernie was a great coach of offense, and he taught us
the value of earning everything and not expecting to
have anything handed to you,” said former IU player
Stan Denny. “He was an intense coach, one who
knew the game.”
Former umpire Larry Sigler, who credits Andres for
getting him into collegiate games early in his career,
remembers Andres putting great efforts into building
a program .
“He really had to work to recruit against schools from
the south and against the best teams in the Big Ten
Conference,” said Sigler. “He was always committed
to making that school better. It was a challenge for him
that he loved being a part of.”
Andres also served as an assistant basketball coach
under Branch McCracken from 1949-58, winning the
national title in 1953.
http://www.news-tribune.net/sports/local_story_264022132.html
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See also Stats: http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/andreer01.shtml