Chuck Brayton

Frederick Charles Brayton (October 20, 1925 – March 28, 2015), usually known as Chuck Brayton or Bobo Brayton, was an American college baseball head coach; he led the Washington State Cougars for 33 seasons, from 1962 to 1994.[1] He is the winningest coach in school history, with a record of 1,162 wins, 523 losses and eight ties—the fourth-best total in NCAA history at the time he retired.[2]

Chuck Brayton
Biographical details
BornOctober 20, 1925
Vancouver, Washington
DiedMarch 28, 2015 (aged 89)
Pullman, Washington
Alma materWashington State, 1950
Playing career
1944, 1946–1948Washington State
Position(s)Infielder
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1951–1961Yakima Valley JC
1962–1994Washington State
Head coaching record
Overall1162–523–8 (.689) (WSU)
Chuck Brayton
Allegiance United States
Service/branch U.S. Army Air Forces
Years of service1944–1945

His Cougar teams won 21 conference titles (two Northern Division and 19 Pac-8/10), including 11 in a row from 1970 to 1980. He led the Cougars to the College World Series in 1965 and 1976, and was the fifth baseball head coach in NCAA history to exceed a thousand wins.[3] Win number 1,000 came in 1990 in his 29th season, at home on April 11,[4][5] and he coached four more years.[6]

Brayton was a three-sport varsity athlete at Washington State and played shortstop in 1944 for interim coach Jack Friel and from 1946 to 1948 for Buck Bailey;[1] he was named the school's first baseball All-American in 1947.[7] As an incoming freshman in September 1943, Brayton hitchhiked across the state to Pullman from Skagit County in northwestern Washington.[8][9] After his freshman year, he served 18 months in the Army Air Forces.[1][10] His #14 jersey was retired by the school in 2003,[11][12][13][14] and he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.[2][15]

Bailey–Brayton Field, the Cougars' home stadium since 1980, is named for Brayton and his predecessor, Buck Bailey (1896–1964).[16] When the old field was displaced by the new Mooberry track, Brayton constructed the new stadium on a budget, using items salvaged from Sick's Stadium in Seattle, as well as donated materials and volunteer labor.[8][9] Formerly "Buck Bailey Field," Brayton's name joined his mentor's in January 2000.[17]

Prior to coaching at WSU, Brayton was the head coach for over a decade at Yakima Valley Junior College,[18][19] and also its head football coach for five seasons.[20][21] He had a record of 251–68 (.787) in 11 seasons at Yakima and won ten championships.[9] While at Yakima, a line drive nearly killed him and he was hospitalized for a month; he wore a helmet the rest of his coaching career.[1][22]

In declining health in his later years, Brayton died at age 89 at his Pullman home in 2015,[23][24][25] and was buried at the city cemetery.

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Washington State Cougars (AAWU/Pac-8/Pac-10) (1962–1994)
1962 Washington State 18-12-18-53rd (North)
1963 Washington State 24-87-73rd (North)
1964 Washington State 31-910-62nd (North)
1965 Washington State 33-814-41st (North)College World Series
1966 Washington State 35-8-115-11st (North)NCAA Regional
1967 Washington State 22-107-66th (North)
1968 Washington State 29-911-73rd (North)
1969 Washington State 27-158-13t-6th (North)
1970 Washington State 30-11-19-61st (North)Pac-8 Tournament
1971 Washington State 34-157-81st (North)Pac-8 Tournament
1972 Washington State 29-1314-4t-1st (North)Pac-8 Tournament
1973 Washington State 40-1515-31st (North)Pac-8 Tournament
1974 Washington State 38-914-4t-1st (North)
1975 Washington State 33-1813-51st (North)NCAA Regional
1976 Washington State 43-1516-21st (North)College World Series
1977 Washington State 39-1714-41st (North)NCAA Regional
1978 Washington State 41-1715-31st (North)NCAA Regional
1979 Washington State 40-1112-31st (North)Pac-10 Tournament
1980 Washington State 36-10-211-31st (North)Pac-10 Tournament
1981 Washington State 27-25-111-7t-2nd (North)
1982 Washington State 34-1616-8t-1st (North)
1983 Washington State 40-16-116-82nd (North)
1984 Washington State 41-2015-6t-1st (North)NCAA Regional
1985 Washington State 45-2216-81st (North)Pac-10 North Tournament
1986 Washington State 35-2411-124th (North)Pac-10 North Tournament
1987 Washington State 44-1918-61st (North)NCAA Regional
1988 Washington State 52-1418-41st (North)NCAA Regional
1989 Washington State 37-2016-81st (North)Pac-10 North Tournament
1990 Washington State 48-1919-51st (North)NCAA Regional
1991 Washington State 37-2514-61st (North)Pac-10 North Tournament
1992 Washington State 31-23-116-142nd (North)
1993 Washington State 34-2416-13t-3rd (North)
1994 Washington State 35-2611-195th (North)
Washington State: 1162-523-8423-218
Yakima Valley JC: 251-68(1951-1961)
Total:1413-591-8

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

References
  1. Stalwick, Howie (April 25, 2012). "WSU's Bobo Brayton: 'Old-school dude' larger than life". Kitsap Sun. Bremerton, Washington. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
  2. "Ex-Cougars honored in college baseball Hall of Fame". Seattle Times. Associated Press. April 11, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  3. Clark, Bob (April 27, 1990). "This Cougar's still on prowl". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1C.
  4. Stalwick, Howie (April 12, 1990). "WSU's Brayton wins 1,000th game". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
  5. Schulte, Chris (April 12, 1990). "Bobo gets 1,000". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1C.
  6. Miedema, Laurence (May 19, 1994). "Bobo era: It's all over Friday". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1D.
  7. Stalwick, Howie (Feb 5, 1990). "Admirers salute venerable Brayton". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. C1.
  8. Goodwin, Dale (April 22, 1979). "Bobo: from hitchhiker to legend". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C6.
  9. "A winner in Pullman". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. April 1, 1980. p. 4C.
  10. Fry, Dick (May 1994). "Brayton leaves unparalleled legacy at WSU". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 2, End of an Era.
  11. "Brayton's treasured #14 to be retired May 24". Washington State University Athletics. May 18, 2003. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  12. Missildine, Harry (May 26, 2003). "WSU retires Brayton's No. 14". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1B.
  13. Norris, Stephen A. (May 25, 2003). "Cougs crush UCLA". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 5B.
  14. Caraher, Pat (Fall 2003). "Brayton has his day in the sun, as WSU retires his number". Washington State. (alumni magazine). Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  15. "Eleven elected to College Baseball Hall of Fame". ESPN. Associated Press. April 10, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  16. "Buck Bailey, wife die in smash". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 28, 1964. p. 1.
  17. Blanchette, John (January 23, 2000). "All the right tools". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
  18. "Chuck Brayton seeks meal from hand that fed him". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 30, 1962. p. 17.
  19. Price, Jim (March 21, 1965). "Cougars have experience, winning habit in baseball". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 3, sports.
  20. "Brayton is named to succeed Bailey". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). April 20, 1961. p. 39.
  21. "WSU's Bobo says bye-bye". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). January 15, 1994. p. 1D.
  22. Brown, Bruce (March 10, 1977). "Brayton 'slow changer'". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 28.
  23. Underwood, Roger (April 6, 2015). "WSU coaching legend Brayton dies at 89". Yakima Herald. (Washington). Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  24. "Bobo Brayton, longtime WSU baseball coach, dies". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 28, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  25. Stalwick, Howie (March 28, 2015). "Cougars' coaching legend Bobo Brayton dies". Sports Press Northwest. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
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