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ALS claims Keith LeClair, former WCU player, coach
Keith LeClair, a Western Carolina Hall of Fame baseball player and coach, died Monday at his home in Greenville following an extended illness.
LeClair, 40, had been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, for the past five years.
The LeClair family will receive friends this evening (Thursday) from 5-8 p.m. at S.G. Wilkerson and Sons Funeral Home in Greenville. Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday, July 21, at Oakmont Baptist Church in Greenville.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the ALS Foundation, SPORTworks Ministry or The Pirate Club at East Carolina University.
“Obviously this is a tremendous loss for a lot of people, his family being number one,” said former teammate and current WCU baseball coach Todd Raleigh, who worked as an assistant under LeClair both at Western and East Carolina. “He left a legacy at Western Carolina and East Carolina that will never be forgotten.
“He will most be remembered for the lives he has touched,” Raleigh added. “I was his teammate, his assistant coach and friend so I know first hand just how many lives he affected in a positive way. Not only did he get me into coaching, but you can look all around the country at his former players who are now coaching. Most people are defined by what they do in terms of wins, honors, accomplishments and things like that. Keith is defined by the way he lived his life. He put his family and religion first and did everything else after that the right way.”
During his collegiate baseball career as a player, assistant coach and head coach at both Western Carolina and East Carolina, LeClair was part of 13 NCAA Tournament teams and earned five conference coach of the year awards.
LeClair and his family returned to Cullowhee on April 11, when his number 23 was retired, marking the first time the Catamount baseball program had ever bestowed such an honor.
LeClair came to Western in 1985 and helped lead the Cats to four consecutive Southern Conference championships. He ranks among the top 10 in six different WCU hitting categories. In 1988, he was named Most Valuable Player of the Southern Conference Tournament and was a first team all-conference selection. Also during the 1988 season, he established a school record with 101 hits.
After his playing days, LeClair signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves organization. After spending spring training with the San Francisco Giants organization in 1989, he returned to Cullowhee as an assistant coach, a position he held for three seasons.
When Jack Leggett left to become assistant head coach at Clemson in 1992, LeClair was named WCU’s head coach at age 25, making him one of, if not the youngest, head coaches in the nation. His first team won conference regular season and tournament championships and came within one game of advancing to the College World Series.
In six seasons as Western’s coach he posted a record of 229-135-2, led WCU to four NCAA Tournament berths and was league coach of the year three times.
LeClair compiled a 212-96-1 mark in five seasons as coach at East Carolina. He led the Pirates to four straight NCAA Regional appearances, three Colonial Athletic Association championships and one Conference USA title. He was selected the American Baseball Coaches Association’s East Region Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2001.
LeClair relinquished his coaching duties at East Carolina following the 2002 season. He remained with the ECU Department of Athletics as a special assistant to the director of athletics until the time of his death.
He was inducted into both the ECU and WCU Athletic Halls of Fame in 2002.
LeClair is survived by his wife, Lynn; two children, Audrey and J.D.; and his parents, Andy and Doris LeClair of Walpole, N.H.
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