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Former Assistant Coach Rick Down Passes Away
1/10/2019 9:51:00 AM | Baseball
Down coached at UNLV for six years and led the program to three NCAA Tournaments.
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – Rick Down, a former UNLV baseball assistant coach, died Saturday in Las Vegas. He was 68.
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Down coached at UNLV from 1979-84 under Rebel Hall of Famer Fred Dallimore. In his six years with the baseball program, the Scarlet & Gray posted six straight winning seasons and a total of 244 victories, including a team-best 53 wins during the 1980 campaign. The squad made the NCAA Tournament three times (1980, 1981 and 1984).
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Under his tutelage, the Rebels had three players earn First Team All-America status and nine drafted by MLB squads.
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"He had unbelievable knowledge and good teaching skills," Dallimore told to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Ron Kantowski. "But the biggest asset he had to me as a head coach was his loyalty. I only had two main assistant coaches of all the years I was in Vegas. Rick Down and Rod Soesbee. There wasn't much turnover. He was just a great baseball guy. Rick made us better."
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Down made his way to Las Vegas following an eight-year minor league career, which spanned 1969-78. The Michigan native, who was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1969 MLB Amateur Draft, played a total of 801 games with 629 hits and a .255 batting average. His playing career concluded in 1978 with stints with San Jose (AAA) and Stockton (A).
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Down returned to the professional ranks after his tenure at UNLV. He coached a total of 27 years at the major and minor league level. He spent time as a hitting coach with the Dodgers, Mets, Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees. For four years (1989-92), he served as manager for the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Yankees, and led the to three consecutive division titles and a franchise-best 95 wins in 1992.
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Down coached at UNLV from 1979-84 under Rebel Hall of Famer Fred Dallimore. In his six years with the baseball program, the Scarlet & Gray posted six straight winning seasons and a total of 244 victories, including a team-best 53 wins during the 1980 campaign. The squad made the NCAA Tournament three times (1980, 1981 and 1984).
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Under his tutelage, the Rebels had three players earn First Team All-America status and nine drafted by MLB squads.
Â
"He had unbelievable knowledge and good teaching skills," Dallimore told to the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Ron Kantowski. "But the biggest asset he had to me as a head coach was his loyalty. I only had two main assistant coaches of all the years I was in Vegas. Rick Down and Rod Soesbee. There wasn't much turnover. He was just a great baseball guy. Rick made us better."
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Down made his way to Las Vegas following an eight-year minor league career, which spanned 1969-78. The Michigan native, who was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1969 MLB Amateur Draft, played a total of 801 games with 629 hits and a .255 batting average. His playing career concluded in 1978 with stints with San Jose (AAA) and Stockton (A).
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Down returned to the professional ranks after his tenure at UNLV. He coached a total of 27 years at the major and minor league level. He spent time as a hitting coach with the Dodgers, Mets, Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees. For four years (1989-92), he served as manager for the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A affiliate of the Yankees, and led the to three consecutive division titles and a franchise-best 95 wins in 1992.
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