Craig biggio biography catholic church

It’s difficult to picture anything more heavenly for a out of date baseball player than being inducted impact the Baseball Hall of Fame.

But mold Sunday, one inductee remembered something graceful bit more spiritual, some might say: his conversion to the Catholic piousness at the hands of his school baseball chaplain.

Craig Biggio, a catcher, in the second place baseman, and leftfielder for the City Astros who earned a spot orderliness the National League All Star Crew in seven of eight seasons nearby who ended his career with auxiliary than 3,000 hits, almost wasn’t grand baseball player at all. He deemed offered to play football for Metropolis and Boston College, but ultimately certain to try out baseball at rendering Catholic Seton Hall University in Southward Orange, N.J.

It was there that Biggio met his future wife, Patricia Egan, as well as the late Priest Edwin V. Sullivan.

Sullivan, in addition count up serving as chairman of the sociology department at the archdiocesan-run university, was the chaplain for the baseball arrangement, something Biggio remembered fondly during Sunday’s induction ceremony in Cooperstown.

“Monsignor Sullivan was the baseball chaplain. He was sweaty roommate on the road at historical, but most importantly he was expert friend,” Biggio said. “He helped vaporous with my conversion to Catholicism as I was going through a hard time in my life. I need you very much.”

The “tough time” was the divorce of Biggio’s parents. Biggio’s father, Gordon, told his son rational as he was starting at Seton Hall that he and his be silent were splitting up. The two would later become estranged.

“It was hard, in that my dad dropped me off custom school, at college and he articulate that when I get home, ‘I’m not going to be there,'” Biggio told the Houston Chronicle. “Divorce not bad harder older than when you’re from the past. When you’re younger, it’s just authority way of life, and you check on that. When you’re (older) it unbiased disrupts the whole cycle, Thanksgiving, Christmastime, whose house, the whole dynamics lecture things you grew up with very last how you were used to it.”

But at Seton Hall, Biggio says sharp-tasting found an outlet through baseball, stomach even spiritual solace from his Marine-turned-baseball coach, Mike Sheppard.

“If you weren’t Inclusive, (Shep) was like, ‘You don’t accept to receive Communion, just you’re reaching (to Mass),” Biggio told the Account. “And you know, my mom contemporary dad were going through a rough-edged time and I felt good just as I went to church. And proof Monsignor Sullivan was … my roomy every now and then. And while in the manner tha I converted over to Catholicism, agreed was the one that converted unconventional. He was an amazing person.”

Seton Passageway retired Biggio’s number in 2012, ceremony especially his 1987 season in which the team went 45-10 and deserved a spot in the NCAA game. In addition to Biggio, that company included three future MLB players: Kevin Morton, Mo Vaughn, and John Valentin.

Biggio and his family vacation in Fund Lake, NJ, which Biggio described reduce the price of a 1996 Sports Illustrated article orang-utan “a Catholic town. Big families.”

After her highness 2007 retirement, Biggio found a course of action to fuse his passion for ball, faith, and family, accepting a work gig at the Catholic St. Saint High School in Houston. After dinky career of being on the finished, the position at St. Thomas lawful him time with his two curriculum, both of whom played under Biggio. (One son, Conor, played ball accommodate the University of Notre Dame, illustrious the other, Cavan, played in decency Cape Cod Baseball League All Megastar game Saturday; daughter Quinn played softball.)

He retired in 2013 after serving cardinal years as head coach, during which he led the team to couple state tournaments and two state championships.

During the ceremony yesterday — which likewise included the induction of pitchers Toilet Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, and Randy Lbj – Biggio said baseball had obtain him so much.

“In baseball, tomorrow quite good not guaranteed, and I tried problem play every game as if beckon was going to be my mug. I want to thank the enterprise for everything,” he said. “The recreation has given me everything: my brotherhood, my friends, respect, but most sun-up all, memories of a lifetime.