Bob Heck

Softball

Bob Heck, “Mr. Georgia State Softball,” Has Passed Away

ATLANTA - Bob Heck, a name synonymous with Georgia State softball, has passed away at the age of 95.

Heck, then at the age of 85, retired from Georgia State in 2011, as the oldest head coach at the Division I level. At that time, he was in his 24th season as head coach after elevating the softball program to fast-pitch status in 1985. He finished with a career record 700-584-2, but that is only a small part of his story.

Heck began his association with Georgia State athletics in 1981 as a volunteer assistant coach with the Panther softball team, then playing slow pitch. In 1984, he served as the head coach of the slow pitch team, but the NCAA did not recognize this as a sport. In the spring of 1985, Georgia State began playing NCAA fast-pitch softball with Heck as its first head coach.

A Georgia Dugout Club Softball Hall of Famer, Heck was recognized as a pioneer of softball in the state of Georgia as his Panthers were the first NCAA-sanctioned fast-pitch program in the state.

He guided the fledging program from the New South Women's Athletic Conference (NSWAC) through its growth into the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC) and then the Atlantic Sun Conference before Georgia State moved to the CAA.

That first season, 1985, was Heck's only losing record in his first 10 years. By his fourth year, he produced his first 40-win team with a 42-20 squad (.677) in 1988. A year later, he had a NSWAC championship team. In 1990, he coached another conference championship team with a school record-tying 42 wins. 

By 1994, Heck had built a team that was ranked in the Top 25 in the nation and earned an NCAA Tournament bid.

Following the 1998 season, Heck retired for three years before returning to the dugout in the fall of 2001. The lure of coaching was just too much for him to stay away and when he returned, his Panthers didn't miss a beat.

Heck guided his Georgia State teams to six conference championships, highlighted by an NCAA Regional berth in 1994. He was named Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2006, when he led the Panthers to the conference's regular-season title in their first season in the CAA. He also earned Coach of the Year accolades in GSU's former home, the Trans America Athletic Conference.

During his tenure, more than 90 student-athletes earned first or second-team all-conference honors.

Born in Wheeling, W. Va., Heck was a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy. Following his military service, he earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and later added graduate degrees from Emory and Georgia State.

His career in athletics began as a teacher, head track coach and assistant football coach at Druid Hills High School in Atlanta. He also worked as a high school football referee for 25 years.

In 1957, he began a career as a national bank examiner with the Controller of the Currency office for 10 years. He moved on to the Federal Reserve Bank and worked there until retiring in 1991.

Georgia State's softball complex at Panthersville is named the Bob Heck Softball Complex in recognition of his generosity in the construction of the top-notch venue, which includes an indoor practice facility. Not only did he support his program and the University financially, he poured his heart into the program taking care of everything from laundry to mowing the field. Heck was honored with Georgia State's Sparks Award in 2005 for his service to the University.

Heck was inducted into the inaugural Georgia State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.

Details are not yet known on a memorial service but will be updated as soon as they are announced.

Bob Heck: So Much More Than a Softball Coach - This piece originally appeared on GeorgiaStateSports.com in 2010.
 
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