Bill Storrs - Assistant Coach - Baseball
After serving four seasons as head baseball coach at Prairie State College, Bill Storrs turned over the reigns of the Pioneers' program to son Bill Jr. in 2012.
And despite keeping a lower profile within the program, the elder Storrs still made major contributions during the 2012 slate, which concluded as the most successful regular-season in PSC baseball history.
Storrs produced an 88-107-1 career mark as head coach of the Pioneers.
In his first season as a PSC assistant, Storrs continued to put his thirty-plus years of coaching experience to good use, helping the Pioneers reach the 40-win mark for the first time in program history. Prairie State closed the 2012 schedule with a 40-13 record.
Storrs also lent a hand in helping several Pioneers earn post-season recognition as the team saw three of its players pick up NJCAA All-Region IV status while eight claimed All-Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference recognition.
PSC reached the 30-win plateau for the first time in the Storrs era in 2010, compiling a 34-23 overall mark.
The Pioneers finished with a 12-30 mark in 2009 and 16-24 record in 2008.
The Pioneers also found themselves just one win shy of claiming an NJCAA Region IV Sectional title following a pair of wins in the sectional tournament, one of which was a 20-4 victory over Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference rival Elgin.
Prairie State is not the first collegiate head-coaching position for Storrs either as he ran the Trinity Christian College baseball program from 1988-96.
Storrs' time at Trinity Christian was spent as both the associate head coach (1988-94) and as head coach (1995-96). During his entire tenure with the Trolls, he also was the lead recruiter.
As the associate head coach, Storrs was the third base coach, hitting coach and fielding instructor for catchers and infielders. Besides improving from eight wins to 20 in a two-year span, Trinity also sent its first player to the professional ranks when Bob Schaaf was inked to a contract.
Storrs experienced success as the Trolls' head coach, recording 20-plus wins, defeating St. Xavier and St. Francis for the first time in team history and advancing to the conference tournament.
In 1980 Storrs founded the Crestwood Panthers Amateur Baseball Team and assumed the role of head coach. Storrs continues to direct the Crestwood program today.
When the Panthers were created three decades ago, they were primarily a local park district team. Today, Crestwood, which is comprised of current and former collegiate players along with ex-professionals, ranks among the elite amateur teams in the country. In 2006, the Panthers enjoyed their most successful season, earning the No. 2 ranking in the country by the National Semi-Professional Baseball Association and capturing both the Northern Illinois Wood Bat League and the Chicago Stan Musial Wood Bat League en route to compiling a 43-16 overall record. Crestwood took third at the 2007 National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series in Wichita, Kan., and followed that with a No. 10 showing at the tournament the following year before placing fifth last summer.
Crestwood also appeared in the NBC World Series in 1989 and 1999, ranking sixth and seventh, respectively. Furthermore, the Panthers claimed a pair of Chicago Suburban Baseball League crowns in 1999 and 2001.
In recognition of his team's accomplishments, Storrs was inducted into the Chicago Suburban Baseball League Hall of Fame in February 2009, and he was named as the NBC Coach of the Year and recipient of the Sportsmanship Award in 1996.
Along with coaching, Storrs, a Richards High School product who played collegiately at Lewis University, is the president of Storrs Insurance Agency, which he founded in 2000. Prior to starting up that company, he was an agent for Allstate Insurance for 20 years and received the organization's Most Distinguished Sales Leader on 15 occasions.
Storrs and his wife Kathleen have three children, including son Tim, who played at PSC during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, before finishing his career at Roosevelt University. They reside in Palos Heights.
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