Baseball’s Bill Decker Earns NEIBA’s Butterfield Award; Joe Walsh Elected to NEIBA Hall of Fame
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Bill Decker, The Joseph J. O’Donnell ’67 Head Coach for Harvard Baseball, has earned the NEIBA’s Jack Butterfield Award, while former Crimson head coach Joe Walsh has earned induction in the NEIBA Hall of Fame, the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association announced on Friday.
Decker captured the Jack Butterfield Award, which is presented to an active or former New England coach who exhibits the integrity and dedication to the game of college baseball that coach Butterfield demonstrated throughout his career.
Decker has tallied 714 career wins as a head coach including 529 wins at Trinity from 1991-2012 and 177 victories at Harvard from 2013 to the present. A 2023 inductee into the Trinity Athletics Hall of Fame, Decker has coached 12 MLB Draft selections and helped the Crimson tally 51 Ivy League honors during his tenure at Harvard. Decker led Trinity to the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2008.
Walsh led the Crimson for 17 seasons from 1996 to 2012, totaling 347 wins, including 204 victories in Ivy League play. Walsh coached Harvard to five Ivy League titles and five NCAA appearances in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, and 2005. Prior to Harvard, he spent 15 years as the head coach at Suffolk University, tallying 222 wins.
The NEIBA will honor the Hall of Fame inductees and major award winners prior to the start of Monday’s 49th Annual New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Joe Walsh All-Star Game brought to you by On Deck Sports. The 2024 NEIBA Joe Walsh All-Star Game is set for 12 p.m. on Monday, June 3, at DD Park in Hartford, Conn. Rosters for the all-star game will be announced soon. Admission is free.
