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Chuck Brayton

Biographical details
Born	October 20, 1925 Vancouver, Washington, U.S.
Died	March 28, 2015 (aged 89) Pullman, Washington, U.S.
Alma mater	Washington State, 1950
Playing career
1944, 1946–1948	Washington State
Position(s)	Infielder
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1951–1961	Yakima Valley JC
1962–1994	Washington State
Head coaching record
Overall	1,162–523–8 (.689) (WSU)
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	U.S. Army Air Forces
Years of service	1944–1945

Frederick Charles Brayton (October 20, 1925 – March 28, 2015), usually known as Chuck Brayton or Bobo Brayton, was an American college baseball head coach; he led the Washington State Cougars for 33 seasons, from 1962 to 1994. He is the winningest coach in school history, with a record of 1,162 wins, 523 losses and eight ties—the fourth-best total in NCAA history at the time he retired.

His Cougar teams won 21 conference titles (two Northern Division and 19 Pac-8/10), including 11 in a row from 1970 to 1980. He led the Cougars to the College World Series in 1965 and 1976, and was the fifth baseball head coach in NCAA history to exceed a thousand wins. Win number 1,000 came in 1990 in his 29th season, at home on April 11, and he coached four more years.

Brayton was a three-sport varsity athlete at Washington State and played shortstop in 1944 for interim coach Jack Friel and from 1946 to 1948 for Buck Bailey; he was named the school's first baseball All-American in 1947. As an incoming freshman in September 1943, Brayton hitchhiked across the state to Pullman from Skagit County in northwestern Washington. After his freshman year, he served 18 months in the Army Air Forces. His #14 jersey was retired by the school in 2003, and he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Bailey–Brayton Field, the Cougars' home stadium since 1980, is named for Brayton and his predecessor, Buck Bailey (1896–1964). When the old field was displaced by the new Mooberry track, Brayton constructed the new stadium on a budget, using items salvaged from Sick's Stadium in Seattle, as well as donated materials and volunteer labor. Formerly Buck Bailey Field, Brayton's name joined his mentor's in January 2000.

Prior to coaching at WSU, Brayton was the head coach for over a decade at Yakima Valley Junior College, and also its head football coach for five seasons. He had a record of 251–68 (.787) in 11 seasons at Yakima and won ten championships. While at Yakima, a line drive nearly killed him and he was hospitalized for a month; he wore a helmet the rest of his coaching career.

In declining health in his later years, Brayton died at age 89 at his Pullman home in 2015, and was buried at the city cemetery.

Head coaching record

See also

• List of college baseball career coaching wins leaders

References

1. ^ Stalwick, Howie (April 25, 2012). "WSU's Bobo Brayton: 'Old-school dude' larger than life". Kitsap Sun. Bremerton, Washington. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2014.
2. ^ "Ex-Cougars honored in college baseball Hall of Fame". Seattle Times. April 11, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
3. Clark, Bob (April 27, 1990). "This Cougar's still on prowl". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1C.
4. Stalwick, Howie (April 12, 1990). "WSU's Brayton wins 1,000th game". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D1.
5. Schulte, Chris (April 12, 1990). "Bobo gets 1,000". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 1C.
6. Miedema, Laurence (May 19, 1994). "Bobo era: It's all over Friday". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1D.
7. Stalwick, Howie (February 5, 1990). "Admirers salute venerable Brayton". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). p. C1.
8. ^ Goodwin, Dale (April 22, 1979). "Bobo: from hitchhiker to legend". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C6.
9. ^ "A winner in Pullman". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. April 1, 1980. p. 4C.
10. Fry, Dick (May 1994). "Brayton leaves unparalleled legacy at WSU". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 2, End of an Era.
11. "Brayton's treasured #14 to be retired May 24". Washington State University Athletics. May 18, 2003. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
12. Missildine, Harry (May 26, 2003). "WSU retires Brayton's No. 14". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). p. 1B.
13. Norris, Stephen A. (May 25, 2003). "Cougs crush UCLA". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 5B.
14. Caraher, Pat (Fall 2003). "Brayton has his day in the sun, as WSU retires his number". Washington State. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
15. "Eleven elected to College Baseball Hall of Fame". ESPN. Associated Press. April 10, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
16. "Buck Bailey, wife die in smash". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 28, 1964. p. 1.
17. Blanchette, John (January 23, 2000). "All the right tools". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
18. "Chuck Brayton seeks meal from hand that fed him". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 30, 1962. p. 17.
19. Price, Jim (March 21, 1965). "Cougars have experience, winning habit in baseball". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 3, sports.
20. "Brayton is named to succeed Bailey". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). April 20, 1961. p. 39.
21. "WSU's Bobo says bye-bye". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). January 15, 1994. p. 1D.
22. Brown, Bruce (March 10, 1977). "Brayton 'slow changer'". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 28.
23. Underwood, Roger (April 6, 2015). "WSU coaching legend Brayton dies at 89". Yakima Herald. (Washington). Retrieved January 5, 2016.
24. "Bobo Brayton, longtime WSU baseball coach, dies". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). March 28, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
25. Stalwick, Howie (March 28, 2015). "Cougars' coaching legend Bobo Brayton dies". Sports Press Northwest. Retrieved January 5, 2016.

External links

• College Baseball Hall of Fame website Archived 2019-04-23 at the Wayback Machine
• Video of induction speech
• Yakima Valley Community College Athletics Hall of Fame
• Baseball Essentials – Remembering Chuck "Bobo" Brayton (1925–2015)
• Obituary

• 1925 births
• 2015 deaths
• All-American college baseball players
• National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
• Sportspeople from Vancouver, Washington
• Washington State Cougars baseball coaches
• Washington State Cougars baseball players
• Washington State Cougars football players
• Washington State Cougars men's basketball players
• American men's basketball players
• United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
• 20th-century American sportsmen