Steve Harrick

Steve Harrick was inducted into the inaugural College of Applied Human Sciences Hall of Fame in 2025. He was previously inducted into the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences Hall of Fame in 1988.

Born in Fordham, Pennsylvania, in 1897, Harrick graduated from West Virginia University in 1924 after competing in both football and baseball. He played professional football with Steubenville and professional baseball with Wheeling and Fairmont in the Middle Atlantic League. While playing professionally, he also served as an instructor and wrestling coach at WVU until 1932.

Following a brief coaching stint at Point Pleasant High School, Harrick joined the athletic staff at West Virginia Tech in 1933. Over the next 14 years, he led all of the institution’s athletic programs, compiling a football record of 34–39–1. In 1947, he returned to WVU as an associate professor in the School of Physical Education and head coach of both wrestling and baseball.

Known as WVU's "Winningest Coach," Harrick led the WVU wrestling program for 29 years, compiling a record of 155–99–4. His teams captured five Southern Conference titles, and 42 of his wrestlers won individual conference championships. As WVU’s head baseball coach for 20 seasons, he guided the Mountaineers to a 334–160–1 record, with six Southern Conference championships and seven NCAA district playoff appearances. His 1963 squad was the first in school history to finish to reach 30 wins in a season and finished with a 30-3 record.

Eighteen of Harrick’s former players went on to professional baseball careers, including Paul Popovich, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Harrick also coached WVU’s first and only baseball All-America selection, Bill Marovic. He retired in 1967 and remains recognized as the longest-serving and most successful two-sport head coach in WVU athletics history.

His career accomplishments earned him induction into the charter class of the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, and the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame in 1969. He was also honored with the Association of College Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame induction in 1975 and received a posthumous Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award in 2003.

Harrick passed away on December 7, 1988.