By: Michael Wayne O’Neill
Sports Editor
WINGATE – From one tip of the baseball bat to the other, Bill Nash loves baseball and the beauty behind the game.
Bill, assistant athletic director of the athletic foundation & Bulldog Club, found his way to the game through playing on little league teams. He also enjoyed watching the New York Yankees every Saturday on television and idolized Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle.
“There was a brotherhood,” Bill said, “There was so much love for the game that people loved talking about the game. There wasn’t anyone holding any secrets and not talking about defending the first and third bases or what they look for in a count. They talked about how they approached the game and the things they saw.”
Bill was a standout athlete at Forest Hills High, graduating in 1969 before attending Wingate when it was a junior college. Injuries plagued him from playing, but it didn’t stop him from coaching the sport.
Legendary baseball coach Ron Christopher gave Bill a chance in 1980 when he found out he didn’t have an assistant coach position.
“It was actually our first year in NAIA in the Carolina’s Conference,” Bill said, “I got on board with him, and I was with Christopher for 11 years as the associate dean of students. … We were very comfortable working together.”
Bill and Christopher enjoyed talking about the game hours after practice and sipping coffee together.
It was during this time that Nash honed different perspectives on recruiting baseball players. He came across several Division 1 coaches from Duke, N.C. State, and Wake Forest on a recruiting trip he went.
Among the coaches he saw was former Clemson baseball coach Bill Wilhelm, who coached the Tigers from 1958 to 1993.
“I knew who he was right away, and it was kind of sitting next to a celebrity,” Bill said, “We were more than acquaintances for the rest of the time he coached. That was a great early in my career experience that helped me appreciate coaches and baseball coaches in particular around the best game there is.
“I was a first-year assistant coach, and the head coach from Clemson spent the day with me. It was like, ‘Damn! That’s the type of people I want to be around.”
Bill also coached his two sons – Lucas and David Nash in baseball, which he enjoyed with everything he had. He also enjoyed seeing David win Wingate’s first national championship in baseball in 2021.
Among the former players who felt a positive impact from Bill was Parkwood High head baseball coach Chad Nichols. Nichols played for Bill at Wingate from his first season as head baseball coach (1993) until he graduated in 1997.
“You know exactly where you stood with coach (Nash) on and off the field,” Nichols said, “He pushed you to be your best in everything you do. He set rules and held you accountable to follow them. He was fair, and you never doubted how much he cared about you because he always had your back.”
From 1994 until 2007, as the head baseball coach, Bill saw players play multiple sports and enjoyed learning different perspectives of the game.
Today, Bill continues watching baseball on his television and at Wingate University. His appreciation for the game speaks volumes to his contributions.
“There’s something perfect about that diamond,” Bill said, “I feel like the timelessness of baseball has changed, but there are people I have gotten to know and coached against… To say I am blessed, I do believe that. Baseball has been very good to me.”
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