Bill Booker still loves baseball; there’s no denying that.
But baseball has made it difficult for Booker to spend time with his four children, who are spread around the country, and his grandchild, so that’s why he decided to retire from coaching after nearly 40 years in area dugouts.
“Our family has probably four of the most active kids in America, and recently it struck me that all I’m doing is watching videos, Facetiming and doing things through social media with my own kids, and that really bothered me,” Booker said. “It’s very difficult to free up time with your family when you want to try to start hitting in November and go through June.
“I love everything about baseball. I love the game. I love my players. I love the competition with other coaches, the travel to area clinics, our spring training clinic, the umpire relationships I have. I love everything about it, but it really came down to, the people that you love, you need to take better care of them, and that’s why I decided now to retire.”
Booker, a Mendota native, started at La Salle-Peru and ended as head coach at St. Bede with a short stint as an assistant coach at Putnam County in between.
Booker went 576-396-5 over 31 seasons as a head coach with eight regional titles, five sectional titles and three state trophies. He was 375-266-5 record in 20 seasons at L-P and 201-130 in 11 seasons at St. Bede.
Booker helped PC to a Class 1A runner-up finish in 2013.
“I’ve been lucky enough to follow Huby Sarver (at L-P) and John Bellino [at St. Bede] at two of the most storied programs in the Illinois Valley, and I hope I’ve continued to keep that level of competition up because it’s been a great ride and it’s because of the players,” Booker said.
Booker took over for Sarver in 1993, going 8-16. He had his first 20-win season in 1999 and won his first regional title in 2007.
He guided the Cavaliers to three straight sectional titles from 2007-09 with a fourth-place finish in Class 3A in 2009. Booker led the Cavs to a runner-up finish in 3A in 2012.
“Early in my career, I had 10 years where we were struggling to stay above .500, which we did and we competed and we played the right way, but we just couldn’t get over the hump,” Booker said. “We slowly got better, we won 20 games, we were in regional championships, but we couldn’t get over the hump.
“After my first 10 years, we had an unbelievable run. We won four sectionals in six years. Then I leave the job where we just dominated for half a decade and get a chance to go to state with Putnam County and to state with St. Bede. … That was a fun era. I love team baseball. I love it when kids get it and when they start believing in what you’re trying to do with playing small ball and putting pressure on people. It’s just so much fun and to be able to be part of that.”
Booker was not rehired at L-P during the 2012 season before leading the Cavs to the state title game. The next year, he was an assistant at Putnam County before landing at St. Bede.
“We run a disciplined program,” Booker said about what made him successful. “The kids know that I’m not an easy one to get along with, but in the long run, I hope they understand that it’s to make them better people and be resilient and to get through life because life isn’t always fair. The only thing that’s fair is a ball hit between the third baseline and the first baseline.
“I had to prove that in 2012. I talked about resiliency and being tough and battling through – 2012 was tough on my family, and I put my big boy pants on and jumped back into it. Thank goodness for Dave Garcia giving me a chance at Putnam County. I had a chance to coach in the Frontier League. I was a professional coach for a summer and that was a dream come true. Then Tom McGunnigal gave me the opportunity at St. Bede, and that just fit like a glove. I have profound respect for Tom and the St. Bede family.”
Booker coached the Bruins to a fourth-place finish in Class 2A in 2015. He won four regionals and had six 20-win seasons at St. Bede.
“St. Bede Academy extends its deepest gratitude to coach Booker for his 11 years of service, leadership and impact on the school community,” St. Bede said in a press release. “We congratulate him on a remarkable career and wish him all the best in his well-deserved retirement.”
Booker said he also was proud of his program’s non-baseball accomplishments, including various fundraisers, hosting an annual spring training clinic and the building of the press box at St. Bede’s baseball field to honor Evan Knoblauch, a former Bruin team captain who died in 2019 after a battle with cancer.
“I could go through the different fundraisers we did for different families, and it’s hard not to get emotional,” Booker said. “To be able to use baseball and help families the way we did and make the relationships we did is one of the greatest things I’ve ever been a part of.”