You could call former Joliet Junior College baseball coach Wayne King and Steve Ruzich, his South Suburban College counterpart, two peas in a baseball pod.

Both King, who retired with 1,127 wins in 33 seasons with the Wolves, and current Joliet resident Ruzich both began coaching at their respective colleges in the fall of 1986. Both are members of the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame. Ruzich, who played for the legendary Gordie Gillespie at the University of St. Francis, will join King in the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this fall.

“We’ve both been doing this for a long time,” said King, who coached JJC to NJCAA national championships in 1994, 2008 and 2012 with three second-place finishes. “We consider ourselves old-school types of coaches. We coached the kids hard. But they respected us and enjoyed their time with us.”

And on June 17, the two coaches were among an inaugural class of 20 baseball coaches honored at the NJCAA Legacy Awards Luncheon held in Charlotte, N.C.

To be nominated, a coach needed at least 1,000 victories on a respective resumé.

“It’s quite humbling,” King said. “It’s an honor to say the least. [Current JJC coach] Gregg Braun nominated both Steve and I. Steve has blown right by me in victories. And he’s still coaching.”

King, who turned 67 on June 13, received another prestigious honor several years back when the Wolves’ diamond was renamed Wayne L. King Jr. Field.

Ruzich, an alumnus of Rich Central High School, has achieved 1,385 victories over 39 seasons at South Suburban. The field will be named in his honor on Sept. 20.

“That’s long overdue,” said King, referring to the South Suburban field taking Ruzich’s moniker. “Steve’s done a great job at the school, and I consider him a very good and close friend. There’s a friendship there for sure.”

“We spend most of our time in that square [field], so I’m extremely honored to have the field named after me,” Ruzich said. “Both Wayne and I have discipline in our programs. And that’s one of the reasons why we are and were successful. We were fortunate to be able to do it our way.

“We treat the players the right way, I believe, with discipline. And that’s why we were successful. We were fortunate to do it our way. We hold the players accountable and helped build them into successful, good men along the way.”

King was a standout catcher at Ohio University, while Ruzich, also a catcher, attended Thornton Community College, which became South Suburban, before playing for Gillespie at USF from 1984-85.

“Gordie was a fantastic motivator,” Ruzich said. “When you stepped onto the field when playing for Gordie, you had better be ready and prepared to play. He had us respect both our own team and your opponent.

“You were not allowed to say anything to the opposing players or umpires. Gordie made you respect your opponents and totally respect the game of baseball.”

King played for Jerry France at Ohio University where he started for 3½ years for a program at which time featured future major league catcher Bob Brenly.

“Jerry France provided me the opportunity to start coaching with him at Ohio after I finished playing there,” King said. “He was a tremendous mentor, and I owe a lot to him. He was great coach, and I learned a lot from him.”

King was director of athletics at JJC while Ruzich, 63, has been AD at South Suburban since 2006.

“We had some great battles along the way,” said King, referring to his Wolves going up against Ruzich’s Bulldogs. “There’s a lasting friendship between us. There were wins, losses and we often looked at each other during a game and didn’t want to be in that position. But both teams always played hard trying to get the W.

Ruzich, who coached South Suburban to two NJCAA World Series appearances, was lucky and honored to coach his two sons, Nate and Tim.

“It was great to coach my kids,” Ruzich said. “People don’t realize the pressure on them. Both handled it very well. I was very proud of them.”

Ruzich was the starting catcher for the 1985 St. Francis team which advanced to the NAIA World Series and took third place.