Hall of Fame
Bill Livesey | Eckerd College | Baseball & Men's Soccer Coach | 1972 - 1977
Livesey transformed the Eckerd baseball program in his six years at the helm. Before his arrival, Eckerd had a nine-year winning percentage of 30 percent. He then made five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances from 1973-1977 while compiling a 184-62-2 record.
The 1977 season was a special one in many aspects. One year after winning a record 40 games with future major leaguers Steve Balboni and Joe Lefebvre, Eckerd found itself playing for the Division II National Championship, coming up short in the winner-take-all game.Livesey coached eight ABCA All-Americans during his time, including three first-team selections in 1977.
He also led the men's soccer program from 1973-1976, compiling an impressive 43-9-1 record, including going 10-0-1 in the program's inaugural year. In 1974, he led Eckerd to its only national tournament appearance. During the 1974-75 season, he led both men's soccer and baseball to the national stage.
After finishing as the National runner-up in 1977, Livesey departed Eckerd for a role with the New York Yankees. He served as the director of scouting from 1991-96 when the Yankees signed Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, Andy Petitte, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter.
Livesey left the Yankees for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1996 as the director of player development and special assistant to the general manager. He also spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
His success as a scout was recognized when he received the George Genovese Lifetime Achievement Award from the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation in 2012. On this occasion, Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman called Livesey, the "architect behind the architect" of the 1990s dynasty.
Livesey is also a member of the Eckerd Athletics Hall of Fame, the University of Maine Athletics Hall of Fame, and the Cape Cod League Hall of Fame.