Latta coach Collins thankful for a `great ride' to national record
Eddie Collins didn' t have to poke his head out of the dugout to know there were a large number off an sat the game on Friday.
He could hear them in the stands.
“There were probably 400 or 500 people at the ballpark,” Collins said.
The massive crowd wasn't there for just a regular-season Lat ta High School baseball game in September.
They were there to witness history.
And after Latta earned the final out in a 15-0 win over Turner, the celebration began.
With win No. 2 , 1 1 6, Collins passed Asher's Murl Bowen for the most wins by a high school baseball coach. But this record wasn' t just a record for most wins in Oklahoma high school history — it was a record for most wins by any high school baseball coach in United States history.
“My relationship with the Lord has made it possible for me to be where I' m at today ,” Collins said about his special moment. “That and then my family. I've always had support.”
That was evident by the crowd last Friday.
Collins' wife, kids, grandchildren, former players and hundreds of fans met him on the field after the game. Because t he celebration was so large, it took the Latta community nearly an hour and a half to finish taking photos and shaking hands.
“It was overwhelming ,” Collins said .“To be honest, I never started out chasing records or anything. It just kind of happened. And I guess the most important thing is the longevity I had because I've worked at this a long time.”
On Aug .16,1977, Collins l anded his first coaching job at Jones. It was a day he still remembers in detail, not because it was an emotional moment for him but because Jones — and the rest of America — was embracing a monumental loss.
“It was the day Elvis (Presley) passed away,” Collins said, chuckling about the strange situation. “They came and informed me and two or three other coaches, and they said ,` Hey, Elvis died .' And then it was, `Oh by the way, the job's yours if you want it.' But I will always be grateful for them giving me the opportunity.”
After a one-year stay in Jones, Collins moved to Rattan High School. In his third year, Collins helped lead Rattan to its first Class A baseball state championship. Following the game in May 1981, the opposing team offered him a job. It just happened to be his alma mater, Latta High School.
“I had t he opportunity to move back to my home school where I graduated from in 1973,” Collins said. “After the game, it was really tough to say goodbye to those kids ( from Rattan), but my family and I moved to Latta, where I'm currently at now.”
Collins spent the next 40 years at Latta racking up wins and building relationships.
In 44 years coaching, Collins has won 12 state championships, eight in the fall and four in the spring.
His teams have also finished as state runn er-up another 13 times. Additionally, he has 66 regional titles and 76 district championships. Now, with a record of 2,116-736, he has added t he most wins by high school baseball coach to his list of achievements.
“It was the perfect scenario, if you don't mess it up,” Collins said about coaching Lat ta .“I' ve been blessed with some really good players, some t hat were drafted, and some that played college ball.
“It's been a great situation. A great ride.”