All Roads Lead Home was the theme of Stillman College’s 2022 Homecoming, and the theme rang true for former Stillman College baseball head coach and athletic director Richard Cosby.
Homecoming Saturday began early on the backside of campus, as the road that leads to Stillman College’s baseball home field was named in honor of Cosby during a naming ceremony the morning of Feb. 19, 2022.
The road leading down the hill from Stadium Drive to Tiger Field and the Stillman Softball Complex will now be known as Dr. Richard Cosby Drive.
“To be here today to honor, recognize and celebrate a legend in college baseball and higher education,” said Terrance Whittle, Stillman’s current athletic director and baseball coach. “This is a humbling experience for me, to be able to share with you all and honor a legend in this game, in the state of Alabama, and in collegiate sports. We will forever, as persons continue to come to this campus, travel this road, see his legacy on this campus and aspire to be what he has done, and the lives he’s touched.”
Whittle, who is in his first year as AD and fifth as head coach, said as a young baseball coach at Virginia State University early in his career, he often heard four names in black college baseball, and is grateful to have been able to meet each of them: Roger Cador (Southern), Bob Braddy (Jackson State), Larry Watkins (Alabama State) and Richard Cosby (Stillman).
Cosby is the winningest coach in Stillman College baseball history with more than 276 wins and five conference championships from 1974 to 1990 at the NCAA Division III level. His Stillman coaching record was 276-159-2, not including the 1982 season (results unavailable). During his tenure, Stillman had four players drafted by Major League Baseball, but he says his fondest memory was watching one of his players from the mid 1980s, Willie Harris, graduate with the highest academic honors at this institution.
In 1981, the Tigers won 32 games, the most wins in program history. While the total was matched twice in 2009 and 2012, it remains the school record for single-season wins.
“I had kids who could play baseball. My idea was to teach the discipline and encourage them to the best that they could do in the sport and in the classroom – and they did. Success – I tried to improve the culture of being successful academically – to be true student-athletes and represent the institution,” Cosby said.
“It was an honor to work with the young folks and encourage them to be the best I can be. I’m thankful for the experience here and the opportunity to come back and to have this time dedicated to me for the work I did. God’s been good to us.”
During the naming ceremony, Cosby’s former players surprised him with a championship ring, something he never spent money on as a coach.
“They talked about the ring, but I didn’t know it would be part of today’s ceremony. I always wanted to get them rings, but we didn’t have the money; we would get them patches,” Cosby said. “It’s a very good feeling that they thought of it, to consider what my work meant to them. It’s very thoughtful of them.”
In addition to serving as Stillman’s baseball coach, Cosby was Stillman College’s athletic director from 1973-1991 and again from July 2000-January 2003 and a short stint in 2003-2004 after returning to Stillman from Alabama State University where he was AD for seven months in 2003. He also served as athletic director at Lincoln University (Mo.) from 1991-1993 and Clark Atlanta University from 1993-2000.
During his tenure, he began Stillman College’s transition from NCAA Division III to NCAA Division II. The Tigers spent 11 years in NCAA Division II until joining the NAIA in 2016. He also developed the annual Druid City Classic.
In 1990, Cosby published a book, “Organization & Administration of Smaller College Athletics”, which includes Stillman College’s athletics policies at the time. The publication can currently be found in various college libraries across the nation and at the University of Limpopo in Sovenga, South Africa.