Harry Shatel, the longtime baseball coach at Morristown High and New Jersey’s all-time leader in wins, died Saturday night at his home in Ormond Beach, Fla. He was 67.
Shatel, who won 752 games in 38 seasons at Morristown, led the Colonials to the NJSIAA Group 3 state championship in 2006 and retired after the season. In a career that spanned five decades, he won three state titles, eight sectional championships and was named The Star-Ledger’s Coach of the Year in 1993.
Last year, the field at Morristown High was named in his honor.
As high school baseball games were played today, coaches, former players and friends from every corner of the state expressed sadness over the loss of the popular coach who impacted so many lives.
“He’s got the biggest heart ever created,” said Rick Sofield, who played under Shatel in the mid-1970s and was selected 13th overall in the 1975 MLB Draft by Minnesota. “For me personally, my heart is broken over the loss of Harry Shatel. There’s a big void in my life, and it hasn’t even sunk in yet that Harry isn’t there.
“I will miss him more than words can explain.”
“We lost a great one,” said Kevin Murray, the athletic director at Morris Catholic and a longtime friend. “It’s just a devastating, shocking loss.”
Sofield, who now coaches at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort, credited Shatel with molding him. He can still hear Shatel’s booming baritone voice shouting encouragement and see him shaking his fists from the dugout during his at-bats, instilling a confidence that made him arguably the best player Morristown ever produced and carried him to the big leagues.
“Harry just made you believe in yourself so much,” Sofield said. “It was always, ‘Keep your head up. You’re fine. Everything’s good. Don’t worry about that.’ He was such a good, strong motivator. When he rooted for you, you could feel it.”
Former Union High coach Gordon LeMatty was stunned to hear of Shatel’s death. LeMatty, already retired, attended the first few Morristown games in 2002 when Shatel was attempting to pass him for the all-time wins record. LeMatty said he was simply returning a nod of respect Shatel had given him years earlier.
“After I got my 500th, Morristown came to Union for a game and he lined up his players along the foul line. He barked at them to stand up straight,“ said LeMatty, who won 641 games in his career. “Then one of the Morristown mothers came over and gave me a cake. And they gave me a plaque, too.
“Harry’s teams were well-drilled. They knew what they were doing. Everything about Harry was class. He was such a well-loved guy. I’m blessed to have know him. I can still hear that booming voice across the field.”
Shatel’s friends also recall his resounding humility. Despite racking up victories in record numbers, praise made him squirm. When friends asked questions about his success, he would circle the topic back to the other person. More than once he darted home after games to avoid media interviews.
“He didn’t ever want the focus on him,” Murray said. “He never wanted credit for winning the games. To him, it was the kids that won them.”
Mike Sheppard Jr., the longtime Seton Hall Prep coach who has 571 career victories, competed against Shatel for many years in the now-defunct Iron Hills Conference.
“He was a master psychologist,” Sheppard said. “He could make his team or an individual player believe he could succeed with the turn of a phrase.”
Shatel’s son, Bruce Shatel, the Delbarton ice hockey and baseball coach, did what his father would have expected of him this afternoon: He coached his team in the first round of the Morris County Tournament.
Delbarton lost to Morristown-Beard, 6-4, and immediately after, Bruce Shatel and his sister Sheila and brother Michael left for the airport to fly to Florida. Harry Shatel and his wife, Kitty, recently spent their winters at a second home in Florida.
“Dad was really happy, loving life,” Bruce Shatel said. “He would watch my hockey games in the winter, then spend his free time on the beach with my mom. He was just being a great father and grandfather.”
Harry Shatel also leaves behind three grandchildren: Dallas, 13, Samantha, 8, and Emma, 3.
“The outpouring of support in the first 24 hours has been unbelievable,” Bruce Shatel said. “It’s just a tribute to how many people he’s touched. I’m proud to have had a great relationship with him.”
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