Longtime Fremont coach, AD Bahe dies
Integrity.
That’s what friends and colleagues remember about Al Bahe, the former Fremont High School coach and athletic director who died Saturday at 78.
“He was one of the fairest guys I’ve ever been around, especially when it came to picking teams,” said Mike Funk, a 1966 Fremont graduate who later served as Fremont High Booster Club president. “He gave everyone the same chance. It didn’t matter if you were an all-stater or the last guy on the bench.”
Bahe graduated from Wayne State College before teaching and coaching at West Point. He later moved to Central City before coming to Fremont in 1957.
He coached the Tigers in basketball until 1976 and served as athletic director until 1989. He also served as an assistant football coach, golf coach and American Legion baseball coach during the summer.
In 2002, he was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame, and the gym at Fremont High was named in his honor in 2005.
Bahe and his wife, Patti, raised three sons: Butch, Ritch and Chip; and a daughter, Cindy. Among his eight grandchildren are Nick Bahe, who played basketball for Kansas before transferring to Creighton, and Alex Bahe, boys basketball coach at Elkhorn.
“I know Al was very much a family man,” Funk said. “He always did things for his kids and then his grandchildren. He never missed a game that the boys were in and he never missed any of Cindy’s activities.”
Ritch (1972-74) and Chip (1987-89) went on to letter three years apiece on the Husker football team. Ritch succeeded Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers as the Huskers’ starting wingback in 1973.
Cindy’s son, Mic Boettner, lettered as a reserve safety in 2001.
Former Fremont football coach Gerry Gdowski said Bahe didn’t micromanage his coaches.
“He kept his eye on your program, but he’d let you do what you wanted,” said Gdowski, who later became the Tigers’ athletic director after Bahe retired in 1989. “He trusted you to do what you thought was right.”
Gdowski said Fremont lost a great ambassador.
“He was a Fremont Tigers’ guy through and through,” he said. “Everybody loved Al because he really cared about the athletes and students at Fremont High.”
Services are today at 11 a.m. at Salem Lutheran Church in Fremont, 411 E. Military Ave. An Al Bahe Scholarship Fund has been set up at the Fremont Area Community Foundation, 605 N. Broad St., Fremont, NE, 68025.
That’s what friends and colleagues remember about Al Bahe, the former Fremont High School coach and athletic director who died Saturday at 78.
“He was one of the fairest guys I’ve ever been around, especially when it came to picking teams,” said Mike Funk, a 1966 Fremont graduate who later served as Fremont High Booster Club president. “He gave everyone the same chance. It didn’t matter if you were an all-stater or the last guy on the bench.”
Bahe graduated from Wayne State College before teaching and coaching at West Point. He later moved to Central City before coming to Fremont in 1957.
He coached the Tigers in basketball until 1976 and served as athletic director until 1989. He also served as an assistant football coach, golf coach and American Legion baseball coach during the summer.
In 2002, he was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame, and the gym at Fremont High was named in his honor in 2005.
Bahe and his wife, Patti, raised three sons: Butch, Ritch and Chip; and a daughter, Cindy. Among his eight grandchildren are Nick Bahe, who played basketball for Kansas before transferring to Creighton, and Alex Bahe, boys basketball coach at Elkhorn.
“I know Al was very much a family man,” Funk said. “He always did things for his kids and then his grandchildren. He never missed a game that the boys were in and he never missed any of Cindy’s activities.”
Ritch (1972-74) and Chip (1987-89) went on to letter three years apiece on the Husker football team. Ritch succeeded Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers as the Huskers’ starting wingback in 1973.
Cindy’s son, Mic Boettner, lettered as a reserve safety in 2001.
Former Fremont football coach Gerry Gdowski said Bahe didn’t micromanage his coaches.
“He kept his eye on your program, but he’d let you do what you wanted,” said Gdowski, who later became the Tigers’ athletic director after Bahe retired in 1989. “He trusted you to do what you thought was right.”
Gdowski said Fremont lost a great ambassador.
“He was a Fremont Tigers’ guy through and through,” he said. “Everybody loved Al because he really cared about the athletes and students at Fremont High.”
Services are today at 11 a.m. at Salem Lutheran Church in Fremont, 411 E. Military Ave. An Al Bahe Scholarship Fund has been set up at the Fremont Area Community Foundation, 605 N. Broad St., Fremont, NE, 68025.
Copyright © 2002-2008 Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.