Free panel discussions feature Scottsdale baseball legends

Chaparral and Horizon high schools are just five miles apart, yet they boast historically the most successful high school baseball programs in the state.

The architects of those power houses, plus other local baseball luminaries will discuss the extraordinary tradition of Scottsdale high school baseball at a pair of free events hosted this March at the Little Red School House Museum in Scottsdale.

The free panel discussions take place at 10 a.m. March 6 and 2 p.m. March 11 at the museum located at 7333 E. Scottsdale Mall in Old Town Scottsdale.

Scheduled speakers include Chaparral’s Jerry Dawson and Horizon’s Eric Kibler. Both men started their respective baseball programs and spent more than 30 years as head coach. Between them they have won 17 state championships and sent 225 players on to professional and/or collegiate baseball careers.

Also scheduled to speak is Kendall Carter, who pitched Coronado High to a state title in 1979 and is the all-time wins leader at Arizona State University. Carter is a scout for the New York Yankees and the son-in-law of former Coronado coach Roy Coppinger, who spent more than 20 years at the school and won three state championships. Like Dawson and Kibler, Coppinger is in the American Baseball Coaches Halll of Fame.     

Both panel discussions will include other special guests who have helped build Scottsdale area high schools into perennial baseball powers.

The discussions are part of a joint project between the Scottsdale Historical Society and the nonprofit Arizona Baseball Legacy and Experience group. An exhibit featuring the history and legacy of Scottsdale high school baseball runs through May at the museum and will be open before and after each panel discussion.      For more information, visit www.ABLEAZ.org or www.ScottsdaleHistory.org