View source for Dutch Fehring

{{short description|American sportsman (1912–2006)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Dutch Fehring
| image = Dutch Fehring 1948.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Fehring, circa 1948
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1912|5|31}}
| birth_place = [[Columbus, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|4|13|1912|5|31}}
| death_place = [[Palo Alto, California]], U.S.
| office = [[World Baseball Softball Confederation#Presidents|President of FEMBA]]
| term_start = September 8, 1973
| term_end = August 31, 1975
| predecessor = [[Juan Isa]]<br>{{small|(as president of FIBA)}}
| successor = {{nowrap|[[Carlos García Solórzano]]}}
| office2              = [[USA Baseball|President of the U.S. Baseball Federation]]
| term_start2          = April 6, 1966
| term_end2            = January 1978
| predecessor2         = [[Eppie Barnes]]
| successor2           = 
| alma_mater = [[Purdue University]]
| module              = {{Infobox college coach
| embed            = yes
| player_sport1 = Football
| player_years2 = 1931–1933
| player_team2 = [[Purdue Boilermakers football|Purdue]]
| player_sport3 = Basketball
| player_years4 = 1931–1934
| player_team4 = [[Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball|Purdue]]
| player_sport5 = Baseball
| player_years6 = 1932–1934
| player_team6 = [[Purdue Boilermakers baseball|Purdue]]
| player_positions = [[Tackle (gridiron football position)|Tackle]] (football)<br>[[Catcher]] (baseball)
| coach_sport1 = Football
| coach_years2 = 1935–1942
| coach_team2 = [[Purdue Boilermakers football|Purdue]] (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 1947
| coach_team3 = [[Oklahoma Sooners football|Oklahoma]] (assistant)
| coach_years4 = 1948
| coach_team4 = [[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]] (assistant)
| coach_years5 = 1949–1967
| coach_team5 = [[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford]] (assistant)
| coach_sport6 = Baseball
| coach_years7 = 1936–1942
| coach_team7 = [[Purdue Boilermakers baseball|Purdue]]
| coach_years8 = 1949–1955
| coach_team8 = [[Stanford Cardinal baseball|Stanford]] (assistant)
| coach_years9 = 1956–1967
| coach_team9 = [[Stanford Cardinal baseball|Stanford]]
| overall_record = 374–248–9
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = 
| championships = 
| awards = 
* First-team [[List of All-Big Ten Conference football teams|All-Big Ten]] ([[1933 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1933]])
* Second-team All-Big Ten ([[1932 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1932]])
| coaching_records = 
| module =
{{Infobox baseball biography|embed=yes
|name=Dutch Fehring
|position=[[Catcher]]
|bats=Both
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=June 25
|debutyear=1934
|debutteam=Chicago White Sox
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=June 25
|finalyear=1934
|finalteam=Chicago White Sox
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.000 (0-for-1)
|stat2label=[[Games played]]
|stat2value=1
|teams=
*[[Chicago White Sox]] ({{mlby|1934}})
}}}}}}
'''William Paul "Dutch" Fehring''' (May 31, 1912 – April 13, 2006) was an [[American football]] and [[baseball]] player, coach, and administrator. Fehring was president of the [[USA Baseball|United States Baseball Federation]], and oversaw the return of the [[United States national baseball team|U.S. national team]] to international baseball competition. He also briefly led the World Amateur Baseball Federation, better known as [[FEMBA]],{{efn|{{langx|es|Federación Mundial de Béisbol Amateur|link=no}}}} during its split from the [[International Baseball Federation]] (FIBA) in the early 1970s.

A longtime [[college baseball]] coach, he served as the head baseball coach at [[Purdue University]] from 1936 to 1942 and at [[Stanford University]] from 1956 to 1967, compiling a career record of 374–248–9. He was a [[Cup of coffee (sports idiom)|cup of coffee]] player with the [[Chicago White Sox]] of [[Major League Baseball]], appearing in a single game during the [[1934 Chicago White Sox season|1934 season]].

==Early life==
Born in [[Columbus, Indiana]], Fehring attended [[Purdue University]], where he starred in football, basketball, and baseball, one of only two Purdue athletes to [[Letterman (sports)|letter]] nine times. Fehring helped the Boilermakers win two [[Big Ten Conference]] titles in football and a national championship in basketball in 1932, and was the traveling roommate of [[John Wooden]]. Fehring was inducted into the inaugural class of the Purdue University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.<ref name="Rutter">{{cite web
  | last =Rutter
  | first =Jim
  | title =Dutch Fehring (1912–2006)
  | work =The Bootleg Magazine
  | date =May 9, 2006
  | url =http://stanford.scout.com/2/529154.html
  | access-date =February 28, 2007
  | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070324202917/http://stanford.scout.com/2/529154.html
  | archive-date =March 24, 2007
  | url-status =dead
  }}</ref>

==Baseball career==
After graduating from Purdue, Fehring chose to play his favorite sport, baseball, where he excelled as a [[catcher]]. He was signed by the [[Chicago White Sox]] and made a single [[Major League Baseball|major league]] appearance, in a road game against the [[New York Yankees]] at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]] on July 25, 1934.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/F/Pfehrb101.htm |title=Dutch Fehring |website=[[Retrosheet]] |access-date=August 16, 2020}}</ref> Fehring entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to catch, with the Yankees leading 10–2.<ref name=box>{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1934/B06250NYA1934.htm |title=New York Yankees 13, Chicago White Sox 2 |date=June 25, 1934 |website=[[Retrosheet]] |access-date=August 16, 2020}}</ref> During that inning, [[Lou Gehrig]] attempted an [[inside-the-park home run]] on a ball hit to center field; the ball was relayed to Fehring, who tagged Gehrig out at the plate.<ref name=box/> Gehrig was credited with a [[Triple (baseball)|triple]] on the play;<ref name=box/> he had already hit a [[home run]], [[Single (baseball)|single]], and [[Double (baseball)|double]] in the game, thus it became the first time that Gehrig [[hit for the cycle]] in his career.<ref name="Rutter"/> Fehring had one [[at bat]] during the game, striking out in the ninth inning.<ref name=box/>

==Coaching career==
After his baseball career ended, Fehring returned to Purdue and became their head baseball coach and assistant football coach from 1936 to 1942. After serving in [[World War II]], Fehring was an assistant football coach for two years at [[Oklahoma Sooners|Oklahoma]] and for one year at [[UCLA Bruins|UCLA]], where he recommended his college friend [[John Wooden]] for the head basketball coaching vacancy.<ref name="Rutter"/>

===Stanford===
In 1949, Fehring was hired as an assistant baseball and football coach at [[Stanford Cardinal|Stanford]]. He took over as head baseball coach in 1956, and coached for 11 years, culminating in a [[College World Series]] semifinals appearance in 1967. Along with his football coaching role in the 1952 [[Rose Bowl game|Rose Bowl]], Fehring has the unique distinction as a coach in both a College World Series and a Rose Bowl.<ref name="Stanford">{{cite press release |title = Former Stanford Coach Dutch Fehring Passes Away |publisher = Stanford Athletics Department |date = April 14, 2006 |url = http://gostanford.cstv.com/genrel/041406aaa.html |access-date = February 26, 2007 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130120035831/http://gostanford.cstv.com/genrel/041406aaa.html |archive-date = January 20, 2013}}</ref>

==International baseball==
===U.S. national team===
Fehring was an assistant coach on the [[United States national baseball team]] that participated in the [[Baseball at the 1964 Summer Olympics|1964 Olympic Games]] in Tokyo, under manager and USC coach [[Rod Dedeaux]].<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=NCAA News |title=Olympic Rosters in NCAA Title Sports |date=September–October 1964 |volume=1 |number=4 |page=4 |url=http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/NCAANewsArchive/1964/19640901.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324221551/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/NCAANewsArchive/1964/19640901.pdf |archive-date=March 24, 2012 |via=[[Wayback Machine]]}}</ref> On the 1964 Olympic team was catcher [[Jim Hibbs]], who played under Fehring at Stanford.

Fehring was named president of the [[USA Baseball|United States Baseball Federation]] (USBF) on April 6, 1966, replacing [[Eppie Barnes]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Fehring New President of U.S. Baseball |url=https://access.newspaperarchive.com/us/california/eureka/eureka-humboldt-times/1966/04-06/page-10 |access-date=8 January 2025 |agency=Eureka Humboldt Times |date=6 April 1966}}</ref> As president, Fehring saw the United States national team return to international stage; its appearance at the [[1969 Amateur World Series]] in the Dominican Republic was the first time the U.S. participated in the tournament since [[1942 Amateur World Series|1942]].<ref>{{cite web |title=La Historia de los Campeonatos Mundiales |language=es |website=El Pelotero |access-date=25 February 2024 |url=https://www.oocities.org/espanol/elpelotero_online/histomundi/campeonatos_mundiales_beisbol.htm}}</ref>

===FEMBA===
Fehring was highly critical of the [[International Baseball Federation]] (FIBA) and its president, [[Juan Isa]]. He, like many others, believed that the Caribbean baseball federations had too much control over FIBA's proceedings. "If FIBA is an international federation," he said, "the leadership positions must belong to different countries."<ref name="game">{{cite book |last1=Schiroli |first1=Riccardo |title=The Game We Love: La storia della IBAF |chapter=L’Europa ha un ruolo centrale nel baseball internazionale degli anni ’70 |url=https://riccardoschiroli.com/leuropa-ha-un-ruolo-centrale-nel-baseball-internazionale-degli-anni-70/ |language=it |date=2012}}</ref>

After the 1973 FIBA Congress ended in confusion and chaos, Italy and Nicaragua withdrew from FIBA to organize their own international federation; the USBF soon followed, along with 24 other national federations.<ref name="game" /> Fehring was elected president of the new organization, titled FEMBA (or alternatively, WABAF) on September 8, 1973.<ref>{{cite web |title=Timeline |website=WBSC.org |publisher=World Baseball Softball Confederation |url=https://www.wbsc.org/en/organisation/baseball/history/timeline}}</ref>

As head of FEMBA, a major priority for Fehring was the inclusion of [[baseball at the Summer Olympics]]. This had been a factor in the FEMBA split, as critics of FIBA felt that the federation was too chaotic to pursue Olympic status.<ref>{{cite journal |title=NEW WORLD AMATEUR BASEBALL FEDERATION WAS NECESSARY by R. Panaye |journal=Baseball Mercury |date=May 1974 |issue=6 |page=3 |url=https://www.projectcobb.org.uk/misc/mercury/issue_6.pdf}}</ref> Fehring, with the backing of MLB Commissioner [[Bowie Kuhn]], met with [[International Olympic Committee]] head [[Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin|Lord Killanin]], but was told that would not occur as long as baseball was represented by two different organizations.<ref name="game" />

Fehring was succeeded as FEMBA president by [[Carlos García Solórzano]] in 1975. After the FEMBA-FIBA split was resolved in 1976, he joined the unified committee of AINBA, later the IBAF (the predecessor to the modern [[World Baseball Softball Confederation]]). Under IBAF president [[Robert Smith (baseball)|Robert Smith]], Fehring recruited Rod Dedeaux to help the federation gain Olympic status; thanks to Dedeaux and [[Los Angeles Dodgers]] owner [[Peter O'Malley]], baseball returned to the Olympics [[Baseball at the 1984 Summer Olympics|at the 1984 Los Angeles Games]].<ref name="game" />

==Later life and honors==
Fehring retired as head baseball coach in 1967, but remained at Stanford as director of intramurals and club sports until 1977.<ref name="Rutter"/> He also stepped down as president of the U.S. Baseball Federation in January 1978.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stanford's Fehring Retires |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/997714817/ |agency=Martinez News-Gazette |date=24 August 1977 |location=Newspapers.com |page=10}}</ref> Fehring died in [[Palo Alto, California]], in 2006 at the age of 93.<ref name="Rutter"/>

Fehring is an inductee of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the Purdue University Athletic Hall of Fame, and the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame.<ref name="Rutter"/>

==Head coaching record==
{{CBB yearly record start|type=coach|conference=|postseason=}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Purdue Boilermakers baseball|Purdue Boilermakers]]
 | conference= [[Big Ten Conference]]
 | startyear = 1936
 | endyear   = 1942
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1936 NCAA baseball season|1936]]
 | name         = Purdue
 | overall      = 6–21
 | conference   = 1–10
 | confstanding = T–8th
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1937 NCAA baseball season|1937]]
 | name         = Purdue
 | overall      = 12–14
 | conference   = 2–9
 | confstanding = 10th
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1938 NCAA baseball season|1938]]
 | name         = Purdue
 | overall      = 14–10
 | conference   = 6–5
 | confstanding = T–3rd
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1939 NCAA baseball season|1939]]
 | name         = Purdue
 | overall      = 12–8
 | conference   = 5–5
 | confstanding = 6th
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1940 NCAA baseball season|1940]]
 | name         = Purdue
 | overall      = 14–9
 | conference   = 2–7
 | confstanding = 9th
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1941 NCAA baseball season|1941]]
 | name         = Purdue
 | overall      = 15–10–1
 | conference   = 4–8
 | confstanding = 9th
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1942 NCAA baseball season|1942]]
 | name         = Purdue
 | overall      = 11–14
 | conference   = 5–7
 | confstanding = T–5th
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal| 
| name       = Purdue
| overall    = {{winpct|84|86|5|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{winpct|25|51|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Stanford Cardinal baseball|Stanford Indians]]
 | conference= [[Pacific Coast Conference]]
 | startyear = 1956
 | endyear   = 1959
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1956 NCAA baseball season|1956]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 24–10–1
 | conference   = 9–7
 | confstanding = 3rd {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1957 NCAA University Division baseball season|1957]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 17–13
 | conference   = 7–9
 | confstanding = 3rd {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1958 NCAA University Division baseball season|1958]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 23–12
 | conference   = 7–9
 | confstanding = 3rd {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1959 NCAA University Division baseball season|1959]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 21–13
 | conference   = 9–7
 | confstanding = 3rd {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Stanford Cardinal baseball|Stanford Indians]]
 | conference= [[Athletic Association of Western Universities]]
 | startyear = 1960
 | endyear   = 1967
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1960 NCAA University Division baseball season|1960]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 20–17
 | conference   = 6–10
 | confstanding = T–3rd {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1961 NCAA University Division baseball season|1961]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 26–17
 | conference   = 5–11
 | confstanding = T–4th {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1962 NCAA University Division baseball season|1962]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 21–14
 | conference   = 6–10
 | confstanding = 4th {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1963 NCAA University Division baseball season|1963]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 24–11
 | conference   = 8–8
 | confstanding = 4th {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1964 NCAA University Division baseball season|1964]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 20–24
 | conference   = 4–16
 | confstanding = 6th {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | championship = division
 | season       = [[1965 NCAA University Division baseball season|1965]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 32–13
 | conference   = 11–9
 | confstanding = 1st {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | season       = [[1966 NCAA University Division baseball season|1966]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 26–12–2
 | conference   = 12–8
 | confstanding = T–2nd {{Small|(CIBA)}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
 | championship = conference
 | season       = [[1967 NCAA University Division baseball season|1967]]
 | name         = Stanford
 | overall      = 36–6–1
 | conference   = 10–1
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason = [[1967 NCAA University Division baseball tournament|College World Series]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = Stanford
| overall    = {{winpct|290|162|4|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{winpct|94|105|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record end
| overall = {{winpct|374|248|9|record=y}}
}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Once Around the Bases: Bittersweet Memories of Only One Game in the Majors |first=Richard |last=Tellis |pages=12–20 |isbn=1572432772 |publisher=Triumph Books |date=1998 }}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{Baseballstats |br=f/fehridu01 |brm=fehrin001wil |fangraphs=1003967 |retro=F/Pfehrb101}}
* {{Find a Grave|43685649}}

{{WBSC navbox}}
{{Purdue Boilermakers baseball coach navbox}}
{{Stanford Cardinal baseball coach navbox}}
{{United States baseball roster 1964 Summer Olympics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fehring, Dutch}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:American football tackles]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball catchers]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox players]]
[[Category:Oklahoma Sooners football coaches]]
[[Category:Purdue Boilermakers baseball coaches]]
[[Category:Purdue Boilermakers baseball players]]
[[Category:Purdue Boilermakers football coaches]]
[[Category:Purdue Boilermakers football players]]
[[Category:Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Stanford Cardinal baseball coaches]]
[[Category:Stanford Cardinal football coaches]]
[[Category:UCLA Bruins football coaches]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Columbus, Indiana]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Indiana]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Indiana]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Indiana]]
[[Category:International baseball executives]]
[[Category:Presidents of USA Baseball]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]