Remembering ‘Herk’

CEDAR RAPIDS - The name Herkelman cannot be spoken at Kennedy High School without heads being turned or stories being shared.

Bill Herkelman impacted many lives during his time at Kennedy, whether it was within the walls of the school or on the baseball diamond.

The legendary former Kennedy head baseball coach and teacher, known best at Herk, died last Friday morning at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics after complications due to a stroke he had on Thursday. Herkelman was 77.

The funeral was today.

Shortly after the news of Herkelman's death, senior Parker Lloyd tweeted a message many would agree speaks well to Herkelman's character.

'He was a better person and a better friend than he was a baseball coach, and he was a damn good baseball coach. RIP Herk #29,” Lloyd wrote.

Herkelman's career at Kennedy began in 1967 when he joined the staff and began teaching mathematics. He retired from teaching in 2012 after a roughly 52-year career of teaching in classrooms.

His career coaching baseball continued until his death on Friday.

Marie Treangen, who graduated in 2012, remembers Herkelman as a teacher who was never willing to give up on a student, as long as they didn't give up on him.

'I have always been pretty terrible at math and it was always super frustrating for me,” Treangen said. 'Even when Mr. Herkelman wasn't my teacher, I was still in his classroom after school most days. He was always so patient and willing to help.”

Treangen wasn't the only one in her family who benefited from having Herkelman as a teacher.

'He taught my mom, my aunt, my sister and me,” Treangen said. 'We are all terrible at math so God bless him for teaching all four of us.”

In 1968, Herkelman became the assistant baseball coach for Kennedy, a duty which he fulfilled diligently until 1976, when he was appointed head baseball coach. During his 36-year coaching career at Kennedy, Herkelman was able to rack up a winning record of 318-224 and earned an induction into the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Herkelman's accomplishments included five Metro titles, two Mississippi Valley Conference titles and two trips to the state tournament.

'Coach Herk was one of the most awesome people I've ever met,” said Nathan Althoff, a 2014 graduate and former baseball player. 'He was the prime example of doing things the right and honest way. He would rather lose doing things the right way than win doing things the easy way.”

On June 2, 2014, the Kennedy baseball field was named Herkelman Field as a tribute to honor the long-time Kennedy coach and his dedication to baseball, education and his students on and off the field.

After a brief hiatus from coaching, Herkelman rejoined the Kennedy baseball coaching staff in 2005 as an assistant coach to current coach Bret Hoyer.

'He is the godfather of Kennedy baseball. Every single team will try to live up to his standards that he set for this program many, many years ago,” Hoyer said. 'We hope to represent his legacy well every year.”

Even though Herkelman will no longer be with his players in body, he will always be with them in spirit and will forever live on through the memories they all have of him.

'I remember my first day of practice as a junior, and I hadn't officially met him yet,” Althoff said. 'It only took about five minutes before he started talking to me like we were old friends. His friendship was very special to me the two years I was on varsity and he is someone I will look to model my life after.”

The Kennedy baseball field has been transformed into a memorial in Herkelman's honor. Baseballs with heartfelt messages written on them - such as 'the ump just called him safe at home” - line the edge of the back screen net, along with flowers and pictures of players with the coach. Kennedy officials lighted the scoreboard with the number 29, which was his signature number.

Before Herkelman died, he was able to see his beloved Cougars make it into the state tournament after defeating Cedar Falls, 18-1, in the substate final.

'I think that if there's anything good that can come out of this, it's that it really showed how close our team is,” Lloyd said. 'I know that when we take the field in Des Moines and Herk sees us play together as a family for all seven innings, he'll be smiling down at us.”

Despite the players still grieving the loss, they still plan to give their all at state while remembering who they are playing for when they take on Davenport North at 5 p.m. Wednesday.