Hall of Fame
Art Fairchild, former baseball coach, received honorary membership, which is bestowed upon selected retired coaches and administrators who contributed significantly to the athletic program.
Fairchild coached the team from 1966 to 1995 with the exception of the 1987 season, when he was on sabbatical leave. At the time of his retirement he had the winningest record in PSAC history. In his 29 seasons, Shippensburg compiled a record of 662-360-8.
In 18 of his 29 seasons, the Raiders won 20 or more games, including 11 years with 30 or more victories. His teams competed in the PSAC tournament 16 times and won five conference titles and took five Eastern or Central Division titles. They competed in the NCAA Division II tournament 12 times and won regional titles in 1977 and 1991.
Shippensburg made its first ever NCAA tournament appearance in 1973. The following year the Raiders fell short in the PSAC standings, but the pitching staff led the NCAA Division II in earned run average with a mark of 1.79. In 1977, the Raiders went 32-11, winning the PSAC championship and the Mid-Atlantic Regional championship to compete in the Division II National Championship Series for the first time.
The team won the PSAC Eastern title in 1978 and 1979 and competed in the NCAA tournament both seasons. The 1980 team played in the NCAA tournament. The 1981 team put together one of the best seasons in team history with a 32-10 record. Shippensburg won the conference crown and played in the NCAA regional.
Beginning in 1984 Shippensburg competed in six straight conference tournaments and won four titles.
Fairchild recorded victory number 500 in April 1989 when Shippensburg swept a doubleheader at Pitt-Johnstown. The Raiders enjoyed 21 consecutive winning seasons from 1969 to 1989 before the streak was snapped in 1990. Fairchild and the team bounced back to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament in 1991 and win the NCAA North Atlantic Region championship.
The following season the Raiders won the PSAC Eastern Division title but lost in the conference tournament to eventual World Series participant, Mansfield.
Fairchild graduated from Maryville College in Tennessee and earned his master’s degree at Indiana University. Before coming to SU, he was an instructor and coach at Georgetown College in Kentucky. Fairchild was the director of the SU Baseball School. He served as the NCAA Division II national chairperson of the All-America and Coach of the Year committees, and served on the Dick Howser Player-of-the-Year Division II Poll and North Atlantic Regional Selection committees. In 1993 he was the first and only Division II coach named to the Louisville Slugger College Baseball Coaches Advisory Board.
Fairchild retired in 2002 from the university's health and physical education department.
