Tag: Jim Muldowney

by Mike Pavlichko

Edison baseball honors Muldowney with trio of first pitches from Lehman, Appelman, Brownlie

The idea of Jim Muldowney not being around Edison and Eagles baseball is still something that’s hard to fathom.  But on Thursday afternoon, the late, great former baseball coach was honored in another unique way.

Before the Edison baseball team’s home opener against South Plainfield, three men of varying ages stepped out to the pitchers’ mound on the red and gold field to pay tribute to the man known as “Diamond Jim,” who passed away last May.

They included Bill Lehman, who graduated with Muldowney in 1973. They played on the baseball team together, and Lehman – an All-State and All-American selection his senior year – was drafted right out of high school by the Chicago White Sox.

WATCH THE FIRST PITCH CEREMONY ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL!!!

There was Brian Appelman, who won GMC Tournament championships in 1992 and 1993 playing for Muldowney, and now is the Eagles’ pitching coach under Vinnie Abene.

And there was Bobby Brownlie, who won GMC Tournament titles in 1998 and 1999 before becoming a bonafide star for another legend – Fred Hill at Rutgers – then was drafted by the Cubs. He now works for agent Scott Boras.

Former Edison baseball coach Jim Muldowney (right) with current AD Dave Sandaal (left) at the opening of the new Edison High School baseball field in 2020.

“I couldn’t pick between these three guys” to throw out the first pitch, Athletic Director Dave Sandaal told the crowd over the P.A. during a pregame ceremony. “They’ll all tell you they’re the best ever,” he joked.

So, he had all three of them throw their first pitch at the same time, to three different catchers lined up behind home plate.

Afterwards, we got a chance to catch up with all three.

Click below to hear from former Eagles Bill Lehman (’73), Bobby Brownlie (’99), and Brian Appelman (’93) – current Edison pitching coach – after a pregame first pitch ceremony honoring the late Jim Muldowney:

by Mike Pavlichko

Not just baseball: No. 24 worn by “Diamond Jim” retired in all Edison High sports

The number 24 – honoring legendary baseball coach Jim Muldowney – has been hanging on the wall in Mike A. Krychowecky Field since July 2020, when the Eagles’ new artificical turf field – in Edison red – joined this world. The number had been retired years before.

But when the man known as “Diamond Jim” suddenly passed away back in May at the age of 68, Edison High School Athletic Director Dave Sandaal snapped into action.

At Muldowney’s funeral – which ironically happened to be on May 24, the same number he wore – Sandaal talked about it with Charlie Mohr, the current and longtime boys’ basketball coach at the school.

It was then they decided no one should ever wear No. 24 again.

So, they took the idea to the Board of Education, and in this day and age, it’s probably the only thing a school board will ever vote on with 100% agreement: to retire Muldowney’s number across all sports ad Edison High where numbers are worn.

The resolution was passed on August 20th.

A resolution from the Board of Education retiring Jim Muldowney’s No. 24 across all Edison High School athletic teams that wear numbers. (Courtesy Edison High School Athletics)

Click below to hear Edison Athletic Director Dave Sandaal talk about the retirement of Jim Muldowney’s No. 24 in all sports with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko:

by Mike Pavlichko

Tributes continue to come in for Edison legend as Mooney and Brownlie remember Muldowney

While the passing of the man they called “Diamond Jim” – legendary former Edison baseball coach Jim Muldowney – has touched the entire community, his influence was far and wide across the state, especially in Middlesex County.

The man simply touched so many lives, whether it was as a coach or a friend, or – in many cases – both.

When baseball was done, he wasn’t done with you. Sometimes it would just be a call to see how the family was doing, or an invite to come watch a game with him, as he was fond of doing whether or not he had a vested interest.

We talked with two more people from the area on whom Muldowney had a huge influence.

CJ Mooney is the current baseball coach at Middlesex College. Muldowney led that program before becoming the head coach at Edison, where he went 275-75 in 13 seasons, winning ten GMC Tournament titles and a pair of state Group 4 crowns, finishing as the No. 4 team in the nation according to USA Today in 1993. Almost two decades later, in 2019, he was hired to resurrect the Colts’ softball program, and he and Mooney shared much more than just an office together.

Jim Muldowney was the head softball coach at Middlesex College, resurrecting the program after being hired in 2019. (Source: Middlesex College Athletics)

The two also have one other connection. They were both part of the only two GMC teams to complete a single-season “trifecta”: winning their division, the county title, and a state group title in the same year. Muldowney’s Eagles did it in 1993, and Spotswood did it in 2007. Mooney played on that Charger team.

Click below to hear CJ Mooney talk about the legacy of Jim Mudowney:

We also talked with an Edison legend in his own right, Bobby Brownlie, who had a stellar, dominating career as a pitcher for the Eagles, then went on to star at Rutgers. Brownlie, who now resides in Monroe, works with minor leaguers in client development for Scott Boras, and shared his recollections while on the road in Bowie, Maryland, on Wednesday.

Brownlie said he always wanted to be a catcher, but Muldowney threw him into the fire as a sophomore, and never looked back.

Click below to hear Bobby Brownlie talk about his relationship with Jim Muldowney:

by Mike Pavlichko

Legendary Edison baseball coach Jim Muldowney passes away at age 68

There were wins. Oh boy were there wins.

There were championships. A lot of championships.

But anyone who played for Jim Muldowney’s Edison High School baseball teams knows it was never about the wins or the championships.

Years after graduation, decades even, they would call him. Pick his brain. Talk about their kids. Ask for advice. He was that kind of mentor.

Jim Muldowney, longtime Edison baseball coach, passed away early Tuesday morning of cancer. He hadn’t been feeling well the last few weeks, and only recently checked into the hospital. He was out watching Edison baseball a little over two weeks ago, watching his Eagles (they’ll always be his Eagles) win a GMC Tournament first round game over Piscataway.

Muldowney – who was the Middlesex College softball coach when he passed – first was a successful baseball coach there, going 141-81 under his tutelage.

Former Edison baseball coach Jim Muldowney (right) with current AD Dave Sandaal (left) at the opening of the new Edison High School baseball field in 2020.

He was hired at Edison High for the 1988 season. And in a few short years, he turned the Eagles into a national power. His teams went 275-75, won seven GMC titles, and two state Group 4 titles in 13 seasons before he stepped down at the end of the 2000 season.

The 1993 team became the first in GMC history to complete the trifecta of division, county and state champions in the same season, a feat only matched once since, by Spotswood’s 2007 team.

Jim Muldowney (right) with Spotswood’s Glenny Fredricks, the only two coaches to complete the GMC trifecta. (Photo courtesy Dave Sandaal)

But then again, it was never about the wins.

We talked with three prominent figures – and close friends – of Muldowney, and let them tell their stories about him: current Edison Athletic Director Dave Sandaal, Edison baseball assistant Brian Appelman, and Brian Calantoni, former head of the Edison Boys Baseball League.

A team photo of the 1993 Edison baseball team, which won their division, the GMC Tournament title, and the state Group 4 title. Muldowney is on the far right. (Photo courtesy Brian Calantoni)

Sandaal played basketball for Muldowney in the ’80s, and Appelman and Calantoni played on the 1993 Edison baseball team, which finished as the No. 1 squad in New Jersey, and was ranked fourth nationally by USA Today.

Click below for their remembrance of legendary Edison baseball coach Jim Muldowney: