College baseball, not just Spartanburg Methodist, has lost a legend.
Tim Wallace, who coached SMC for 34 years, died May 16 after a nine-month battle with brain cancer. He was 64.
Wallace was elected into the National Junior College Athletic Association Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014 and finished his career with 1,351 wins, the fourth-most in juco history.
SMC under Wallace made seven trips to the Junior College World Series, including three straight from 2012-14, and 12 region championships. Wallace was Region 10 coach of the year eight times, NJCAA Eastern District coach of the year six times. He went into the national hall of fame in 2014.
Wallace finished his college career at Wofford and the catcher was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 1982 MLBl Draft. His professional career was derailed by injuries. But in five minor league seasons, he batted .270 with an on-base average of .352, hit 10 home runs and stole 17 bases in 463 games, reaching AAA in 1986.
He holds Wofford’s career record for batting average at .459 from 1981-82 and longest hitting streak at 37 consecutive games.
MILESTONE VICTORY: Tim Wallace gets win No. 1,000 at Spartanburg Methodist
Wallace was born in Union City, North Carolina, and grew up in Lexington, South Carolina. He began his college playing career at Baptist College, which is now Charleston Southern.
Todd Shanesy covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at todd.shanesy@shj.com. Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ.
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