DEPEW, N.Y. (WKBW — The Depew community is grieving the loss of the district's former high school baseball coach who made history with his team while battling ALS.
Dennis Crawley died Tuesday. He was diagnosed in 2021 but continued coaching to lead Depew baseball to the district's first-ever state title, in any sport, in June 2023.
We've received dozens of comments about the beloved coach on social media. Many people shared stories about the impact he had on and off the field.
I spoke with some of the people who knew him best including a fellow coach and three of his players.
"My name is Tony Sekuterski I coached with Dennis for 15 years. I know Dennis is probably out there somewhere and I'm hoping he's on a bucket at the edge of the dugout watching a game somewhere."
"I already miss coaching with him. There's a certain camaraderie that we always had...He truly was a good man. He was a great baseball coach."
"My name's Tyler Pagano. I play middle infield and my coach was Dennis Crawley and we won a State Championship in 2023."
"Everywhere I go his words stay in my mind. When I think about the state championship I think of him because we did it for him. He started a brotherhood that should last forever."
"Me and my best friends we went out there every day and we worked for him because we knew what he was going through during the season and we knew how important it was for him to leave legacy back at Depew. Winning the State Championship is something I will never forget."
"I'm Justin Refermat. I was the third baseman on the State championship team. Coach Crawley really meant a lot to me."
"I'm so thankful that he got to coach me and that I got to be one of his players. It was really sad to see him go. It makes you go out and live live your life as if you only have the rest of your day...the rest of the week to live because you don't know what unfortunate things can happen."
"My name's Anthony Weber I played first base and I was a pitcher. Ever since 12 years old, he's been my coach and I'm just so thankful I went to that team. He's changed my life so much I can't even explain."
"My sophomore year I had a really bad season. Coach Crawley pulled me aside and just asked me what's going on and I said I'm having some family troubles and he just told me how he's here for me. It just really meant a lot. Losing him has just really hit my heart deep."
