Mount Saint Mary Athletics Hall of Fame
NEWBURGH, N.Y. – Former baseball coach Louis Arrotta was inducted as a member of the Mount Saint Mary College Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 5, 2014.
Louis Arrotta was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. A valued member of the Mount community, Coach Lou, as many know him, coached baseball at nearly every level, including semi-professional, Little League, American Legion and collegiate. He graduated from Newburgh Free Academy in 1954 and served with the 11th Airborne Division stationed in Germany. Prior to military service, he played American Legion baseball for Newburgh, and semi-professional baseball for the Newburgh Shapiro Jewels. He was also a player/coach for the Kingston Yankees, a semi-professional team that competed in the Tri-State League in the 1970s.
During 1958, Arrotta began coaching for the Newburgh Jr. American Legion baseball program. He coached baseball for over 43 years, which included 28 years coaching American Legion baseball. He co-managed the 1963 American Legion team to a state championship. He is also a former associate baseball scout for the Chicago White Sox.
Arrotta continued his coaching career at Mount Saint Mary College after retiring from IBM in 1990. He spent 12 years with the Knights, including two as the team's head coach. He was named the Skyline Coach of the Year in 2000 after leading the team to the Skyline title. He led the team to a 46-29-1 overall record in his two years at the helm. He continues as coach emeritus at Mount Saint Mary College.
Coach Lou said that a proud moment at the Mount was the satisfaction of turning a bad situation into something positive. He mentioned examples such as convincing a student to work harder in school, stay in school and eventually achieve success.
"When someone tells you they learned so much baseball from you, but more importantly, how they learned to be a good person and accept responsibility for what they do both on and off the field," said Arrotta. "It's a great satisfaction when that happens because a coach can make a difference in one's performance."
