Rick Wolff served as head baseball coach at Mercy College from 1978-85, posting the highest winning percentage in school history with a 114-81-3 record (.583) and built the program into one of the most respected in the country. Along the way his teams recorded five straight winning seasons, including a 21-12 mark in 1983. His teams were also nationally ranked and he sent several players on to play in the professional ranks.
Wolff recruited some of the finest baseball players that have come through Mercy College. His efforts quickly earned huge dividends in 1981 as he led the Flyers to a program-best record at the time of 18-10-1 and a team batting average of .356. Inaugural Mercy Hall of Fame inductee Jim Schult led the nation that year with a .541 batting average and was drafted by the Texas Rangers.
The Flyers followed with another 18-win season in 1982 and then made the 1983 campaign a special one for Wolff. In addition to establishing a new best record in school history at 21-12, they had a team batting average of .338 (sixth in the nation), and scored an average of 8.8 runs per game (sixth in the nation). They also posted victories over perennial powerhouses Pace, Adelphi, New Haven, Concordia and St. Leo’s.
Wolff wrapped up his coaching career at Mercy with two more successful seasons, compiling records of 17-10 and 18-15 in 1984 and 1985, respectively.
In 1986, Wolff followed in the footsteps of his father, Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Wolff, and launched his on-air career with ESPN broadcasting college baseball, including the 1986 College World Series at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. In that World Series, he got to cover future major leaguers such as Robin Ventura, Albert Belle, Greg Vaughn and Mike Bordick. For several years, Wolff also broadcast college baseball for the Madison Square Garden Network.
He is a Harvard graduate, participating with the Crimson in the 1971 College World Series. Wolff was drafted and played in the minor leagues with the Detroit Tigers organization and later served as a roving coach for the Cleveland Indians from 1989-95, specializing in the mental approach to the game.
Wolff currently serves as Vice President, Executive Editor at Grand Central Publishing , where some of his better known authors include Ted Turner, Tiger Woods, Jack Welch, Mike Krzyzewski, Phil Mickelson, and Robert Kiyosaki. Wolff has also authored many books on youth sports. His latest book, which was written with his son John, is entitled HARVARD BOYS: A Father and Son's Adventures Playing Minor League Baseball. Wolff is a much in - demand speaker for community and school groups on sports parenting, and is the host of a popular radio show, "The Sports Edge," that airs every Sunday morning (8am-9am) on WFAN in New York.
He and his wife Trish, an English teacher in the Chappaqua (NY) school district, have three children: John (24), Alyssa (22), and Samantha (18).
