Jul. 18—Bob Mantooth retired in 2018 after a 42-year coaching career in high school baseball — the first seven seasons at Webster County and the last 35 as an iconic figure at Apollo.
He won 977 games during that span and almost always had his disciplined, well-schooled teams in contention for postseason championships.
Three years removed from the sport he played, coached and served with unbridled passion, Mantooth, now 67, treasures most the relationships that were built and sustained during his lifelong love affair with baseball.
“What I probably miss the most is watching kids develop and grow up, as players and as people,” Mantooth said. “After my first few years in coaching, I settled into the profession, became more comfortable, and fully understood that this is what I was supposed to be doing with my life.
“Looking back, I feel blessed that I was able to do what I loved doing for so long.”
Mantooth grew up in Louisville, played Little League Baseball at Valley Sports, and played baseball and basketball at Valley High School — ultimately landing at Murray State University (1972-75) and playing for legendary baseball coach Johnny Reagan, a lifelong inspiration.
“I fell in love with baseball at a very early age and simply loved to play the game,” Mantooth said. “For me, that was the attraction, the game itself, and my passion for it just continued to grow through the years.
“At Murray, coach Reagan was so knowledgable about the game, but there was a lot more to him than that. He taught me how to carry myself, how to respect other people, how to respect the game — I just thought he was the greatest. I did try to emulate him in a lot of ways during my own coaching career because he was such a great role model.”
When Mantooth retired, however, he did not look back.
“I just felt so right about the timing of my retirement,” he said. “I thought about it a lot and just came to the conclusion that it was time for me to step away — I have no regrets about that decision at all.
“I was ready to move on to the next stage of my life, and that’s being a grandfather — something I really cherish.”
In the summer following his retirement, Mantooth and his wife joined friend Montie Edwards and his son Chris, a former player and coach for Mantooth at Apollo, for a Diamond Baseball Tours junket that included seeing Major League Baseball games at the home parks of the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
They topped it off by attending the 2018 MLB Hall of Fame ceremony in Cooperstown, New York. Also on hand that weekend was Mantooth’s greatest player at Apollo, Brad Wilkerson, who later became a national collegiate player of the year at the University of Florida, and enjoyed an eight-season MLB career. Wilkerson was attending the HOF induction of his former big-league teammate, Vladimir Guerrero.
“What a special, special time that was for all of us,” Mantooth recalled. “Great baseball, great people, great memories — you just can’t beat it.”
These days, Mantooth and his wife, Sheree, spend a lot of time with granddaughter Tatum, 9, and grandson Meyers, 6 — the children of their son Ryne, who also played baseball for and coached baseball with his father at Apollo.
The Mantooths also attend a lot of Kentucky Wesleyan baseball games, and it’s little wonder why. Ryne is an assistant for Panthers head coach Todd Lillpop, who also starred for Mantooth and Apollo in the 1990s.
“We love being grandparents, we love being with and supporting our grandchildren — there’s nothing like it,” Mantooth said. “After so many years of playing and coaching, it’s satisfying now for me to just go to games as a fan, as a supporter. I still love baseball, of course, but now I’m just looking at it from a different perspective — and that’s just fine with me.”