FORMER RC BASEBALL COACH, HALL OF FAMER HORTON DIES AT 94

May 8, 2020

Verne Horton, a former baseball coach at Reedley College and member of the RC Athletic Hall of Fame, died on April 22 in Southern California at the age of 94.
Horton coached the Tigers from 1950-56 and led the team to three championships, including an undefeated season in 1951. He coached the Tigers’ football team for three seasons as well, and became a career educator that included time as a vice principal and principal at Reedley High School before moving to Southern California in 1972.

Horton was inducted into the RC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001; that year joining two of his former players in Jack McBride and Henry “Hank” Vasques. In a 2001 interview with the Reedley Exponent, he told of his excitement in being inducted.

“It’s really an honor for me to be considered with the likes of [HOF members] J.R. Boone, Babe Danielson and Shirley Gustafson,” he said. In addition to all the star Tiger players Horton coached, he also had an opportunity to coach Gustafson — who went on to a Hall of Fame coaching career in volleyball — on the Reedley Comets women’s softball team.