Chuck Brayton

Frederick Charles Brayton (October 20, 1925 – March 28, 2015), alternately known as Chuck or Bobo, was an American college baseball head coach. Brayton led the Washington State Cougars baseball teams over 33 seasons, from 1962 to 1994. The winningest coach in WSU history, Brayton finished his career with a record of 1,162 wins, 523 losses and eight ties—the fourth-best total in NCAA history at the time of his retirement.

Early life Chuck Brayton was born on October 20, 1925 in Vancouver, Washington to parents Herbert and Hazel (Miller) Brayton. One of six children, Brayton moved with his family in October 1927 from Vancouver to central Skagit County in the northwestern part of the state. After the family settled in the small community of Birdsview, Washington, six miles west of Concrete, Brayton attended grade school in Birdsview and high school in Hamilton, Washington where he was senior class president and lettered in varsity sports.

Following high school graduation, Brayton hitchhiked across the state to Pullman as an incoming freshman at Washington State College (later Washington State University).

At the end of his college freshman year, Brayton enlisted in the Army Air Forces during the second half of World War II, serving for 18 months. Upon completion of his service, Brayton returned to college in Pullman where he was a three-sport varsity athlete at Washington State. In baseball during 1944, Brayton played the position of shortstop for interim coach Jack Friel and then during the 1946 to 1948 seasons for Buck Bailey.

Coaching career After graduation from WSC, Brayton became head baseball coach for over a decade at Yakima Valley Junior College, in Yakima, Washington. Brayton also served as the school's head football coach for five seasons. His baseball coaching record at Yakima was 251–68 with ten championships over 11 seasons.

Brayton joined the coaching staff for WSC Cougar baseball in 1961. During his tenure there, Brayton's teams won 21 conference titles (two Northern Division and 19 Pac-8/10), including 11 in a row from 1970 to 1980. He led the Cougars to the College World Series in 1965 and 1976, and was the fifth baseball head coach in NCAA history to exceed a thousand wins. Win number 1,000 came in 1990 in his 29th season, at home on April 11, Following that milestone, he coached for four more years.

Legacy Brayton's #14 jersey was retired by the school in 2003; he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

Bailey–Brayton Field, the Cougars' home stadium since 1980, is named for Brayton and his predecessor, Buck Bailey (1896–1964). When the old field was displaced by the new Mooberry track, Brayton constructed the new stadium on a budget, using items salvaged from Sick's Stadium in Seattle, as well as donated materials and volunteer labor.

Personal life Brayton married Eileen Lyman on December 21, 1947, in Kirkland, Washington. After his move from Yakima Community College, the couple made their home in Pullman beginning in 1961, where they raised their three sons. Brayton and his wife were married for 67 years until his death in 2015 at age 89. He was buried at Pullman City Cemetery.

Head coaching record