Bill Arce

From BR Bullpen

William Arce

Bill Arce was a coach who did groundbreaking work in many countries.

Arce was in the US Army during World War II and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was injured during combat in the War. He later taught at the college level but received his primary fame as a coach. He was the first American to run baseball clinics in Belgium (1962), Sweden (1962), the Czech Republic (1969), Yugoslavia (1979) and China {1980}. He worked in 15 different countries in Europe.

Arce coached the Dutch national team to a Gold Medal in the 1971 European Championship, then coached the Italian national team to Gold in the 1975 European Championship. Through 2008, he is the only person to coach two different countries to first place in the European Championships. Arce coached for Team USA in the 1978 Amateur World Series and also worked with Team USA in 1970 and 1976. Arce was named the Best Coach in the Haarlem Baseball Week in 1963 and 1971.

In 1972, Bill coached for the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks. During that season the team participated in the 1972.

The baseball field at Claremont McKenna College is named after him. He founded their athletic program. He had a 606-472-7 record as a college coach. In 1976, he was voted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. He was also voted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Dutch Baseball Hall of Fame.

Primary Source: Baseball in Europe by Josh Chetwynd