Baldwin High School track coach Ed Helbig isn't a pack rat. He has saved only two letters over the years.

One was from his college track coach. The other was from former Penn Hills High School coach Chuck Hemphill, who died April 20. Hemphill was 77.

"I had only been coaching at Baldwin for a couple of years and he sent me a letter after a meet and said if I kept going with the same enthusiasm and all that I'd be a very successful coach," Helbig said. "It was neat that he did that. I still have it in a lock box."

That Hemphill would do something such as the letter to Helbig doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who knew him. He was passionate about track and field and cross country. He would praise anyone or anything he thought would improve the sports or improve the high school athletes who participated in the sports.

He was "Mr. Track" in Western Pennsylvania, working as a coach, organizer, official, volunteer and promoter.

Hemphill couldn't understand why area newspapers did not do more stories or run more statistics about track and field. He thought track should get as much coverage as football.

He was also critical of the way the WPIAL and the PIAA established the track season. He thought there were too many dual meets and not enough time to train athletes properly.

"But the bottom line with Charlie was that he was for the athletes," Helbig said. "And he had a great rapport with them when ever he was at a meet. He'd talk to them and joke with them and tell them to do their best and make them feel at ease. I'd say most of them knew who he was."

"There was no veneer with him. What you saw was what you got," said WPIAL executive director Larry Hanley. "He was a big part of the high school track scene. I don't think I was ever at a WPIAL [track or cross country] meet, or a golf event for that matter, that Charlie wasn't there helping out or doing something."

Although he retired as a mathematics teacher and coach at Penn Hills High School a number of years ago, Hemphill remained active in track and cross country. He continued to do the boys' track honor roll, which he mailed to coaches throughout Western Pennsylvania. The Post-Gazette ran the honor roll on a weekly basis in the spring.

The amazing part of the honor roll was that Hemphill did it by hand and would type the lists himself before making copies.

"I've said that he was old school and that's a perfect example of what I mean," Helbig said. "He refused to use a computer. He said once you put something in a computer you never knew what would happen to it. He also had a code he thought coaches and athletes should go by and he wouldn't deviate from that."

Helbig, who graduated from Baldwin in 1969, remembers reading Hemphill's track honor roll when he was in high school.

Gateway High School track coach Tom LaBuff said Hemphill was respected by everybody in the track community. Hemphill was a starter at many of Gateway's home meets.

"All of our athletes knew who he was because I made sure they knew him," LaBuff said. "There's no question he was one of the most influential people in track in this area. And his influence extended to the eastern part of the state as well.

"He was also one of the guys who kept the Tri-State Track and Field Coaches Association going for a long time. He's going to be missed in a lot of ways."

While Hemphill had slowed some in recent years, he still helped out at a number of meets. He was only a couple of years removed from typing the results at the WPIAL Class AA track championships. Hemphill was still the voice of the Baldwin Invitational last year, announcing the results from individual events while medals were presented.

His knowledge of top times and distances for high school athletes in Western Pennsylvania was unparalleled. Any one who wanted to know where a time ranked all-time in the WPIAL, Hemphill was the guy to call.

Helbig isn't about to forget about Hemphill. The Tri-State Track and Field Coaches Association, of which Helbig is a major part, has decided to name the Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented annually, after Hemphill.

Also, one of the events at the Baldwin Invitational in May will have Hemphill's name on it and the winner will receive a special plaque. Helbig is leaning toward honoring him with one of the hurdle events.

Visitation for Hemphill Sunday at the Charles W. Trenz Funeral Home in Penn Hills was not a solemn occasion. It was a who's who of track coaches and officials and just about everyone had a story to tell about Chuck Hemphill.

"We were standing around in front of the casket with his family laughing and telling stories," Helbig said. "That's the way he would have wanted it. But he leaves a big hole in high school track."