He came to Nashville from New Orleans, won an NAIA National Championship, was named Most Valuable Player for the tournament, almost transferred away, came back and was named 1st Team All-American. Kal Koenig had lived a full life before he became a firefighter in his hometown, New Orleans, and led rescue efforts through Hurricane Katrina. To say his life has been eventful is an understatement, but we caught up with this Lipscomb Athletics Hall of Famer when he visited this week with LipscombSports.com.
NOTE: Kal and his 1979 Bison Baseball teammates will be honored with a 40-year Championship Reunion on campus Saturday, April 27. For information, please contact Andy Lane by phone (615-966-5853) or email (andy.lane@lipscomb.edu).
What years did you compete for Lipscomb?
I came in September of 1977 and I played through the spring of 1981.
What teammate was most memorable?
This is a tough question because I can tell a story about every one of my teammates. They all made a difference, but to keep it simple I went back to my freshman year and narrowed it to Bob Hamilton and Bob Parsons. I felt like I knew them already when I first stepped on campus because the Bisons had won the NAIA National Championship in 1977 and those two were featured in all the publicity and recruiting materials. When I finally met them face-to-face, they were bigger than life to me – like someone meeting their idol. I think the first time they walked past my room in High Rise I almost asked them for autographs. But they couldn’t have been nicer that year. It was nothing like the stereotype you imagine about seniors treating freshmen like dogs. They took us under their wings and took care of us. We learned a ton from them – they were so good.
Here’s what I mean: my first year we played the host team, John Brown University, in Arkansas in the first round of the Area tourney, and they killed us. A bunch of us were mortified – we didn’t expect to lose and we were not ready to go home. I’ll never forget getting back to the hotel and the two Bobbys were as cool as cucumbers. We were freaking out, but they kept saying, “We got this, don’t worry.” We couldn’t imagine that kind of incredible confidence, but it rubbed off on us. We won games to get back to John Brown, and we beat them twice to win the Area. Those two guys were special, and they influenced us in ways beyond their playing ability.
Another teammate I’ll never forget is Mark Carter. He lived across the hall from me, and he was just like our dad. Whatever we needed, he took care of it. He helped us with homework, he kept our heads right, he told us how to study … he was just a great model for us, and nice in every way.
I have good memories from four years’ worth of teammates, but those three stick out to me.
What degree have you earned?
I got a B.S. in Physical Education from Lipscomb in December 1981.
Why did you attend Lipscomb?
The only reason I came to Lipscomb was to play baseball. That’s it. I didn’t know much about the school, and I certainly didn’t know it would turn out to be one of the best decisions I made my entire life. I just came to play baseball, and it changed me forever.
I had never heard of Lipscomb, but my high school coach, Larry Maples, had been a student. I don’t think he played baseball at Lipscomb, but he took some of Coach Dugan’s classes and he told me about the man. None of the schools around me were very good at the time, but Lipscomb impressed me as a solid “baseball school.” I looked into it and saw the tradition and the championships and the coaches, so we took a ride to Nashville for a visit and Coach Dugan signed me without ever seeing me play.
What is your favorite athletic memory at Lipscomb?
This might sound hard to believe because it should probably be a game or a championship, but honestly, the first thing that comes to my mind is being inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998. It just felt like the perfect ending to a magic story – kind of icing on top of a great cake.
Earning 1st Team All-American my senior year was special too because it was a hard award to achieve.
Going to the National Tournament all four years of my college career – that was a huge accomplishment. Not many players get to experience that.
And I promise, almost everyone who played for Coach Dugan can remember their first “Chief” call. Mine came in a game early in my first fall when I was struggling – I was walking batters right and left, and my catcher – I’m pretty sure it was my roommate, Steve Aul – kept calling curve balls and changeups. I kept shaking him off and throwing fastballs. Coach Dugan finally called timeout and stormed out of the dugout, but instead of coming toward me, he headed for my catcher.
“Yes,” I thought. “I’m off the hook.”
Until my catcher told him, “He shook me off.”
Coach was mid-step with one foot in the air, and somehow he changed directions and come straight to me. That finger most of us felt at some point hit me in the chest, and I heard him clearly: “Let me tell you something, Chief.” He told me to give him the ball and to go run. And I did.
A more pleasant memory was a game at Onion Dell, and I think it was against Belmont. We gave up six runs in the first inning with only one out, and Coach told me to get warmed up to go in. Well, before that Chuck Ross told me to get ready, but that’s another story. Our pitcher walked another batter or two and Coach brought me in – two runners on base and one out. Naturally, my job was to put out the fire so we could get back in the game, or at least make it respectable. So I stepped on the mound, wound up, and threw my best pitch ... and the guy hit it on the tennis courts – a 3-run homer. Wow, 9-0 with one out in the 1st inning. The reason I remember it, though: thankfully, that’s the last hit I gave up that day. I pitched the rest of the game – 8-2/3 innings – and I struck out 18 or 19 batters and we won something like 18-9. What a game!
And finally, my top memory is the championship game in the 1979 National Tournament. It’s my favorite memory because I should have never been in the game. It pains me to say it, but I had a horrible year. I started out bad in our early trip to Florida, and my season got worse – so bad that Dr. (Ralph) Samples, a psychology professor and a regular faculty member at our games, called me in his office to work on my mind. But the season came down to the final game and for some unknown reason, Coach Dugan called on me – a guy who threw something like 6.2 innings in the tournament with maybe 13 or 14 strikeouts. But apparently he was a genius because everything worked right in that championship game. Two examples: on one pitch my cleat got caught on the rubber, and while I was falling I sort of pushed the ball toward the plate, and it fell in for a strike. Another batter hit an absolute frozen rope to right field that would have been a single, double, or more on a normal day. But on this day, Reggie Whittemore dove and caught it. I’d love to sit here and tell you I had a great year, but the truth is, I didn’t. Coach trusted me anyway, and between him and the Man Upstairs, I was awarded Tournament MVP. How can you explain that?
Who influenced your athletic career at Lipscomb?
Coach (Ken) Dugan and Coach (Roy) Pardue, who was our pitching coach, taught me so much. I just wanted to listen to everything they had to say. Coach Pardue’s son, Tim, was on the team too, but Coach never once showed any prejudice. Tim was a starter, and starters always get more coaching than relievers, so I remember sitting close to Tim on the bench so I could hear the extra instruction.
I’ll give you one more name, and this may surprise you but it’s the truth: Coach Don Meyer. After my junior year I was planning to transfer. I had a great offer from a school whose coach really laid it on thick to get me to come play for him. He finally convinced me to transfer, so I called Lipscomb in the summer to tell Coach Dugan. Mrs. (Mary) Carrigan answered and told me Coach was out of the country, so I told her my plan. She put me on hold and next thing I know, Coach Meyer picked up the call. He calmly listened and very persuasively encouraged me to come back, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I would have missed so many of the great memories from my senior year at Lipscomb. He saved me. In fact, one of my greatest regrets is failing to publicly thank him when I was inducted into the Hall of Fame. I had every intention, and I took the opportunity to tell him privately, but I have wished many times since then that I had remembered him in my acceptance speech.
What do you remember about Lipscomb campus life during your time here?
First, Bison Day – It was always a great day, usually with horrible weather or the first snow of the year, but everybody dressed up and spirit on campus was incredible.
Second, sitting on the wall in Bison Square – That was the regular hangout and where we’d go to cut up after chapel, between classes, or around lunch time. We had a blast there – nothing bad or mean-spirited, just good clean fun.
Third – the 7th floor of High Rise. It was great – the baseball team all lived on the right side and the basketball team lived on the left, and we had some crazy stuff in there. It seems like every day after practice we’d meet in Steve Liddle and Walter Ward’s room to watch M.A.S.H. The only problem was it didn’t end until 6:00, so we’d have to sprint to the cafeteria before it closed at 6:15.
Chapel is another great memory. When I first got to campus I wasn’t so excited about it, but as I grew a little bit I began to get more out of it. And now, looking back, I think of chapel as a great part of our campus life. I especially remember two chapel talks given by students, but I’ll save those for another time. Let’s just say I was a much better person when I left that campus than when I arrived, and chapel and Bible classes were big parts of that.
And finally, on the first snowfall my freshman year, several baseball players were walking around campus and spotted an open window on the top floor of Elam Hall, a girls dorm. We packed about five snowballs each and started firing them into that window, not missing one single throw. We were never that accurate on the baseball field, but on this day we were knocking things off the desk, the bookshelf, and whatever else we saw in the window. And then, of course, we ran. It took about a week before the ladies found and confronted us, and lo and behold – I ended up asking one of them out and we dated for about a year. That campus was a blast for me. I wouldn’t change a thing about my time there.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned in your time at Lipscomb?
The natural answer is the value of teamwork and the benefit of learning to work together, and the truth is, there are all kinds of parallels in teamwork and my job as a firefighter. Just like pitchers need teammates to hit and catch the ball, firefighters need partners too. Our saying is “Two in, two out.” Partners depend on each other and trust in each other, just like teammates.
But even better than that, I learned that God is in control. I used to see something happen and think, “Isn’t that a coincidence?” I learned to believe there is no such thing as a coincidence. I believe things happen for a reason. I’ll tell you quickly, a lot of times I don’t know the reason – especially at the time – but I’ve seen so many things work out according to a plan that I think God controls. That’s what I believe.
Who were your favorite professors?
Dr. Carl McKelvey and Dr. Ralph Nance were just incredible. Number one, they were both Godly men who didn’t see the need to preach to you. They were great teachers and huge baseball fans who would do anything in the world to help out their students. When I was inducted into the Hall of Fame, I thanked “some teachers who were sometimes rumored to let out afternoon classes early on baseball game days, but I won’t mention names because I don’t want to get Dr. Nance in trouble.” He was in the crowd and gave me that big grin – that was worth a thousand dollars to me.
And Dr. McKelvey and I just had a bond. I can’t explain it other than he invested time and effort into students, and I happened to benefit from his compassion. He taught me a lot, and I’ll always be grateful – for both him and Dr. Nance. Most of the baseball players were crazy about them and Dr. (Axel) Swang.
What do you do now?
I’m a firefighter with the New Orleans Fire Department, and I’m assigned to Rescue 2 in the Special Ops Division. That’s a fancy way to say I’m a rescue guy – any kind of rescues: elevators, car extrications, confined space, water rescues – pretty much anything that requires rescue in the north half of the city. That’s in addition to fire and medical calls. We still make those too, and I’ve done it for about 34 years now.
Tell us about your family:
I’ve been married to Barbara for 36 years in May – we met in Colorado while I was playing summer ball. We have three daughters: Kelsi Pack (husband Will) has three sons; they live in South Carolina, and both work for FCA – Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Kana Gramling (husband Marion) lives in Georgia; she’s an occupational therapist and he’s a teacher/coach. Kali is our youngest, and she graduated from University of Mobile with a double major in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Development. She’s a professional basketball player in Denmark, currently recovering from an ACL injury.
FAST FINISH
- Favorite food: Seafood
- Favorite TV show: “24”
- Favorite Bible scripture: John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him won’t perish but will have everlasting life.”
- Favorite sports team: New Orleans Saints
- Pet peeve: People who are rude
- Person I most admire: My wife, Barbara
- Person I’d most like to meet: Tim Tebow
- Rather ride or drive? Short trip: drive Long trip: ride
- Pick one – salad or dessert: Dessert
- Dream vacation spot: Bora Bora – never been, but I’d like to.
- Early morning or late night person? Late night
You can contact Kal by email at: rescuefly@hotmail.com
