Rochester John Marshall honors longtime baseball coach Lou Branca

Rochester John Marshall’s baseball program made sure longtime coach Lou Branca isn’t forgotten.

Before a 13-5 victory April 30 over Rochester Century at Alumni Field, the program presented a tribute to Branca and gave his family a framed uniform.

Branca, a member of the Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, died Jan. 6, 2023, at 94. He coached the John Marshall baseball team from 1967 to 1987, winning three Big 9 Conference titles and being named the Big 9 Conference coach of the year three times.

He graduated from South St. Paul High School in 1946 and then served two years in the U.S. Navy. After his service, he played two years of professional baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.

In July 1948, the Cardinals signed him after a scout saw him throw a no-hitter for South St. Paul’s amateur team against Cannon Falls. The Cardinals were going to assign him to their farm team in Johnson City, Tenn., but instead assigned him to Duluth of the Class C Northern League under tragic circumstances.

On July 24, 1948, a bus carrying the Duluth Dukes, a Cardinals affiliate in the Class C Northern League, was involved in a crash in Ramsey County, just north of St. Paul on Hwy. 36 between Dale Street and Western Avenue. Five members of the team — manager George Treadwell and four players — were killed and 13 were injured in the crash.

Branca retired after the 1949 season because of shoulder issues. He graduated from St. Cloud State in 1953. His first teaching and coaching job was in Illinois, but after one year, he took a job at Cleveland High School in Minnesota. He also taught and coached at Faribault High School, leading Faribault to a Big 9 Conference title.