EDWARDSVILLE - Longtime Edwardsville Post 199 baseball manager Ken Schaake, who guided the team to the 1998 American Legion national championship, died Wednesday, at age 68.
Schaake, who was a Legion baseball manager for 38 years for Post 199 and the Metro-East Bears before stepping down in 2019, was a fixture in area summer baseball, winning 874 games, three Illinois state championships and the national championship as Post 199 went 41-7 and won the Legion World Series in Las Vegas. Many of the players on that team were on the 40-0 Edwardsville High team that won the IHSA Class AA state title and were ranked number one in the nation.
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Schaake's teams also finished second in the Great Lakes regional three times to go along with 17 District 22 and nine Fifth Division championships.
Dennis Sharp, another affiliated with area Legion baseball for more than two decades, said Kenny had 38 years in as a Legion manager/coach.
“Legion Baseball was Kenny’s passion in the summer for sure,” said Sharp, who was good friends with Kenny. “He had some really great teams and really good players. He knew how to play the game. He was a good person and loved working with the kids.”
Sharp said the Schaake family had a deep tradition in Legion baseball. His dad - Don - ran the team for a long time, added Sharp.
“Ken’s parents came to all the Legion games,” Sharp said.
“I think winning the national championship in Las Vegas in 1998 was his biggest accomplishment as a manager. He had some great players on that team.”
Ken first played for Post 199 in 1969 under longtime Tiger coaches Joe Lucco, Bob Gregor. Bill Funkhouser and Chuck Jones began coaching under his father, Don, in 1978, taking charge as a manager in 1981. His father served as the team's official scorekeeper until the Bears folded in 2019.
Schaake's body was donated to Saint Louis University medical school. A celebration of life service will be held in his memory at a date to be announced.
Sharp said he brought Ken back as a coach and when he did one of the things he said was “Kenny knows how to get there (to the postseason)."
“He was a competitor and he always wanted to win,” Sharp said.
