Ken Schreiber, a member of the inaugural Valparaiso University Athletics Hall of Fame class and legendary baseball head coach at LaPorte H.S., passed away Friday afternoon at the age of 83.

Schreiber, who attended Valpo from 1953-58, was a two-sport standout for the Crusaders. On the baseball diamond, Schreiber was a three-time All-Indiana Collegiate Conference honoree and helped lead Valpo to a pair of ICC championships. On the gridiron, Schreiber still ranks eighth in program history with 1,800 career rushing yards, was an All-ICC selection in 1956 and was a member of the Crusaders’ 1954 ICC title team. He was inducted into the Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998, one of 15 members of the inaugural class.

Schreiber went on to earn national acclaim for his work at the helm of the LaPorte H.S. baseball program. Over 38-plus seasons as head coach of the Slicers, Schreiber led the team to 1,010 victories, seven state championships, 11 semistate titles, 18 regional championships and 28 sectional titles. When he retired in 1998, Schreiber was the fourth winningest high school coach in the nation’s history. He was named Indiana Coach of the Year on eight occasions and National Coach of the Year three times, and was inducted into numerous Halls of Fame – including the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.