When a program collects wins in nearly 9 games out of every 10 played, you would expect plenty of good things are going to happen.
And that’s certainly true in the case of longtime Chambersburg softball coach Harvey Staver, whose teams seemed to be in the chase for state championships nearly every year.
In his 27 years as the head coach of softball – from 1983 to 2010, Staver’s teams posted an amazing record of 563 wins and 84 defeats, a winning percentage of .870.
The Trojans simply owned the top division in the Mid Penn Conference, winning 23 titles in that 27-year span. That included a streak of 20 consecutive years as the champions.
District 3 wasn’t a whole lot different, because Chambersburg won the district crown 11 times under Staver. That included a run of six straight championships (from 1991-96) and three in a row (from 2000-2002).
The Trojans posted a crazy record of 71-17 in District 3 contests (.806), and that included a stretch of 27 wins in a row. In District 3 championship games, his teams won 11 and lost only 4 times.
Chambersburg qualified for the PIAA Tournament 18 times in Staver’s time at the helm, racking up a record of 28-16. The Trojans captured state championships twice, in 1994 with an 11-2 win over Titusville, and in 1997 by beating Bellefonte 8-0.
In those days, before the pitching circle was moved back, pitchers ruled in softball and the state playoffs were littered with 1-0 and 2-1 scores. For example, in 1995, Chambersburg won 1-0 in the first round, 1-0 in the quarterfinals and lost 1-0 in the semifinals.
There was also the wild win over Jersey Shore in 2001 in which the Trojans prevailed 1-0 in 19 innings.
Six times, Chambersburg advanced to the semifinals and was defeated by the eventual state champions (four of them by one run), and that happened once in the quarterfinals. The Trojans also made it to the state final in 2004 and suffered a controversial 3-2 loss to Shaler.
In addition to softball, Staver had an even longer run as an assistant football coach at Chambersburg, holding the position for 32 years. In those years, he served as coach for the quarterbacks, running backs and defensive line.
The highlight of his football coaching gig came in 1989 when Chambersburg put together an 11-0 regular season and won a Mid Penn Commonwealth championship.
Staver, who will also be inducted into the Pennsylvania South Central Hall of Fame this fall, said what he will remember most – other than the two PIAA softball titles and the 11-0 football season – is the athletes.
He said, “I’ll remember all of the great athletes I coached and had the opportunity to see success in their lives.”
By Ed Gotwals
