By Dominic Scianna
Dave Rosene’s blood runs deep for the Chicago Public League (CPL) as a former high school athlete who attended South Shore High School, graduating in 1969.
He is active as a high school varsity baseball coach within the league, currently serving as head baseball coach at Jones College Prep. Rosene’s 620 wins as a coach and mentor to thousands of young baseball players through the years, mostly in the Chicagoland area, made him a lock as one of the newest members of the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) Hall of Fame.
“I was shocked and excited to receive the news,” Rosene said. “I’m the 18th Chicago Public League coach to be inducted into the IHSBCA Hall of Fame, and it’s a credit to all the players who have played for me and coaches who have worked really hard are what make an honor like this so special. In the end, something like this takes a collaborative effort and that’s what makes me feel great about it.”
And, Rosene, while happy to now be included in this select IHSBCA Hall of Fame group, wears the CPL moniker on his sleeve pondering why there has been sparse city public school representation down through the years.
“The CPL is more than 111 years old, and there’s a lot of good coaches in our league that have not been recognized,” said Rosene. “I’m hopeful more attention can be placed on the great jobs the coaches in our league are doing and have done (for future consideration in the IHSBCA).”
Simultaneously, the CPL ushered in its new Baseball Hall of Fame this year championed by Rosene, Whitney Young coach Chris Cassidy and CPS athletic program administrator Eddie Curry to take an idea that had been 10 years in the making and having it become a reality this past May.
The first class of CPL Baseball Hall of Fame standouts come from an impressive group of media members, umpires, coaches and players which included Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductees that included the likes of Kirby Puckett (Calumet High School) and Phil Cavaretta (Lane Tech).
A link to the full list of the CPL Baseball Hall of Fame’s inaugural 2025 class is found below.
Baseball has been Rosene’s love and a major part of his life since his days as a player and student at South Shore. His passion and dedication to his craft, now in his 20th season at Jones as its head baseball coach, has been very successful and gratifying especially when you include his 40+ year baseball career path that includes stints at St. Ignatius College Prep as a Catholic League baseball head coach and a two-year out-of-state opportunity at Marquette High School in Michigan City, Indiana, where he garnered 2004-05 Coach of the Year honors.
His joy has translated, in recent years, to a deeper emphasis on mentoring and motivating a new crop of young players each year, to also become better players, students and citizens on and off the field of play.
“I’ve been around for a long time and I’m tired of being second fiddle to the suburban schools and Catholic League,” stressed Rosene. “My mission is to help urban baseball and urban sports in general. We have 30 players in our Jones program, and that’s counting the JV and Varsity teams combined. I’ve seen the top and I’ve seen the bottom and we just need more numbers to be more competitive.”
So, his work is far from done as he continues to strive for what’s best for the young athletes that come his way while working at his craft as part of the CPL culture and community he represents.
“There have been up and down years for Chicago Public League baseball and I, along with others, are looking at ways to try and turn things around,” noted Rosene. “…Having the CPL Hall of Fame annually is one way to give us more exposure and bring things to light which will make us stronger for the future.”
