ABOUT ERNEST RADCLIFFE
Ernest Radcliffe has been coaching since 1997, when he founded the Southside Wolfpack youth football program. He coached baseball at Hyde Park High School from 1997 to 2008 and has coached the Morgan Park High School baseball team since 2008. He founded and ran First Round Youth Baseball from 1999 to 2006, ran Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) from 2000 to 2016, and founded The Show travel baseball team in 2016. He attended MLB Scout School in Arizona and received certification in 2012. He was a national coach for USA baseball with RBI from 2010 to 2012.
Radcliffe, nephew of Negro League legends Ted “Double Duty” Radcliffe and Alex Radcliffe, played quarterback in college at Triton College but switched sports after earning a baseball scholarship to Alcorn State, eventually transferring to, playing for, and graduating from Central State University. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals organization in 1986, playing for the Cardinals from 1986 to 1988, the Virginia Generals/Kansas City Royals from 1988-1989, and the Atlanta Braves spring training invite from 1989 to 1990.
Radcliffe has coached several thousand young people over the past 24 years, many from communities ravaged by violence. As coach, Radcliffe’s guidance has led countless players to college scholarships. The Show has sent 60 baseball players to college in the last 6 years, while the Southside Wolfpack has sent numerous football players to college over the years.
In recent years, his players have landed at Clark Atlanta University, Florida Memorial University, Vincennes University, Benedict College, Central Christian College of Kansas, Claflin University, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Illinois, Northern Illinois University, Wright State University-Lake Campus, and Millikin University. Many players end up at HBCUs. “We stay with them all the way through college,” he said. “They come back, and they have a bachelor’s degree, they have a master’s. We have young people that are doctors, lawyers.”
Coach Radcliffe often reminds his players to play hard and study hard. “We talk to them a ton about academics. I ask for transcripts to look at them, to oversee them, to make sure they’re heading in the right direction. If someone is struggling, we get them tutoring.” Radcliffe works closely with teachers across the city to help make sure his players are getting the job done in the classroom. He has weekly grade checks to make sure his athletes are meeting the standards he expects.