Podcast appearances · Radar

Jack Wallace

Retired baseball, football and cross country coach and former science teacher at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, MA, best known as Mark "The Bird" Fidrych's high school baseball coach.

4

APPEARANCES

1

PODCASTS

Aug 31, 2026

"The Bird: The Spirit of '76"

"The Bird: The Spirit of '76"

The Whole Ballgame

Aug 31 · 1h 42m

Andy BarronNARRATOR

16:21

JV coach Jack Wallace, now 85, was Fid's coach.

Jack WallaceGUEST

16:25

The baseball stuff with me started when he was a freshman at Algonquin.

Jack WallaceGUEST

16:31

I was the JV coach.

Jack WallaceGUEST

16:34

the first time they had a JV team, actually.

Jack WallaceGUEST

16:36

I had applied for the varsity job and I didn't get it.

Jack WallaceGUEST

16:40

And so I said, I'll do the JVs if you're going to have JV baseball.

Jack WallaceGUEST

16:45

And so Mark was a pitcher for me then.

1 HR 17 MINS LATER

Andy BarronNARRATOR

93:52

It was the game that propelled him to dizzying national heights.

"The Bird: The Spirit of '76"

"The Bird: The Spirit of '76"

Aug 24 · 11m

Andy BarronNARRATOR

2:09

The

Jack WallaceGUEST

2:09

recognition is especially meaningful as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of this unforgettable 1976 season with the Detroit Tigers.

Jack WallaceGUEST

2:24

What a season it was.

Jack WallaceGUEST

2:25

It was being a merrily broken year.

Jack WallaceGUEST

2:30

He started the all-star game and captured the attention of the entire baseball club.

Jack WallaceGUEST

2:37

Those accomplishments alone should have made him special.

Ann FidrichGUEST

3:35

But

Jack WallaceGUEST

3:36

the final score, it wasn't what people remember.

"The Bird: The Spirit of '76"

"The Bird: The Spirit of '76"

Why Am I Crying?

Jul 5 · 10m

Andy BaronNARRATOR

1:33

There's one particular game that stands out in which Fidrych was pitching a no-hitter

Jack WallaceGUEST

1:37

... and, uh, uh, and then we- we went up to Clinton to play a game.

Jack WallaceGUEST

1:43

And, uh, Mark was pitching.

Jack WallaceGUEST

1:45

And, uh, you know, we were beating Clinton, you know, pretty easily.

Jack WallaceGUEST

1:49

And so we played, played a- we had 16 boys on the team, and they put them all on.

Jack WallaceGUEST

1:54

Ahmed White was on that team.

Ann FidrychGUEST

2:08

So it's a cry.

Jack WallaceGUEST

2:13

So the last, the, um, the last guy up hits the ball to right field.

"The Bird: The Spirit of '76"

"The Bird: The Spirit of '76"

I Can't Take It Anymore!

Jun 28 · 9m

Andy BarronNARRATOR

7:30

JV coach Jack Wallace, now 85, was Fid's coach.

Jack WallaceGUEST

7:34

The baseball stuff with me started when he was a freshman at Algonquin.

Jack WallaceGUEST

7:39

I was the JV coach.

Jack WallaceGUEST

7:42

time they had a JV team, actually.

Jack WallaceGUEST

7:45

I had applied for the varsity job and I didn't get it.

Jack WallaceGUEST

7:48

And so I said, I'll do the JVs if you're going to have JV baseball.

Jack WallaceGUEST

7:53

And so Mark was a pitcher for me then.

Andy BarronNARRATOR

8:37

I