Bulletin Board
Subscribe to our NewsletterFRACKVILLE — Frackville lost one of its baseball legends Monday.
Schuylkill County Teener League president John Chuma passed away at age 73 after a long bout with cancer.
Chuma was a baseball coach for 50 years in Frackville at the Teener League, Little League, Legion and high school levels. He was honored in July during a “Celebration of John Chuma” at the Frackville Elks Lodge No. 1533, an event that drew a standing-room-only crowd of friends, family, former players, former coaches and members of the community.
A Frackville native and lifelong borough resident, Chuma played Little League, Teener and Legion baseball in Frackville and high school baseball for both Frackville and North Schuylkill. A 1967 graduate of North Schuylkill, Chuma attended Lincoln Tech and entered the Army in 1969.
Chuma served one year in the Army in Vietnam before developing cancer and spent a year in the Walter Reed Army Hospital. After being discharged in May 1972, Chuma attended Penn State Schuylkill with a degree to teach electronics in vocational schools.
He owned and operated John’s TV repair from 1973-88 and began a second business, Dynamark Security, that he operated from 1979-2006.
While recuperating at home in 1972, Chuma started umpiring games for the Frackville Little League. He began coaching Teener League baseball in 1973 and was still involved in Teener baseball 50 years later, serving as the Frackville head coach and Schuylkill County Teener League president.
Two of his former players, Reggie Crawford and Joe Nahas, are currently playing professional baseball in the minor league systems of the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs, respectively.
The Teener League field at Frackville’s Memorial Park was re-named “The John Chuma Teener Field” in 2019.
Chuma also coached six years with the Frackville Little League, coached the Frackville Legion team for three seasons and coached 12 years with the Frackville Biddy Basketball program.
In the community, Chuma is a past vice president of Frackville Borough Council and was an officer with the Frackville Biddy Basketball Association, Frackville Midget Football Association, North Schuylkill Football Halftime Club and North Schuylkill baseball.
He is a member of the Frackville Elks, American Legion, Amvets and VFW and is on the Frackville Flag Committee. He is a previous member of the Jaycees, recreational board and Lions Club.
Chuma won his share of championships over the years, guiding Frackville to four Schuylkill County Teener League Senior Division titles (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017), directing Frackville to its first-ever District 24 Little League championship in 1995 and coaching the Frackville Legion team to the Schuylkill Legion League crown and its only trip to the Region 2 Tournament in 1999.
He’s more remembered for his compassion toward his players, his ability to mold young players into young men and for teaching his players not only the fundamentals of the game, but valuable life lessons.
“My main goal over all of these 50 years is for the Frackville boys and North Schuylkill boys to be competitive, be respectful, have good character and learn the value of being a good sport,” Chuma said during the July celebration. “I care about Frackville and I care about the communities around Frackville. I cared about each and every player that ever played Teener baseball or Little League or Legion for me. This chapter of my life is a blessing to me.”
