By Joe Mason
For the Times
When pressed, Bob Peffle will talk about his championships.
Peffle, head coach of the Frankford High School wrestling and baseball teams, has been pretty successful at leading his team to championships. He has guided the Pioneers to four baseball titles during the spring, and in wrestling his squads have won the past 11 championships, the most recent in February.
Peffle also has been a successful coach in the Philadelphia Catholic League. He guided the La Salle High School soccer team to four championships. Before that, he spent a year coaching soccer at Plymouth Whitemarsh and guided his team to the suburban championship.
But his years at Frankford, perhaps more than anything, have defined Bob Peffle.
"I’ve developed some great friendships here," said Peffle, who also teaches physical education and geometry at Frankford. "Look, as a competitor, you always want to win, but we’ve done a lot here. Frankford is a special place, and it will always be a special place for me."
But Peffle has decided it’s time to let go. He’s retiring at the end of the school year, giving up the teaching job he’s had since his graduation from Temple University more than three decades ago.
It also means he won’t be coaching.
"I love working with young men. I’m a lucky guy, because growing up here, going to Frankford and having a chance to teach and coach at Frankford, it’s been a real blessing," Peffle said.
Giving up the Pioneers’ wrestling team is a harsh reality for him, considering he has groomed the squad into the top Public League wrestling program in the city. But surrendering the baseball team — the team he once played for, and the team he has coached since 1989 — that might be the harshest of all. And when he finally broke down two weeks ago and told the team that this is his final year, his players didn’t take it well.
"When he told me, I cried . . . I cried a lot," said Frankford junior Jon Bracero, who plays baseball and has wrestled for Peffle. "He’s not just a good coach. What hasn’t he taught me about baseball and wrestling?
"But he’s also been like a second father to me," Bracero explained. "If one of us has a problem that we can’t go to our parents with, or we’d rather not go to our parents with, you can go to him. You might not like the answer you get from him, but it’s usually the right one."
• • •
Peffle’s achievements no doubt are a source of much satisfaction, but getting him to talk about it — and even about himself — can be a struggle. The 1965 graduate of Frankford was a four-sport athlete during his days at the school. He was a standout soccer and baseball player, played basketball, and when his baseball schedule permitted, he took his swings on the Pioneers’ golf team.
It was an athletic career that included a Division 1 scholarship to Temple, a chance to play minor-league baseball for the Houston Astros and a scholastic coaching career that delivered 20 total titles and roughly 1,000 wins.
Peffle will continue to coach soccer at La Salle. He decided to follow the lead of his parents, Stan and Margaret Peffle, who also were teachers and retired at age 60.
"When they retired, they had a good ten years together to do things," the coach said. "That’s exactly what I’m looking forward to."
Peffle has been married to his wife, Michelle, for 38 years. Interestingly, she isn’t a sports nut. In fact the only time she witnessed her husband in action was when the couple’s two sons, Bob Jr. and Mike, played for La Salle.
She’s never been to a Frankford baseball game. She has never attended an electrifying wrestling match in Frankford’s gym.
But she knows that her husband has accomplished a lot over these years, and she is proud.
"I like arts, music and teaching," said Michelle Peffle, who teaches seventh grade at St. Theresa of Avila School in Norristown, Montgomery County. "He does spend a lot of time coaching and caring for the boys, but we always make sure to have our time.
"When he comes home from work we have our tea," she said. "He’s not a beer drinker, so I put on the kettle and we sit there and talk. In most ways, we’re still like giddy school kids. We talk three or four times a day on the phone and we know we have different interests, so there are times he does his thing and I do mine."
Bob Peffle’s thing is that he usually loves to talk sports with anyone who shares that passion.
"I’ll see him sitting in the chair, his arms are waving, he’s smiling, he’s going over the game," Michelle said. "He says he’s blessed, and he really feels that way. He’s doing something he loves to do. He’s a good man . . . he takes care of us and he takes care of his players. He has the perfect job for everyone."
• • •
Over the years, those who know Bob Peffle have tended to note how he relates to his players. He also loves to teach. Combined, those virtues have enabled him to command the respect of his players.
He also puts in the same effort that he demands of those players. In wrestling he goes over lineups. He watches videos and studies opponents and does everything he can to give his team the advantage on the mat.
In baseball, he studies opposing hitters and comes in with a game plan for his Pioneer players.
Now Frankford is preparing for a future without him. For the past six years, Peffle has worked closely with 1995 Frankford grad Juan Namnun, now the heir-apparent to the Frankford baseball team. Peffle has encouraged his protégé to take a larger role with the club this season.
Peffle already has seen his wrestling successor do the job. During the 2005-06 season, Peffle took a break from coaching wrestling while recovering after hip-replacement surgery. Former Pioneer grappler Chris Vicente stepped in for Peffle and guided Frankford to the championship.
"I don’t have the time to tell you what I learned from him," Namnun said. "It would take forever. I remember when I was in high school, trying out for Coach Peffle — he wasn’t Bob back then — it was trying out for a legend, a guy who was bigger than life.
"Then when I was in college, I got up the nerve to ask him if he needed help. I was going to school to be a teacher and I wanted to coach," he recalled. "I can honestly say I learned from the best in every way possible."
More than anything, Peffle has always been impressed with the quality of young people on his teams.
"I think the thing I’m most proud of is the compliments when we take the boys somewhere," said Peffle, whose baseball team makes an annual trip to Florida in March for spring training. "We have some of the nicest guys. You can take them anywhere and I know they’ll be fine representatives of our school."
• • •
Peffle is confident that the Pioneers are in good hands to continue their winning ways. Since Namnun joined his baseball staff, the Pioneers have played in 110 regular-season games. They’ve won 101 of them.
But Peffle isn’t really on the ball when it comes to reciting personal stats.
"He’s approaching his three-hundredth win," Namnun said, "so I asked him the other day about his overall record and he didn’t know. He can’t answer that, but ask him about what one of the players did in a game five years ago, he’ll tell you what kind of pitch he hit, where he hit it, how many runs scored and what the final score was. He cares about achievements, but I can honestly say he doesn’t care about his achievements. He cares about team achievements."
Now that his days of wearing that Frankford jersey are coming to an end, Peffle isn’t focused on saying goodbye or plotting his first vacation. He’s only worried about the next game.
"I told the guys during that week where we had a lot of rain," Peffle said of his farewell announcement. "It was emotional, but after it was over we didn’t think about it. We have business to take care of."
It should be an interesting transition for Peffle, making the switch from coaching at school to more tea time at home.
"I know he’s going to miss it," Michelle said. "But he’ll still go to games, and I know he’s not going to stay home. He’s going to go out, play golf and stay busy.
"He’s not looking forward to retirement, but he knows it has to happen some day and whenever he does it, it’s going to be hard," she said. "It will be an adjustment, but I’m happy we’ll have time to enjoy retirement. We’re both excited about that." ••
On May 19 at 10 a.m., the Frankford baseball team will have a ceremony for Peffle. Friends and ex-players are welcome to take part. It will be held at Frankford’s baseball field at Large and Dyre streets.
Joe Mason can be reached at joemason70@hotmail.com