Head Baseball Coach
Inducted October 21, 2011
Bernie Havern was born in Rockville Centre in 1943 and resided for a short time in Valley Stream. At the age of 4, his family moved to Malverne where he still lives today. Bernie was one of five children and was active in sports from an early age. He attended Valley Stream North High School, where he played both football and baseball. He was a member of the Championship Football team in 1960 and the Championship Baseball team in 1961.
In 1969, Bernie was appointed to the Nassau County Police Department, where he served for 23 years. After 10 years of service, he was promoted to the rank of Detective. In 1979, he was recognized by his constituents and honored as Nassau County Police Officer of the Year. In addition to working full-time and volunteer coaching, Bernie attended Nassau Community College where he received an associate's degree in Political Science in 1979. Bernie retired in 1992.
Throughout his life, Bernie has been actively engaged in his community. He has been involved with the Knights of Columbus, Our Lady of Lourdes CYO program, Valley Stream Green Hornets Football and Chaminade Parents Club. Aside from his coaching duties here at Molloy, Bernie coached in the Malverne Little League, Malverne Big League and the Malverne Dodgers in the Stan Musial League.
In 1989, Bernie was approached by the Athletics Director, Bob Houlihan, in regards to starting a Baseball program at Molloy. Bernie, along with Harry Herman and Lenny Miller, started a club team. In 1993, they gained NCAA status and became members of the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference. Bernie's first victory as Head Coach was a 4-2 victory against Dowling College at Lincoln Park in Hempstead. In 1998, the Athletics Department gained the approval to build a field on campus. Bernie's assistant coach, Tony Dobies, was the key player behind this project. The field was a great addition to the campus and a wonderful recruiting tool for the coaches. Bernie and his staff celebrated their first Championship in 2001 with a 31-19 mark. Bernie recorded 244 victories, which ranks as second most in school history for any sport. In 2005, after 15 years at the helm, Bernie stepped down. That same year, he was awarded the Nassau County Sports Commission College Coach of the Year.
His contributions to the Baseball program at Molloy are noteworthy. He was a mentor for his coaches and a role model to all his student-athletes. Bernie was simply a wonderful person to be around and a valued member of the coaching staff. He was always warm, pleasant and gracious.
Bernie loved and enjoyed his big family -- wife, Joan, four children and 10 grandchildren. Bernie passed away on April 13, 2012.
