Elkridge Resident Named Head Coach at UMBC

In his next-to-last game as a college baseball player, Bob Mumma of the UMBC Retrievers faced national power the Miami Hurricanes in the 1992 NCAA tournament.

Among the standouts for the Hurricanes was catcher Charles Johnson, who would go on to play in the major leagues for several teams, including the Marlins and Orioles.

“I was the other catcher in that game,” said Mumma, with a laugh.

But Mumma is no longer second fiddle. On Monday, he was named the head baseball coach at his alma mater. After 15 years as an assistant coach for the Retrievers, he will be taking over for John Jancuska, who had been the coach for 34 years.

“Other than being a major league player,” said Mumma—who played in the minor leagues for the Chicago White Sox—“this is the job I had in mind. This is really where I wanted to be. I love UMBC to death. It is a tremendous place. I am looking forward to the challenge.”

The Jancuska resignation was announced June 1 and attributed to personal reasons.

"I really did not know it was coming this year. I have talked to him a number of times....I guess the timing was what it was. The timing was right" for him to step down, Mumma said.

In his new post, Mumma hopes that every UMBC player has a chance to take part in the NCAA tourney, just as he did nearly 20 years ago. His career in college ended with losses to Miami and Delaware in that NCAA tourney.

Mumma's teammates at UMBC included pitcher Jay Witasick, who went on to pitch in the major leagues. In his own right, Mumma played in the White Sox system with future big leaguers such as Mike Cameron, James Baldwin, Magglio Ordonez and Greg Norton.

More recently, he and his wife, Kristy Hartman-Mumma, have lived in Elkridge for about seven years. Their home is in the Lawyers Hill neighborhood, and Mumma said it takes him just five or seven minutes to make the drive from Elkridge to UMBC.

"We love it here. My wife went to Severna Park High. We are Maryland people from the beginning," said Mumma, who is from Rising Sun.

So what are his plans for the UMBC program?

"The last week has been a whirlwind," Mumma told Elkridge Patch on Tuesday. "A lot of excitement, but a lot of thoughts going through my mind. It is running like crazy now."

Mumma said assistant Tim O'Brien, a former high school coach at Long Reach High, will remain on the staff.

"I am not sure there will be significant changes in the way it is run," Mumma said. "Academics are first, and then baseball. That will be the same—the core values. We have had some bad years. It is a challenge to get the program back and running ... and get back to the NCAA tournament."

The Retrievers were 10-37 overall this past season. They haven't been to the NCAA tournament since 2001, and their last winning season was 2002.

Mumma said he does not pattern himself after one person but he did learn a lot from Tommy Thompson, who was a catching coordinator for Chicago in the minor league system. Thompson is the former manager of the Frederick Keys in the Orioles' farm system and is now back with the White Sox as an instructor.

Hartman-Mumma also graduated from UMBC and was the school’s field hockey coach from 2000 to 2005. Her husband was an Academic All-American at the school and graduated with a degree in economics in 1993.

“Bob Mumma bleeds black and gold,” UMBC athletic director Charles Brown said in a statement. “He was an outstanding student-athlete for the Retrievers, earning all-conference honors and national recognition as an Academic All-American. After playing professionally in the White Sox organization, he came back to UMBC and has been a dedicated assistant coach. He deserves an opportunity to skipper the Retrievers. I am looking forward to seeing him lead our baseball program back to prominence.”

Mumma played for UMBC from 1990–1992, and his 42 homers in a career is first in the school record books. He was selected to join the UMBC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

Mumma was drafted by the White Sox in the 13th round in 1992. His first pro manager, while with South Bend in the low Class A Midwest League, was Terry Francona, now the manager of the Boston Red Sox.

Francona later managed basketball star Michael Jordan at the Class AA level with Birmingham in the Southern League when Jordan dabbled with minor league baseball.

If just a little of Francona's success rubs off on Mumma, the UMBC program can count on winning more games next year.