Born on May 28, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, Ronald Vincent Coughlin (“Ron”), died peacefully at his home in Rowayton, Connecticut on October 28, 2022 surrounded by his family.
A devoted Brooklyn Dodgers fan, turned New York Mets enthusiast, Ron had a lifetime love and passion for New York baseball…New York National League baseball, that is. The New York baseball that happened across the East River and south into Brooklyn. Ron’s father, Herbert Vincent Coughlin, played a significant role in creating and marketing the pre-game show Happy Felton’s “Knothole Gang”, which was broadcast live from Ebbets Field and encouraged young baseball players of Little League age to the ballpark, an inspiring mentality that Ron carried with him throughout his entire life as he mentored and coached his grandchildren right up until the very end of his life. Ron’s devoted mother, Beatrice (Lawler) Coughlin, proudly claimed that her one and only child was named for the debonair of the day, actor Ronald Colman.
In 1950, Ron’s family relocated to Freeport, Long Island where he played catcher on the varsity baseball team at Freeport High School, a position he shared with his great-grandfather and grandfather, and one that he passed down to both of his sons, two of his grandsons and one of his granddaughters. A proud New Yorker, Ron often told stories to his children and grandchildren recalling his fond memories of the summers he spent working at Jones Beach donning a crisp, white uniform and where attention to detail was paramount! Ron graduated from Colgate University in 1958 and was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity and the Economics Club.
