Dennis Denning

Dennis Denning has been sharing gifts for a long, long time. Now, we have an opportunity to share back. Dennis, 77, is in long-term care and has exhausted his resources. A group of his friends and former players believe that returning gifts from the thousands of people he has touched through his work as a teacher, athletic director, and coach would be decent and proper.

Author and St. Thomas University SID, Gene McGivern, once wrote of Dennis: “Sending guys to the major leagues. Preparing his summer campers for Little League. A focus on academics and careers that’s right out of the Ivy League. You might say Dennis Denning is in a league of his own.”

It is said that Denning has a PhD in common sense. Few people have enhanced more lives with simple, life-changing fundamentals than former St. Thomas University and Cretin-Derham Hall baseball coach Dennis Denning – who is also a former athletic director at Nativity School. With a coaching record of 901-233 – a remarkable .794 winning percentage – his teams won six high school state championships, two NCAA titles, and a few runners-up. It takes more than good habits and raw talent to win 8 of 10; it takes a leader who cares more about the people than the game.

In his own words: "I’m a baseball guy. I like all the experiences you get out of the game, good and bad. So much of the time you experience failure. It’s very easy to blame others when you fail. Successful people don’t blame others but instead learn to carry themselves well."

Dozens of Denning’s former players from his coaching and summer camps have played professionally. The pros are joined by countless players who became leaders off the field. Colleagues and players credit the success of the “Silver Fox” to consistency, simple philosophies, passion, and a tenacious work ethic.

We now have an opportunity to show our collective appreciation and ensure that his long-term care, as well as his 50-year legacy of giving, will remain secure.

Please share your own stories with Dennis and his family in the comments section below