New Jersey baseball coach Bob Barth killed in road accident

The constant chatter, the endless barbs, the passion for coaching.

Those were among the traits of Bob Barth that were most remembered Monday, a day after he lost his life in a car accident at age 59. He came from one of the most influential and successful baseball families in South Jersey history.

His father, Joe Sr., is still the manager of the Brooklawn American Legion team he founded 59 years ago, and has won two national championships, 12 regional titles, and 23 state championships. Joe Barth Sr. also once was a part-time scout for the Phillies.

One of Bob's brothers, Joe Jr., has become among the most successful baseball instructors in the country with his Hit Doctor Academies.

A younger brother, Dennis, is head coach at Gloucester Catholic High School, where Bob was an assistant the last few years. Dennis Barth also works with his father coaching the Brooklawn American Legion team.

"He was so funny and he made everybody laugh," Dennis Barth recalled Monday of his brother, a 1970 graduate of Paul VI High School. "He never shut up on the field, but he was always saying good things, being positive, and encouraging the players."

According to state police Sgt. Stephen Jones, Bob Barth was driving north on Route 42 in Bellmawr when his 2008 Mercury Mariner veered onto the shoulder and struck an empty disabled pickup truck with a missing tire.

Barth, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected as his SUV flipped over and the vehicle landed on top of him, state police said. The accident happened at 6:42 a.m. Sunday, and he was pronounced dead at 7:14 a.m. at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Jones said the cause of death was blunt-force trauma.

Besides his recent coaching position with Gloucester Catholic, Bob Barth was a former head baseball coach at Glassboro High School and Gloucester High School, and the former head boys' basketball coach at Overbrook High School. He was a history teacher at Lindenwold High School.

"I've never met a coach who was full of more energy," said Tony Powers, the assistant guidance director and director of admissions at Gloucester Catholic and a former head basketball coach there. "He was so energetic and never stopped talking."

And never stopped entertaining.

"He was always talking, and that was his calling card," said Audubon High School coach Rich Horan, a close friend of the family and The Inquirer's 2010 South Jersey coach of the year. "I always liked playing against him, because he made the game fun and what it was supposed to be."

Just because he was good with a quip didn't mean that Barth didn't know baseball or any sport that he was coaching.

"He knew how to coach and he knew how to teach," Dennis Barth said.

Dennis Barth added that he had received calls and text messages from people around the country offering their condolences.

"It's just amazing how many people have reached out to our family," he said.

The Brooklawn team is scheduled to leave Tuesday for a tournament in Omaha, Neb., in conjunction with the College World Series. Dennis Barth said the team still would make the trip.

"I wanted the team to go," Dennis Barth said, adding that he had not decided whether he would attend the tournament.

On June 5, Gloucester Catholic increased its record championship total to 14 NJSIAA state titles after beating Morristown Beard, 7-5, to win the Non-Public B state crown.

"Being together for that state title was really special," Dennis Barth said. "My brother was a special person."

A viewing will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Thursday at Gardner Funeral Home, 126 S. Black Horse Pike, Runnemede. A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, 426 Monmouth St., Gloucester City, with entombment at New St. Mary's Mausoleum in Bellmawr.