Courtesy of FAMU Athletics
GREENSBORO, N.C. —— Florida A&M (FAMU) and HBCU baseball legend Costa “Pop” Kittles was selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Kittles was a football and baseball star at Florida A&M University during the late 1940s and 1950s before becoming one of the most successful head baseball coaches in Florida A&M history.
Kittles earned All-America football honors as an end in 1950 and was an all-star catcher for the baseball team. He joined the Florida A&M staff in 1952 as an assistant football coach and physical education instructor. For the next 40 years, he worked as a coach for Florida A&M Athletics, coaching with legends such as Jake Gaither and Rudy Hubbard.
Kittles became the Rattlers’ head baseball coach in 1960, piloting the HBCU baseball program to their first of seven straight Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles and eight overall. One of FAMU baseball’s most memorable wins all-time came under Kittles in 1981 when the Rattlers topped Miami 2-1 on a solo home run by catcher Albert Goode in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Rattlers appeared in six NAIA district playoffs, advancing to the NAIA World Series in 1962 under Kittles.
Kittles went 401-128 (.758) before retiring in 1982. Nineteen of his players were signed or drafted to the professional leagues, including Hal McRae, Andre Dawson, and Vince Coleman, as well as the late William “Bill” Lucas, the first African American executive in Major League Baseball history when he worked for the Atlanta Braves.
Following his retirement from coaching, he served as an assistant professor in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation at Florida A&M until 1995.
In 1982, Kittles was honored with induction into the Florida A&M Sports Hall of Fame and his contributions to the HBCU baseball program were again recognized in 1999 when the baseball field at Florida A&M was renamed Moore-Kittles Field in honor of Kittles and his college coach, Dr. Oscar Moore.
Kittles, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 75, and his wife Emma established the Costa Kittles Endowed Athletic and Physical Education Scholarship at Florida A&M. The scholarship is intended to provide financial support for students pursuing studies in physical education and participating in athletics at Florida A&M. The pair also established the Emma and Costa Kittles Scholarship in Human Sciences endowment at Florida State University.
About the American Baseball Coaches Association
Founded in 1945, the American Baseball Coaches Association is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 15,000 members represent all 50 states and 41 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include nine divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School, Youth and Travel.