Beloved Illinois small-town baseball coach 'showed immense humility and commanded respect'

PEORIA — Mike Kemmer was a sum of equal parts, faith, family, education and baseball.

He was a father, a coach, a teammate and a teacher who built winners on and off the baseball field during his long stretch at Knoxville High School, a school of about 325 students located 40 miles west of Peoria, near Galesburg.

"And he did it his way, in a different way, he had success his own way," said his son, Kris Kemmer. "John Wooden was someone he wanted to be. Tom Osborne at Nebraska. Tony Dungy. The mannerisms of those guys reminded me of my father.

"He showed immense humility. And he commanded respect."

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Richard "Mike" Kemmer died at age 69 at 6:20 a.m. on June 17 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. He will be remembered in the Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central and Knoxville youth and prep baseball communities.

"He was never in it for the limelight," Kris Kemmer said. "He wouldn't probably like all this, but we're going to do it for him, we want to remember him and honor him for what he achieved and the life he lived."

The Kemmer family will host a celebration of life for the longtime Knoxville baseball head coach from 6:30-8 p.m. Aug. 8 in the Knoxville High School auditorium. Former players, coaches, teachers and the public are welcome. Longtime Monmouth College baseball assistant coach Ron Nelson will speak. So will former San Diego Padres pitcher Craig Stammen, who was a friend and teammate to Kris Kemmer in their days on the University of Dayton baseball team.

Pastor Scott Cramer will officiate, others will speak, and refreshments will follow as the people whose lives were touched by Mike Kemmer gather to love him one more time. Memorials can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association and the Knoxville High School sports booster club.

'Use the game to teach life'

Mike Kemmer fell in love with baseball and coaching early. He was a shortstop and pitcher at IVC, where he played for IHSBCA Hall of Fame coach Dale Lober , and later married the coach's daughter, Lisa Lober.

Kemmer started playing baseball in Mossville's youth league, and started coaching youth baseball there when he was still in high school.

He carried that passion for teaching and baseball throughout his life, spending 35 years at Knoxville High School teaching math, serving as principal in his final four years, and standing at the helm as baseball head coach and an assistant football coach.

"He liked to use the game to teach life," Kris Kemmer said. "It all started with his faith and he was able to implement that. He was always trying to tie in life lessons with our games.

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"I was around the (Knoxville varsity) team a lot growing up as a bat boy and gained a love for the sport itself just being around him. My dad was a good coach, his players enjoyed playing for him. I thought it was cool riding on the bus with the team and him."

Kemmer was baseball head coach at Knoxville for 21 years, compiling a 303-200 record for a .602 win percentage. His 1982-83 team went 20-2 and reached the Class A state quarterfinals before losing to Eldorado, 3-2. He led Knoxville to a school-record 22-7 mark in 1999-2000, a team his son, Kris, played on.

He was inducted into the Knoxville High School Athletic Hall of Fame (2023) and the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2003). Along the way, he was renowned in the classroom as an elite math teacher and a mentor to students.

"I would describe Mike as a guy who genuinely cared about everyone he coached," said Tyler Nelson, who played for Kemmer's 1999-2000 team and was one of four players from it to later play at Black Hawk College. "He wasn't a big yeller. Never let his emotions show. When he spoke to you, you knew what he was saying was important, was genuine.

"I found myself in a little trouble at one point in high school. There was some talk that I would have to sit out time in my senior year. He went to bat for me. Went into the principal's office and vouched for me, stood by me and said to trust me. And he was right. I never got in trouble again and I had a tremendous season and we set a record at Knoxville for wins. It enabled me to go play college baseball. He wasn't one to judge, he just always saw the best in people."

Richard 'Mike' Kemmer

Richard "Mike" Kemmer was born August 20, 1954, in Peoria, to William and Norma (Adleman) Kemmer. He graduated from IVC High School in 1972 and then received his bachelor’s degree in education from Illinois State University in 1975.

Later on he received his master’s degree from Western Illinois University. He married Lisa Lober on June 7, 1975, at Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria. He is survived by his wife, Lisa; his children, Kirsten Burrow (Jeff Geltz) of Washington, Kris (Emily) Kemmer of Johnston, Iowa, and Kassidy (Darren) Cherrington of Davis Junction.

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Also surviving are his eight grandchildren: Kolton, Mia, Sam, Macie, Eli, Titus, Riley and Jaxton and one sister, Kathy (Michael) Schneider of Indianapolis. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Tom, and an infant daughter, Heidi.

Kemmer was a diehard Chicago Cubs fan. He moved to Washington in his later years so family members there could help care for him.

"He loved it in Knoxville," Kris Kemmer said. "It's going to be an emotional return there for all of us."

'They wanted to be part of him'

Ron Nelson is a Knoxville resident and longtime assistant baseball coach at Monmouth College. He met Mike Kemmer at Knoxville, worked in youth leagues with him and watched their sons grow up as teammates.

"Probably one of the most patient and understanding guys I've ever been around," Nelson said. "Everything he did was 110% and he gave it his all. So great with kids. In the 70s and 80s era, most coaches chewed kids a little bit, got after them. Mike always had time to put his arm around a kid. Whether it was a good player or one that wasn't going on. It didn't matter. He kept kids involved."

Nelson laughed as he recalled how a man once asked him what Kemmer knew about football, as the baseball coach began coaching the freshman gridiron team.

"I said, 'What does Kemmer know?' " Nelson said. " 'If I got 20 kids who go out for freshman football, because of Mike Kemmer I'm going to have 20 kids who come out for sophomore football.' He never lost kids. They wanted to be a part of him. Same in the classroom. One of the best teachers at math, all-time. He served as a principal and a teacher and later on at a Christian school. He was that kind of guy."

A last request

Kemmer's baseball team often found itself in mismatches with bigger programs during the Illinois state playoffs. The coach never made any excuses, never complained about the brackets and never let his teams give up.

"He just had his way of doing things," Ron Nelson said. "We had good teams and it seemed like we always got up against Rock Island Alleman, big programs. I asked him once, 'Wouldn't you like to play someone different?' He just looked at me and said, 'Well, those kids gotta play someplace, too. Can't deny them, they are all ballplayers.' "

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But as a coach, Mike Kemmer was perhaps one-of-a-kind. In the end, he had only one request before his death.

"He asked to be buried in Knoxville," Nelson said. "He said, 'That's my home.' "

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Beloved Illinois small-town baseball coach 'showed immense humility and commanded respect'