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Jeff Kiraly was on top of the world just 2½ months ago, nearly overcome with emotion as he coached the Piedra Vista Panthers to the Class 5A state baseball championship.
On the eve of a new school year, Piedra Vista and the Farmington community as a whole were reeling after learning that Kiraly, 53, was killed Friday afternoon in a motorcycle accident in southwestern Colorado.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, the former La Cueva Bear player died around 2 p.m. Friday, near milepost 55 on U.S. Highway 550, between Durango and Silverton north of the Purgatory Resort, which is roughly 30 miles north of Durango.
It is believed Kiraly’s motorcycle and the motorcycle of another man, an unidentified 73-year-old from Texas, got tangled, causing Kiraly to lose control and crash. It was not immediately known if Kiraly was traveling north or south. He was pronounced dead at the scene; the other man was seriously injured and hospitalized.
“The last two months were probably the happiest for him, personally and professionally, in his life,” Kiraly’s uncle, Rick Ingle, said in an interview. Ingle said the family has long been motorcycle enthusiasts.
Kiraly’s death sent shockwaves through the entire New Mexico prep baseball community.
Piedra Vista defeated Cleveland 10-0 in mid-May to win the Class 5A state title.
“I’m so honored to coach this team,” an emotional Kiraly said at Lobo Field following the victory that night.
His generally stoic nature was part of what defined him, said his former high school coach.
“He was very gracious and thankful for everything that he had,” said Robert Salazar, speaking by phone from Las Vegas, Nevada. Salazar was Kiraly’s head coach at La Cueva from 1988-91. “He was just really happy to be doing what he was doing.”
Salazar said he had a conversation with Kiraly after Piedra Vista’s state win.
“I’ve never had more fun or been happier in my life,” Salazar said, relaying what Kiraly told him.
Sandia High coach Marc Hilton and Kiraly were friends for years, and each shared a passion for riding motorcycles. Each owned a Harley-Davidson, Hilton said, adding that he and Kiraly were hoping to take a ride together sometime this year to celebrate Piedra Vista’s title this year and Sandia’s 5A championship in 2025.
“This is very hard,” Hilton said Saturday. “It’s really hard for many of us to process. Jeff was a class act. He carried himself so well, not only on the baseball field, but in life.”
Kiraly was an all-state player at La Cueva, where he graduated in 1991. The big left-handed hitting first baseman was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. That summer, he was drafted in the third round by the New York Mets. Rather than attend Arizona State, where he had signed to play in college, Kiraly decided to turn pro. He spent four seasons in the minors (1991-94).
He also played from 1995-97 in the Texas-Louisiana Independent League.
Kiraly took over the Piedra Vista program starting with the 2019 season. He was an assistant to Mike McGaha before being promoted when McGaha left.
Kiraly went into La Cueva’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
“Just a fun-loving, good-hearted guy,” said current La Cueva coach Gerard Pineda, who played with Kiraly in high school. “He commanded a room, and his sense of humor could light up the room and make everybody at ease. Everybody really liked Jeff; I don’t know if anybody could say a bad thing about him.”
Ingle said Kiraly loved to coach, and to stay behind the scenes as much as possible.
“When he won that state championship, he was beyond happy and thrilled to do that,” Ingle said. “And he was so proud of his boys. It was always about them.”
Added Hilton: “A very humble guy who didn’t seek the limelight.”
Kiraly is survived by his wife Janette, and his children, Trent and Kylee.
“He was just a good man,” Ingle said. “He was extremely in love with Janette, and his kids were his world.”
Services for Kiraly had not yet been scheduled as of late Saturday afternoon.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at [email protected] or via X at @JamesDYodice.
Continue reading...
On the eve of a new school year, Piedra Vista and the Farmington community as a whole were reeling after learning that Kiraly, 53, was killed Friday afternoon in a motorcycle accident in southwestern Colorado.
According to the Colorado State Patrol, the former La Cueva Bear player died around 2 p.m. Friday, near milepost 55 on U.S. Highway 550, between Durango and Silverton north of the Purgatory Resort, which is roughly 30 miles north of Durango.
It is believed Kiraly’s motorcycle and the motorcycle of another man, an unidentified 73-year-old from Texas, got tangled, causing Kiraly to lose control and crash. It was not immediately known if Kiraly was traveling north or south. He was pronounced dead at the scene; the other man was seriously injured and hospitalized.
“The last two months were probably the happiest for him, personally and professionally, in his life,” Kiraly’s uncle, Rick Ingle, said in an interview. Ingle said the family has long been motorcycle enthusiasts.
Kiraly’s death sent shockwaves through the entire New Mexico prep baseball community.
Piedra Vista defeated Cleveland 10-0 in mid-May to win the Class 5A state title.
“I’m so honored to coach this team,” an emotional Kiraly said at Lobo Field following the victory that night.
His generally stoic nature was part of what defined him, said his former high school coach.
“He was very gracious and thankful for everything that he had,” said Robert Salazar, speaking by phone from Las Vegas, Nevada. Salazar was Kiraly’s head coach at La Cueva from 1988-91. “He was just really happy to be doing what he was doing.”
Salazar said he had a conversation with Kiraly after Piedra Vista’s state win.
“I’ve never had more fun or been happier in my life,” Salazar said, relaying what Kiraly told him.
Sandia High coach Marc Hilton and Kiraly were friends for years, and each shared a passion for riding motorcycles. Each owned a Harley-Davidson, Hilton said, adding that he and Kiraly were hoping to take a ride together sometime this year to celebrate Piedra Vista’s title this year and Sandia’s 5A championship in 2025.
“This is very hard,” Hilton said Saturday. “It’s really hard for many of us to process. Jeff was a class act. He carried himself so well, not only on the baseball field, but in life.”
Kiraly was an all-state player at La Cueva, where he graduated in 1991. The big left-handed hitting first baseman was the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. That summer, he was drafted in the third round by the New York Mets. Rather than attend Arizona State, where he had signed to play in college, Kiraly decided to turn pro. He spent four seasons in the minors (1991-94).
He also played from 1995-97 in the Texas-Louisiana Independent League.
Kiraly took over the Piedra Vista program starting with the 2019 season. He was an assistant to Mike McGaha before being promoted when McGaha left.
Kiraly went into La Cueva’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
“Just a fun-loving, good-hearted guy,” said current La Cueva coach Gerard Pineda, who played with Kiraly in high school. “He commanded a room, and his sense of humor could light up the room and make everybody at ease. Everybody really liked Jeff; I don’t know if anybody could say a bad thing about him.”
Ingle said Kiraly loved to coach, and to stay behind the scenes as much as possible.
“When he won that state championship, he was beyond happy and thrilled to do that,” Ingle said. “And he was so proud of his boys. It was always about them.”
Added Hilton: “A very humble guy who didn’t seek the limelight.”
Kiraly is survived by his wife Janette, and his children, Trent and Kylee.
“He was just a good man,” Ingle said. “He was extremely in love with Janette, and his kids were his world.”
Services for Kiraly had not yet been scheduled as of late Saturday afternoon.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at [email protected] or via X at @JamesDYodice.
Continue reading...
