Charley Hockenberry was one of WVU's most versatile athletes, lettering in baseball (1939-41), football (1938-39) and basketball (1939) for the Mountaineers; he coached the baseball and golf teams after he graduated.
As a catcher under Coach Ira Errett Rodgers, Hockenberry proved to be one of the best hitters in school history with a .415 batting average during his junior and senior seasons. He still holds the fifth highest batting average for a season in school history with a .463 average in 1939. Hockenberry captained the team as a senior.
He spent two seasons playing minor league baseball for the Allentown (Pa.) Red Wings from 1941-42. He spent another year in the minors with the Rochester (N.Y.) Red Wings in 1947 after serving in the U.S. Air Force from 1942-46 in the physical training unit and also as a coach for service teams.
In 1947, Hockenberry returned to WVU to coach the baseball team to a 9-7 record. After the season he headed to West Virginia Tech, where he succeeded Steve Harrick as the baseball coach and headed the school of physical education. He coached five seasons of baseball for the Golden Bears and two for their football team as an assistant. While in Montgomery, Hockenberry also coached the EMCO baseball team of the Kanawha Valley Industrial League.
He returned to the WVU athletic department, serving in various roles from 1952-78, including business manager, assistant to athletic director Roy M. "Legs" Hawley, fundraiser, and running the Mountaineer Scholarship Fund. Hockenberry also coached the school's golf team from 1962-78, winning one ECAC championship and posting a 155-88-3 record.
A native of Nemacolin, Pennsylvania, Hockenberry died March 15, 2007.
He was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2005 and was named an inaugural member of the Mountaineer Legends Society in 2018.
