Rare disease claims life of former coach

By Mike Wright, Citrus County Chronicle
Thursday, August 25, 2011

CRYSTAL RIVER — Coach Joe Buccheri was a rare man who brought more to a teenager’s life than teaching hitting and pitching. And it was a rare disease that took his life. Coach Buccheri, 64, died early Thursday morning under the care of Hospice less than a week after being diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, said a close friend, Jim Manos.

Buccheri coached Crystal River High School baseball from 1987 to 1996. He won five district titles and was a mentor to his most famous player, former major league pitcher Mike Hampton. “He had a big influence on my life,” Hampton said Thursday. “He helped make me see that major league baseball was possible.”

Buccheri, who played and coached in the St. Louis Cardinals organization before arriving in Crystal River, had survived cancer and two strokes, Manos, a retired Lecanto High School teacher, said.

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