CARBONDALE, Ill. — One of the most popular figures in Saluki baseball history- and the program’s second-winningest coach- Dan Callahan, will have his No. 37 jersey retired on April 15, 2023 before the Salukis host Evansville at Itchy Jones Stadium. The uniform retirement ceremony will be part of Saluki Baseball’s annual Alumni Weekend festivities (4/14/23-4/16/23).
A popular leader among his players, Callahan’s No. 37 jersey has not been worn since he lost a courageous battle with neurotropic melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer, in 2010.
Callahan compiled a 442-447-1 record in 16 seasons as head coach at Southern Illinois. In his 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach, which included six seasons at Eastern Illinois, Callahan amassed 595 career wins and was the fifth coach in Missouri Valley Conference history to win over 200 conference-only games.
In his time in Carbondale, Callahan produced 23 Major League draft picks and 19 First-Team All-MVC selections.
Callahan’s collegiate coaching career began at Southern Illinois University, as he served as an assistant coach under the only other person to have their jersey number retired in program history, Richard “Itchy” Jones, from 1986-1988. Following his three seasons as a Saluki, Callahan spent the next six as the head coach at Eastern Illinois before returning to SIU as head coach prior to the 1995 season.
A native of Springfield, Ill., Callahan pitched for two seasons each at the University of New Orleans and Quincy University. In 1981, he graduated from Quincy and went on to pitch in both the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners’ organizations.
Further details on Callahan’s jersey retirement, as well as Alumni Weekend, will be forthcoming.
