Longtime Heath Baseball Coach Klontz Passes Away

HEATH, OH

A name so well known in Heath for the nearly half a century, longtime baseball coach Dave Klontz has passed away.

Klontz won 668 games over a 45 year span as the manager of the Bulldogs, including a pair of state titles in 2002 and 2007 in Division III. The accolades for Klontz are seemingly endless. He resides in the school’s hall of fame, as well as the Licking County League Coaches Hall of Fame, not to mention the Ohio School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame as well.

On the mantle for Klontz include eight league championships, 17 sectional championships, and three regional championships to go along with the aforementioned state titles.

Klontz retired in 2016, after which Tom Warren took over the reins, leading the Bulldogs to their third state championship in June of 2024.

Coach Klontz will always have an eye on his Bulldogs from the sign in right-center field which proudly reads, Dave Klontz Field at Heath high school.

Dave Klontz was 78 years old.