Gilmer County baseball coach David Jaffre died after an apparent heart attack Tuesday afternoon during a baseball game at Frank Loria Memorial Field in Clarksburg City Park.
Jaffre, 46, was taken by Nutter Fort paramedics to United Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, said hospital President Bruce Carter.
"When we arrived, (Jaffre) was in full (cardiac) arrest and was pulseless," Nutter Fort paramedic Steve Ashcraft said. "We started CPR immediately and throughout the call and all the way to the hospital."
Gilmer County's baseball team was scheduled to play Doddridge County in a Class A sectional game. With two outs in the top of first inning, Jaffre collapsed just outside his team's dugout.
Nutter Fort paramedics were immediately alerted at 4:16 p.m. and responded to the scene within three minutes. Attempts to resuscitate Jaffre continued for approximately an hour before he was taken to the hospital.
Jaffre was a social studies teacher at Gilmer County High School, where he had been the baseball coach for 12 years.
He also had served as an assistant football coach at the school for 15 years until the 1999 season. He was an assistant coach for the seventh- and eight-grade team in 1999.
"He embodied excellence on and off the field," Gilmer County Schools Superinten-dent Dr. Richard Butler said. "He was surrounded by the things he loved, and that was the students."
Butler said classes would be held today at Gilmer County High School, but "student assistance support" would be available.
"We just want to do right by the kids, because that's what (Jaffre) would have wanted," Butler said.
Jaffre's wife, Judy, is an elementary teacher in the Gilmer County school system. They have a daughter, Jessica.
The game was halted after Jaffre collapsed. Tournament director Mark Starkey said the tournament would resume Thursday at the earliest with a possible doubleheader.
Staff writer James Fisher and sports editor Anthony Hanshew contributed to this story.
