FAYETTEVILLE — After spending a year writing a book about his life titled “More Than Baseball,” Dave Jorn is ready to release it to the public.
Jorn, the former pitching coach at the University of Arkansas who over 20 years in two stints helped the Razorbacks to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, is hosting a launch party for the book on July 23 at the Fowler Center next to Baum-Walker Stadium.
The launch party will be from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. and is limited to 125 people who must RSVP by going to Jorn’s new website — davejorn.com.
Jorn said hardback and paperback copies of the book will be available at the launch party and he’ll be glad to sign them for anyone who wants a personalized message. Those interested in purchasing the book can go to Amazon.com or Jorn’s website for more information.
“I think it’s good,” Jorn said. “I think it’s going to appeal to a lot of people on a lot of different fronts.”
A native of Shiloh, Ill., which is 20 miles east of St. Louis, Jorn played at Southeast Missouri State, then from 1976-1981 he pitched in the St. Louis Cardinals’ organization, including a stint with the Class AA Arkansas Travelers. He pitched as high as the AAA level.
From 1982-2016, Jorn was a pitching coach in college or in the professional ranks on the minor league level or was a scout.
“My life has been about more than just baseball. It was baseball, and then it was more than baseball,” Jorn said in reference to the title of his book. “It’s basically about not giving up, grinding it out — without Christ in my life and then with Christ in my life.
“How the Lord had his hand on me without me even recognizing Him.”
Jorn, 67, was the Razorbacks’ pitching coach from 1983-88 for Coach Norm DeBriyn. He left to work in professional baseball, then returned to Arkansas as Coach Dave Van Horn’s pitching coach from 2003-2016.
With Jorn on staff, the Razorbacks advanced to the College World Series six times in 1985, 1987, 2004, 2009, 2012 and 2015. He coached numerous major league draft picks, including Dallas Keuchel, the American League Cy Young Award winner with the Houston Astros in 2015.
“Well, I’ve got 20 years of coaching here at Arkansas,” Jorn said. “So the book is going to involve some stories about that.”
DeBriyn coached the Razorbacks for 33 years from 1970-2002. He continues to work at the Razorback Foundation and also is a deacon at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Fayetteville.
“Dave is not a big ego guy — at all — but I think he has a good message for people,” DeBriyn said. “He’s always been a good person, but when he came back here to coach with Dave Van Horn, I noticed a big change in him.
“I mean, no more foul words. He looked after people and was more interested in the individual off the baseball field, where he’s going with his life. He has put in a lot of time with that.
“He has stepped out to do things for others that I think he had never done before.
“When he was the pitching coach with us back in the 1980s, the players’ nickname for him was ‘Hard J,’ because he was tough. You toed the line or else.”
DeBriyn said Jorn continued to be a standout pitching coach when he returned to Arkansas.
“We were pretty good when Dave was with us, and then he was really good when he came back here,” DeBriyn said. “He’s always been a good evaluator of talent and he’s made players better mentally and physically that he coached.”
Jorn’s 160-page book is listed on Amazon.com’s website for a price of $24.95 in paperback.
“I’m no writer, I’m a coach!” Jorn wrote in text on Amazon’s website accompanying the book’s cover on which he’s wearing a Razorbacks cap and jacket. “However, in this book I share my life story of how I learned that there was more to life than baseball.
“I can now look back and see how God had been with me the entire time, even when I was ignoring Him. I will give it to you real and raw.
“The stories in this book span over 30 years and include some of my favorite memories in life along with some of my toughest times. I hope you enjoy the book and remember, there’s more to life than just baseball.”
Jorn, who lives in Bentonville and is a part-time scout for the Tampa Bay Rays, said a friend and pastor, Ron Harris, encouraged him to write a book.
“Ron and I were having breakfast one morning, and I was telling him about some of the things in my life,” Jorn said. “And he goes, ‘Man, you’ve got to write a book.’
“I thought, ‘Who would be interested in my life?’ In my mind, I couldn’t comprehend that.
“But Ron finally talked me into doing it, and he introduced me to Mark Howard, and it just kind of took off from there.”
Howard is an author who lives in Prairie Grove and has experience in self-publishing.
Jorn said he and Howard met several times and made recordings of Jorn’s thoughts for the book. Jorn then reviewed written transcripts of what he said and made any needed adjustments for flow and accuracy of the text.
Jorn’s wife, Melinda, a retired teacher, helped him with the book’s final editing.
“As long as it took to write, I’m really happy that it’s completed,” Jorn said. “It’s a big relief.”
Jorn said he likes the book’s length being less than 200 pages.
“It’s not going to be a hard read,” Jorn said. “It’s going to be one of those things where you can pick it up and hopefully be interested enough and knock it out in a short amount of time.”