As Dave Gallagher will tell you, he was doing well as a produce manager at Shop Rite and had no intention of going to college. It wasn’t until his then-girlfriend’s father, Ed Walukiewicz convinced him to enroll at Mercer County Community College. From there, he decided to play baseball for the Vikings which would culminate into a 17-year career in professional baseball, including nine at the Major League level, and a lifetime of giving back to the game.
Dave played under legendary Mercer head coach and inaugural inductee, Butch Miller. He was selected with the #3 pick in the MLB Draft by the Oakland A’s, the highest pick ever to come out of New Jersey at the time. He chose to remain at Mercer and played baseball that spring and in June 1980, he was drafted #7 overall by the Cleveland Indians. Gallagher went on to play with the Indians, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies where he finished his career in 1995.
After his retirement from professional baseball, Gallagher remained close to the game in Mercer County. He served was the Trenton Thunder’s hitting instructor, coached at Notre Dame High School and led the Mercer Baseball team from 2000-2002 where he amassed an impressive record of 92 (wins), 35 (losses) and 1 (tie). In 2000, he took his squad to the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series at USA Stadium in Millington, TN.
“Playing for Coach Gallagher on our 2000 World Series team was such a great experience,” stated former Mercer baseball player and head coach, Kevin Kerins. “Coach Gallagher had a way of galvanizing our team and challenging us to overachieve. I can honestly say that every player on that team would run through a wall for Coach Gallagher and that's because we know he’d do the same for us.”
Dave is still connected to the game running one of New Jersey’s most successful youth programs known as Sportika Gallagher Baseball. Dave is married to Jayne (nee Walukiewicz) and they have five children (three sons and two daughters).
