Remembering No. 55: Camp Hill baseball preserves legacy of late HC Mike Acey

Ball. Base. Backup.

It was a saying Mike Acey fostered within the Camp Hill baseball program. It represented the desire to do your best and compete at the highest level. It provided reinforcement for his players, telling them, “No matter where you are on the field, you always have a duty to perform.”

“Ball, base, backup” is one of several ways the Lions continue to honor the memory of their former coach, who died at age 67 last year on May 30. Camp Hill hung Acey’s No. 55 jersey in the dugout last spring when it made a run to District 3 silver and a PIAA tournament appearance. The number, never to be donned again in the program, also shines atop the Fiala Field backstop, overlooking his Lions just as Acey had from field level for five seasons.

“I know he gave himself sometimes to the point of exhaustion, but he did it because he loved the sport and the kids, and loved being part of such a nice community,” said Lisa Acey, Mike’s wife of 16 years. “So to see them recognize him in that way, it just feels good. It feels heartwarming. It feels like, ‘Mike, you didn’t ask for this recognition, but you were welcomed and you are loved.’ And I know he’s up there coaching from above.”

‘Gosh, he loved his players’

Luke Parise, a senior in the Camp Hill program, spent two years playing for Acey as a freshman and sophomore. “Flush it” was something the head coach told Parise after a rough at-bat or a shaky inning on the mound.

“I remember I had some bad innings when I was a sophomore pitcher and he would just, ‘Go on, flush it,’” Parise said. “I think that definitely stuck with me because I’ve tried to do that from now on when I’m pitching or hitting or whatever. I think that’s probably the biggest thing that I would take away from him.”

Mike used pick-me ups like “flush it” as ways to connect with his players. There wasn’t a moment in the Lion dugout — where Mike often sat on his trademark bucket — where the skipper didn’t radiate positivity.

“He obviously cared for the game. He cared about winning,” said Jackson Thompson, a four-year letterwinner under Mike and current sophomore at Campbell. “But as long as his players were giving him their best, and we were feeling good, then he was feeling good. It wasn’t, ‘Oh, he’s having a bad day, so he’s gonna punish us, make us run. Or he’s having a bad day, so we have to have a bad day.’ He always brought his best to the field for us.”

The relationships with his players fed into his infectious outlook. Mike’s approach with upper- and underclassmen was identical.

“He connected with the whole team,” Thompson said. “He was a huge player coach, and he was all about giving everyone a shot. When I came in as a freshman, I was a little nervous. Older guys already had spots, but he made it clear that everyone would have a shot to prove themselves. It just made everyone feel at home. He brought out the best in his players both on the field and off the field.”

And there was no keeping Mike off the field, even in the years of declining health. Current Camp Hill skipper Matt Spiegel recalls a 2018 indoor practice where a 100-pound divider in the Hoover Elementary gymnasium broke and collapsed on Mike’s head. He was taken to the hospital out of precaution.

The next morning, he was back sitting on his bucket for a 9 a.m. practice.

“That’s a classic example,” Spiegel said. “He was just so committed. I know that it would have physically hurt him more if he wasn’t able to come to baseball.”

For the love of life and baseball

Mike would tell Lisa he had three goals in life: preach in a small town church, coach youth baseball and head a high school baseball team. He accomplished all three.

Mike, often recognized by his gravelly southern drawl, was a native of Fort McPherson, Georgia, and spent much of his life in Mississippi before moving to Halifax in 2004. Mike was in the U.S. Navy from 1982 to 1990 and received an honorable discharge. In Mississippi, he retired as lieutenant from the Hinds County criminal investigation division and was the first K-9 handler in the state’s fire marshal’s office.

But the diamond was Mike’s temple. Between Mississippi and Pennsylvania, he coached baseball for 39 years and took over the Camp Hill program in 2017.

“I could never be more grateful for (the Camp Hill) community because they just totally embraced both of us and let him make that program his own,” Lisa said. “He enjoyed all those young people so much and so did I. The whole program kind of became the center of our household.”

Mike often meshed his two passions — church and baseball — together. Spiegel recalls sermons intertwined in his coaching mannerisms. It educated his players and sparked lessons about life in general.

“Ball, base, backup” was one of many lessons that covered both scopes. Lisa also remembers he’d tell his players to shine their shoes before games, as a way to encourage a “look good, feel good” mindset.

“Every one of those lessons were things that he wasn’t talking just to talk,” Spiegel said. “They were things that kept coming up throughout the year. He started the themes that he wanted to have run through the entire season, in the winter, and he would lay it out and then keep touching on it and touching on it and touching on it throughout.”

‘He was a student of the game’

Commuting 40 minutes from Halifax to Camp Hill could be taxing to some, but for every practice and every game, the Aceys made the most of their trip.

During practices, Lisa would sit in the car and read. During games, Spiegel said he could always pick out her voice as one of the loudest and most encouraging fans.

After Saturday practices, the Aceys would visit the Camp Hill Barnes & Noble bookstore. Lisa would browse for her books while Mike made a beeline for the sports section to buy baseball books, often purchasing duplicates by accident.

Following Mike’s death, Lisa passed down his collection to Spiegel.

“I can remember saying (to Matt), ‘You better bring the van. You better bring a truck,’” Lisa said with a laugh. “I don’t know if he believed me or not, but when he saw the amount of books and supplies, and all kinds of things that we had for baseball, I think he was pleasantly surprised.”

Mike’s mountain of literature was just the start. Donations to the Camp Hill program included helmets, supplies and training equipment, a slip-and-slide to teach kids how to slide into bases, a box of balloons to use as water balloons during the hot and humid summer months, and decorative stickers for youth players’ helmets.

Mike’s study stretched into creating spreadsheets and watching videos and film.

“For the years that he was coaching,” Lisa said, “you could always find him behind his laptop designing something or writing something or studying a play or figuring out how he could make the program better. ... He was just an absolute student of the game.”

Remembering No. 55

The dark blue sign hanging atop the Fiala Field backstop, with the No. 55 etched in white lettering, recognizes Mike’s legacy. The sign is a token of honor, but the Lions are keeping his memory alive by example and through their play, which continues with the District 3 Class 3A semifinals Thursday.

“We’re getting fewer and fewer guys that have actually played for him on the team now, but everyone knows about Mike Acey, whether you played for him or not,” Spiegel said. “You know why his number hangs up there ... and that’s certainly not something that goes untalked about.”

Mike stressed the importance of energy, picking up your teammates and overcoming errors in the field. Those qualities have helped Camp Hill earn consecutive Mid-Penn Capital sportsmanship awards.

Much of Camp Hill’s sportsmanship is threaded in positive reinforcement. When the Lions knock a key hit, players in the dugout erupt with cheers and bang on the fence. When a run comes in to score, a pack of Lions race from the bench to greet the player at home plate.

“This season, especially, I just keep thinking, ‘God if he was around, they would make his heart beat out of his chest,’” Spiegel said. “He would be so proud of the way they treat each other, first and foremost, and the way they stay mentally strong after mistakes.”

Since Spiegel took over in 2022, the Lions have met the standard set by Mike’s teams. Camp Hill enters Thursday’s 3A semifinals as the top seed after forging a 16-3-1 regular season. The 16 wins pushed the Lions to their second straight Capital crown, the program’s first back-to-back titles since 1988 and 1989.

“(There are moments when) I think what would he do in this situation? What would he say? And positivity is one huge thing,” Spiegel said. “And just love. That’s something that does come a little more natural to me. I’m always appreciative and in awe of the boys I coach, and he was that way. So we were simpatico when it came to that.”

In Mike’s five years, Camp Hill compiled a 61-30 record, qualifying for the district postseason each spring while capturing gold in 2018 and 2021. The Lions advanced to the state championship in 2018 but fell in 5-4 decision against Rocky Grove.

“I think the legacy and the impact that he had on all of us is something that should be remembered forever,” Parise said.

While the program preserves Mike’s memory, each player and coach have their own part of him in their hearts.

“I say a prayer before each game, and every single time I do pray, I pray to Coach Acey,” Thompson said. “For him to look over us, look over my team, look over me as a baseball player, and I know he’s watching down on us.”

Lisa is awestruck by all the ways Mike is remembered, whether that is “ball, base, backup,” “flush it” or the sign that watches over the Lions each home game.

“It just seems so symbolic to have that number so high on the backstop where it’s like it looks out over everything,” she said. “I told Matthew it’s like having an angel in the outfield.”