Oct. 25, 2007--Brian Fleury, 40, a teacher, coach and former University of Delaware baseball standout, died Friday, Oct. 19, following a 20-year battle with Hodgkin's disease.

Fleury played two seasons for the Fightin' Blue Hens after transferring from Georgia Tech and was an all-conference catcher. In his two years at Delaware, he played in 74 games, notching a career .320 batting average with 55 runs batted in.

In his first season with the Hens, Fleury was named the 1990 East Coast Conference Player of the Year after hitting .339 with 31 RBI and 28 runs scored.

As a captain his senior year, Fleury led the Hens to a 34-8 record. During the season, he had 37 hits, including 10 for extra bases. After the 1991 season, Fleury was honored as a third team academic All-America by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

Prior to attending Delaware, he helped lead Georgia Tech to the 1987 Atlantic Coast Conference championship after hitting .356 with eight home runs.

During his collegiate career, Fleury volunteered his time at the Scottish Rite Children's Hospital in Atlanta and with the Delaware chapter of the Leukemia Society of America.

Fleury graduated from UD in 1991, earning a bachelor's degree in English. He also received a master's degree in English in 1993.

Fleury became a teacher, athletic director and head baseball coach at the Delbarton School in Morristown, N.J., where he led his teams to nine conference championships in 10 seasons with an overall record of 223-63. He received the 2006 Delbarton Board of Trustees Award, and the school web site noted upon his death: “Today we bid farewell to a man who represented the very best qualities that humanity has to offer: intelligence, ability, perception and persistence. Let the life of Brian Fleury serve as inspiration to those he leaves behind. Brian always appreciated the time he had. He shared his talents and gifts with every single person with whom he came into contact. And he never, ever gave up. The students, faculty and alumni of Delbarton School will never forget him.”

He is survived by his wife, Jen (Root) Fleury, a former standout lacrosse player at UD, and their six-year-old son, Tim.