I never met Charlie Donovan but I certainly heard a lot about him.
A 2015 graduate of Westmont High School, Donovan earned the 2015 Gatorade Illinois Baseball Player of the Year Award, committed to play baseball at the University of Michigan and was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 30th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.
At Westmont, he graduated as the Sentinels’ career leader in over 20 categories, including team wins (88), batting average (.479), hits (181), runs scored (172) and assists (325). During his senior year, Donovan hit .483 with seven home runs, 33 RBIs, 64 runs scored and 44 stolen bases. As a junior, he led Westmont to third place in the 2014 Class 2A state playoffs.
He was regarded as one of the best high school baseball players to come out of Illinois in years and a high-end prospect with five-tool ability.
“Charlie was the best player I knew. He could do it all on the field and had a great baseball IQ,” said Will Kincanon, a sophomore pitcher at Triton College and former All-State pitcher at Riverside-Brookfield High School. “Charlie was a great player but an even better person.”
Charlie Donovan died on Nov. 5.
When I heard about Charlie’s death last week, I felt numb and couldn’t concentrate at work. I kept thinking about him and kept looking at a photo I found of him online at Prep Baseball Report. Good-looking kid, great smile, so young and full of promise.
How does a tragedy like this happen? Perhaps an even better question is why?
In many instances, there’s no clear-cut answer.
All we know is that when a young person dies, it is especially sad.
I felt the same way and asked similar questions when I heard about former Oak Park and River Forest High School student Rachel Smylie. A 2011 graduate of OPRF, Smylie died in a single-car crash in Namibia in 2014. She was spending her spring semester as a junior at the University of Michigan studying abroad in Cape Town.
“She was as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside,” said neighbor Kelly Bonaccorsi.
I also remember when John Malone Jr., a River Forester and Fenwick graduate, was killed in an Indiana highway accident in 2013.
“I heard about John on Saturday and it was just dumbfounding and stunning news,” said Fenwick teacher John Quinn, who coached Malone on the Friars’ varsity basketball team between 2009-2011 after hearing of his former player’s death. “I’ve known John since seventh grade and I also know his family well. John never had a down day in his life. He was a big kid, 6-5, 220 pounds but a gentle soul. He was always looking out for his teammates especially the younger guys.”
I’m sure people feel the same way about Charlie as they do Rachel and John. At his wake, there was a three-hour wait just to enter the funeral home.
While it’s impossible to fathom what Charlie’s family is feeling now, my thoughts and prayers are with them.
Jim Donovan, Charlie’s dad, graduated from OPRF in 1986. He played baseball for the Huskies and was an All-State infielder. After high school, he played baseball at the University of Illinois and also worked as a varsity assistant coach at OPRF in 2000.
Currently, he’s an instructor at Strikes Baseball & Softball Academy in Broadview. The rest of the Strikes staff, Scott Nelson, Steve Hayward, Pat Whealy, Bruce Morgan, Scott Legan and John Hanrahan all have baseball ties to Oak Park as well.
I’ve talked baseball with Jim on several occasions. Growing up in the area and attending Fenwick, I remember how good both Jim and OPRF baseball were back in the 1980s under coach Jack Kaiser, when 30-plus wins and deep playoff runs were common. Going to watch the Huskies play baseball back then was a big deal — still is.
About the only baseball topic I would see Jim get more excited talking about than those glory days with the Huskies was when I asked him about Charlie.
They both loved baseball and clearly each other.
I regret not meeting Charlie but I miss him already.
*For another wonderful tribute of Charlie, click the link below to read Sean Duncan’s Prep Baseball Report story about Charlie, including video footage of his workout at the 2015 Super 60 Showcase.