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Dick Edell, the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame coach affectionately known as “Big Man,” died early Wednesday morning after being hospitalized with aspiration pneumonia in Howard County, Md. He was 74.

Edell suffered from inclusion body myositis, a degenerative muscle disease that confined him to a wheelchair in the later years of his life. He retired from coaching in 2001 at age 57. Edell is most known for his 18-year stint at Maryland (1984-2001), where he led the Terps to three ACC championships and 13 NCAA tournament appearances — including seven final fours and three national runner-up finishes (1995, 1997 and 1998).

Before Maryland, Edell coached for seven seasons at Army, leading the Black Knights to the NCAA tournament three times, and for four seasons at the University of Baltimore, a Division II program that he also guided to four NCAA bids. He also coached UB’s soccer team, which he led to the 1975 NCAA championship.

All told, Edell amassed 282 career wins, ranking fifth among all college coaches at the time of his retirement.

In recent years, Edell’s home in Howard County became a gathering spot for some of the sport’s luminaries. Bill Tanton, the longtime US Lacrosse columnist who retired last year, wrote about them and Edell as a reflection of what’s beautiful about the lacrosse culture.

“Big Man, the former Army and Maryland lacrosse coach, was stricken with a rare disease that deprived him of use of his arms and legs. He’s wheelchair-bound. He is also the most courageous man I know, never ever yielding to the negative,” Tanton wrote in his farewell column.

“On one occasion there were five National Lacrosse Hall of Fame coaches who were there just to visit Dick. Dom Starsia was there. So were Dave Urick and Jim Adams. Scotty and Edell are Hall of Famers. That day, as I left, Big Man looked up at me and said quietly, ‘I don’t think the football guys do this.’”

Edell is survived by his wife, Dolores, four children — daughters Lisa, Krissy and Erin and son, Gregg — and several grandchildren.

Check back to USLaxMagazine.com for more remembrances from the lacrosse community as it mourns the loss of one of its all-time greats.