Bio
During his time in junior college, Fiala played for Meramec- St. Louis Community College, then known as the “Warriors.” The Warriors made it to the title game and finished in second place in the NJCAA DI College World Series. Fiala was named the JUCO World Series Most Valuable Player in 1975 under head coach Ric Lessmann.
After playing the 1975 season at St. Louis Community College – Meramec, Fiala transferred to SIU-Carbondale during the 1976 and 1977 season before being drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the MLB Draft. During the 1977 season ad SIU-Carbondale, Fiala was named the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Midwest Regional and the Salukis went on to finished third at the NCAA DI World Series.
Fiala is a former Major League Baseball player. He played in five games in the majors in September 1981, all as a pinch hitter. He pinch-hit three times for the St. Louis Cardinals, then was traded to the Cincinnati Reds along with pitcher Joe Edelen for veteran reliever Doug Bair.
In his first appearance for the Reds on September 16, Fiala got his one and only major league hit, a single against Mike Rowland of the San Francisco Giants. Fiala drove in one run with the hit and scored another run later in the inning.
In the minor leagues, Fiala was used mostly as a second baseman. Originally drafted by the Cardinals in 1977, he retired following the 1982 season.
Following his playing career, Fiala made coaching stopes at Vianney High School, STLCC- Meramec, University of Illinois and with the New York Yankees organization as a coach. In 1994, Fiala was named the head baseball coach at Belleville Area Community College (now Southwestern Illinois College). In 25 seasons as the head coach of the Blue Storm, Fiala racked up 890 wins out of his 1,246 career wins as a coach. He was named the Great Rivers Athletic Conference and Region 24 Coach of the Year five times. In addition, Fiala managed the River City River Rascals, of the independent Frontier League from 2000 until 2002. He also spent four seasons as an assistant coach of the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League.
Fiala Hall of Fame Inductions
NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame
Mon-Clair Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame
St. Louis Amateur of Baseball Hall of Fame
Southwest Kiwanis of St. Louis Hall of Fame
Vianney High School Hall of Fame