Robert "Bob" Sherlock

Robert “Bob” Sherlock, Jr, 64, of Liberty Township, formerly of North Canton, Ohio, passed away on August 1, 2024, at the Hospice of Cincinnati Blue Ash Care Center. He was surrounded by loving family and caring friends after courageously battling brain cancer for nearly one year.

Bob was a beloved and dedicated husband, son, brother, uncle, friend, teacher and coach. Bob and his wife of 26 years, Kim, enjoyed a strong and beautiful marriage devoted to each other, their many friends, extended family, and their wonderful dogs. Kim was the love and supportive rock of his life.

Born on March 7, 1960, in Hamilton, Ohio to Robert and Cordelia “Millie” Sherlock. His family moved to North Canton, Ohio in 1970. He immediately gravitated towards the game of baseball, developing a passion that ran throughout his life. After playing baseball at North Canton Hoover High School, he joined the college ranks. He played one year at Kent State University and three years at Walsh College, where he was a three-year letterman as the starting catcher and captain during his senior year. Bob also played for 13 years in Canton's Class “A” Amateur Baseball League. He was named the league’s Sportsman of the Year in 1990 and was inducted into the Greater Stark County Amateur Baseball Association Hall of Fame in 2002.

Bob holds a B.A. in History from Walsh College. After college, he became a high school educator. He was an outstanding Criminal and Constitutional Law teacher at Cincinnati’s Princeton High School for 23 years after teaching and coaching at Sycamore High School. Many Princeton teachers, principals, and students consider Mr. Sherlock to be a dedicated educator who impacted students well beyond their time in High School.

Bob coached baseball for forty years and was one of the top coaches in the state of Ohio. After stops at Sycamore and Princeton High Schools, he was named the head Junior Varsity coach at Archbishop Moeller High School in 1996. He was promoted to Varsity Assistant in 2002 under legendary coach Mike Cameron. In his six years as a Varsity coach, he helped lead the Crusaders to four straight regional appearances (2004 – 2007), including a state championship in 2004. He later became the Varsity head coach for Bishop Fenwick and St. Xavier High Schools. Not surprisingly, he immediately made a significant positive impact on both programs. Bob was named GCL “Coach of the Year” while coaching at both schools.

During the summers of 1994 – 2003, he served as the head coach of the extremely successful AABC Cincinnati Pirates. Bob’s devotion to his teams and bond with his players was unmatched. He would often be invited to their high school and college graduations, weddings, and family events. He even served as a groomsman for several of his players. Over 90 of his players went on to play college baseball while another fifteen signed professional baseball contracts.

For the past nine years, Bob has been employed by Major League Baseball as an Official Scorer at Cincinnati Reds’ games. His vast knowledge and understanding of the game of baseball made him a perfect candidate for this position.

As a former catcher and a captain, Bob was particularly fond of this quote; “A catcher must have ice in his veins and fire in his heart.” In everything that he was a part of or accomplished, Bob truly put his heart of fire into it. He was a force of nature and will leave behind a profound and lasting legacy through his many students, ball players, coaches, friends and family.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Cordelia “Millie” Sherlock and his mother and father-in-law, Rollin and Barbara Brown. He is survived by his wife, Kimberly Sherlock (Brown), his father, Robert Sherlock Sr., brother Donald (Sharon) Sherlock, sister Kelly (Jim) Forrest, brother Christopher (Nancy Hancock) Sherlock, and brother and sister-in-law, Eric and Karen Wainscott as well as many nieces and nephews.

A service will be held on Saturday, August 10, 12:00 Noon, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 611 Sycamore St., Cincinnati. A Celebration of Life ceremony and gathering will immediately follow the service at St. Francis Xavier in their lower-level event space.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hospice of Cincinnati Blue Ash (www.hospiceofcincinnati.org) or Animal Friends Humane Society (www.animalfriendshs.org).