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Coach Allen was a dear friend of both my Grandfather and Grandmother, from their college days at Springfield in the mid 1930's, through their 60+ years of marriage and finally as neighbors at Reeds Landing. He was always there with a supportive word and a helping hand. Even when he was wheelchair bound, he never failed to make his rounds and visited both of my Grandparents on a daily basis. Always thinking of others first, he held my Grandmothers hand as her husband was buried and comforted my Mother at my Grandmothers funeral service. Some of the very first lessons I learned about baseball came from Coach Allen. He will be missed by my family very much. To Coach Allens children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren; Our thoughts and prayers are with you. I have no doubt that if baseball is played in heaven, the quality of the game just went way up.

Archie completed high school in Pittsfield and graduated from Springfield College in 1937, received a master's degree in education in 1949 and an Honorary Doctorate of Humanics in 1989. He then played for the New York Yankees and was a physical education instructor in Bristol, R.I. In 1947, he returned to his alma mater and remained there for 31 years as the varsity baseball coach and physical education professor. During that time, Archie taught baseball at the invitation of the U.S. State Department Cultural Exchange program, and the baseball federations of nine foreign countries. Archie also coached the U.S. baseball team in the 1962 Pan American Games, the Dutch National Team in 1964, and the South African National Team in International Championships in 1966.

Throughout his travels, he considered himself an ''ambassador of baseball'' and believed that world peace could be attained through athletics. He was known for his annual Little League and recreational league clinics. Archie authored five books on baseball, and was past president of the College Baseball Coaches Association, National Coach of the Year in 1969, and a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee in 1963. He was inducted into the Springfield College, the Bristol, R.I., and the Collegiate Baseball Coaches halls of fame. He was also the recipient of the Lefty Gomez Amateur Baseball Award in 1995. Archie retired to Cape Cod in 1979, where he was the commissioner of the Cape Cod Baseball League for a year. He returned to Springfield's Reed's Landing in 1996.