Video Links:
Induction Speech
Hall of Fame Video
1-on-1 with Charlie Batch
Charlie Batch – Eastern Michigan (football):
Eastern Michigan’s Charlie Batch enjoyed an outstanding career as quarterback and completed 15 seasons in the NFL with Detroit (1998-2001) and Pittsburgh (2002-12), where he totaled over 60 touchdowns and 11,000 passing yards. Batch earned four letters at Eastern Michigan from 1994 to 1997 and graduated with nearly all of the school’s career passing records, including 7,715 yards of total offense, 7,592 career passing yards and 53 career touchdown passes,
Batch was named Eastern Michigan’s Most Valuable Player in 1997 and earned first team All-MAC honors in 1995 after leading the team to a 6-5 record. He led the MAC in passing efficiency in 1995 at 129.73 and topped the league in total offense during the 1997 campaign at 308.2 ypg. Batch ranks 28th in MAC history in yards in a career (7,592) and 29th in career touchdown passes (53). He set the school’s single season offensive yards record with 3,229 yards in 1995 and again in 1997 with 3,390 yards.
He was drafted in the second round of the 1998 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions as the 30th overall selection.
During his NFL career, Batch was the starting quarterback all four years with the Lions (1998-2001). He played in 81 games during his NFL career with 908 completions on 1,604 attempts for 11,085 yards and 61 touchdowns and was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl 40 (XL) and 43 (XLIII) Championship Teams. His leadership within the NFL extended far beyond the gridiron to include positions as the Vice President, Executive Committee for the NFL Players Association and NFL Spokesperson for the United Way.
In retirement, he has provided game commentary for national sports outlets including CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network. Batch resides in Pittsburgh and currently works for KDKA-TV as a pre-game analyst for the Steelers as well as a color commentator for their preseason games. He also serves as Senior Captain for The Trust Powered by the NFLPA, an initiative that Batch helped negotiate in 2011 with NFL team owners, and he helps former players achieve their dreams after football as a Transition Consultant.
Batch was named the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2006 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year. Batch established himself as a community advocate, philanthropist and public speaker. He created the ‘Best of the Batch Foundation’ for youth in disadvantaged communities in the Pittsburgh area and has also established Project C.H.U.C.K, which stands for Continuously Helping Uplift Community Kids in his hometown of Homestead, Pa.
He is a National Speakers Association professional speaker, and he has completed several NFL Business Management, Communications and Entrepreneurial programs through Harvard Business School, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, the University of Notre Dame and Bowling Green State University.
Batch graduated with a degree in criminal justice in 1997 and in December of 2017, completed his Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from Robert Morris University. He also received an honorary Doctor of Public Service Degree from Eastern Michigan in 2015.
