"Bob Coggins Passes" Topic

From Steven McHenry:

This is just a brief note to make all the members aware that Robert Coggins, the co-creator, with Craig Taylor, of Napoleon's Battles passed away this afternoon. He had been ill for several years and this past Wednesday he suffered a stroke as he was preparing to go to Historicon. The stroke precipitated a fall sometime on Thursday evening or early Friday morning and he was admitted to the hospital on Friday afternoon. He passed away at Union Memorial Hospital today, Monday July 21, 2014, in the late afternoon. He is survived by his brother, Richard. The funeral arrangements are not complete at this time. His brother will be making all the arrangements.


I have known Bob for over 30 years, having met him when we both started playtesting Napoleonic games for Avalon Hill, where his and Craig Taylor's Napoleon's Battles first saw the light of day. The fourth edition of these rules will be published by Captain later this year. It is unfortunate that he will not be here to see that event. It says a great deal about his vision for the rules and their quality that a new edition is forthcoming and that they are still being played today, so many years after their initial introduction.


On a personal note; he introduced me to miniature wargaming as I had been a boardgamer since the 1960s. His enthusiasm for and his knowledge of history, particularly Napoleonic History, is well known. He dragged me kicking and screaming into the miniatures aspect of wargaming and even painted my first unit (15mm British for an Empire III game) to encourage me and get me started. He attended the infamous Wally's Basement meeting that led to the creation of HMGS and managed the Historicon convention for some 10 years or so in the 1980s and 1990s, growing it to what it is today. His contribution to this hobby we love and to the serious aspect of it as a way to look at history is impressive and should not be forgotten. We all owe him a debt, whether we have played his game, been involved in Napoleonics or other miniature gaming or just attended one of the HMGS conventions that he helped found. To me he will always be one of the lions of our hobby. For the last few years as his heart condition worsened, limiting his mobility, I increasingly played a "duty driver" role as he lived close by, and was always amazed at the depth and breadth of his historical knowledge, not just in Napoleonics, but in ancients (where his interests in miniatures began long before I met him) and so many other areas. We all have our stories about Bob. We all have our memories of Bob. Let us keep him in our thoughts.

Colonel Bill
ageofeagles.com

Sad day. NB turned me into a Napoleonic gamer. Great game in its day and much information to boot. RIP

Sad times. My condolences.

I'll miss ratisbon…

Very sad news.

Sad times indeed, RIP

Rest in peace

RIP Sir!

I love Bob,I could not make it this year so I gave up my room for him. A true gentleman of the hobby and very kind person.I will miss him.My condolences,I know this can not be easy for you Steve.

My condolances on your loss.

I crossed swords with Ratisbon on these boards many time because of some fundimental disagrments and and yet I will miss his insights.

I'm very sorry to hear of Bob's passing.

I crossed swords with Ratisbon on these boards many time

You're not alone there. I frequently disagreed with him, however, it's a sad thing to see a fellow gamer pass from time into eternity. Of course, where he is now there is no more pain, no more suffering and no more saber rattling.

Another of the greats has passed. My he always roll well on the great table in Heaven.

A very sad day. His rules, Napoleon's Battles, got me into Napoleonics. I still love those rules. His insight on here and on the NB Yahoo Group will be missed.

That is very sad news! RIP

"A Lion of the Hobby"

Well said my friends, well said.

Bob did a wonderful job running Historicon in the 1980s and 90s and he was always helpful to me anytime I needed some logistical help at the convention. He was one of those people whom you might not see for several years, but the next time you ran into him, you could pick up the conversation where it was left off. I will miss The Old Ascot.

Walter

Sad to hear of a friend pasing on. I had the pleasure of talking with him at a number of conventions. My prayers go to the family.

He had class and was truly a scholar and a gentleman. I will miss him and his incisive and thoughtful postings on these pages.

Very sorry to hear this. Thoughts and prayers to his family and friends from the Brom family in New Orleans.

Tragic news. A real pillar and ambassador of the hobby.

Rest in peace Mr. Coggins. Thanks for many hours playing your wonderful game.

Sad news.. I don't play Napoleonics but have seen Bob post here and elsewhere.

Guf

I liked Bob.

His contribution to the hobby was large enough to express his passion for the hobby. Napoleon's Battles was the first Napoleonic wargame I played and though I could go on and on about how I feel things should work differently I maintain that Nappy's Battles is a complete, function and internally consistent game – which is a fantastic feat of success.

I enjoyed Bob's offerings on this forum and will miss seeing them. I found him to be good natured and fair when disagreed with. That is something I hope others are able to say of me when I am gone and in that way I both respect and admire Bob.

-DME, aka The Bandit on TMP

Oh Lord, that's awful. My prayers go out to Bob (aka Ratisbon) and his family. Bob was instrumental in the foundation of Miniatures conventions on the East Zcoast, and a lot of the shows we regularly attend owe something to him.

Sad news indeed.

Walt

I had my differences with Bob, mainly over the roll of the Royal Artillery at Waterloo. I wish he was here to carry it on.

RIP Bob

Paul :(

Thank You for the games Mr. Coggins.

RIP

Very sad news… I always enjoyed reading Bobs post over in the Nap section he was a great debater. He will be missed.

Regards
James

Sad news indeed. I wish I had the chance to meet him in person. I've seen his posts on this forum and also discussing issues related to HMGS many years back. Godspeed and Fair Winds Mr. Coggins. Peace be with you and your family sir.

May he rest in peace. I will miss his contributions here on TMP.

I am shocked to hear of Mr Coggins' death. While we did not agree on very much, his posts were always polite and interesting and I enjoyed debating with him; he was a gentleman.

I send my condolences to his family and friends.

YouTube link

Jurgen

That is really sad news.

I will miss Bob's contributions a lot, no matter that we clashed from time-to-time. After all, we are fellow enthusiasts here and debate things because we are fascinated by them, not because we don't care. I had occasion to corrsepond with him privately a couple of years back, and found him patient and courteous.

And my utmost respect for him for doing his research, putting it together and making a genuinely popular game which gave pleasure to many gamers over the years.

RIP Sir.

Truly a "founding father" of HMGS and a great contributor to our hobby. RIP.

Sad News, RIP

Thanks Bill for letting us know.

Just devastating news – another giant has fallen. What a contribution he has made to advancing the cause. Milestone of a life.

R.I.P. Bob

Definitely a sad day for the hobby. Very sad to hear this.

You've left a lasting legacy Bob, now RIP (Roll them die in Peace)!!

Tally Ho!

Very sad first Craig Taylor (2012) and now Bob – huge contributors to our gaming world, their insights, passion and creativity will be missed. R.I.P Bob

This is very sad news. I did not even know that he had been ill for several years. It is a credit to Bob that he continued to post regularly and at such a consistently erudite and gentlemanly manner.

Bob was very knowledgeable on Napoleonics and his posts were always interesting, and although sometimes controversial he often added a much needed alternative viewpoint that will be greatly missed.

I have never played Napoleon's Battles but I will definitely seek out a copy now.

aie

Another sort of "old time Pilar" of the hobby gone.
It makes one feel humble and old.
The good ones are going early, why is that so? he was wrtiting here too was'nt he?

Yes, thanks for letting us know Bill. He will be missed. I only met him once in Los Angeles many years ago after the AH publication of NB. He was an enthusiastic gamer and enjoyed talking history. His contributions have helped make the hobby what it is.

Rest in Peace.

Thanks for this Bill. Very sad news.

I was just reading some of his posts the other day while trying to catch up to what's going on. Sad news indeed.

Rest in peace.

I liked Bob a lot. He was always friendly when we met. I saw him at many HMGS cons and even Toy Soldier shows. I appreciate so much what he did for the hobby and it is sad to see him leave us. A prayer for him and his family. Another great contributor to a beloved hobby marches on so to speak.

RIP Bob. Thanks for a great set of rules that allowed us to refight many a big battle.

I'm stunned.

It comes to us all but we are always devastated when it happens. Bob was a stalwart and a constant in war games and a tireless promoter and popularize of the hobby. He did so much to found and grown HMGS and the big three conventions.

I can't believe he's gone.

This is very, very sad news indeed.

Otto

I was shocked when informed that Bob had passed on. I learned of it this morning and had yet to visit this site to read the thread.

Bob was a valued member here and he was indeed a 'giant' of both the hobby and here on the forum. He will be greatly missed both for his contributions and his insight.

This is a very sad day for all of us. He was a good man and one of the 'Old Guard.'

He will be remembered.

Sincerely,
Kevin F. Kiley
'Brechtel'

Very sad news. RIP, Mr Coggins.

Whether you played Napoleon's Battle or not, and I bought and played version 1 years ago, we all owe him a debt of gratitude for the positive impact NB had on Napoleonics. For it's time it was a more simplified version of Napoleonics, and its basing conventions have become a very common, almost defacto, standard.

Great Napoleonic memories because of him.

Very sorry to hear this. Napoleon's Battles was one of my favorite rules sets. I had the pleasure of meeting Bob at an HMGS-East convention in the '90s, where I played in a game he ran.

RIP, sir.