USD Baseball 1988

HEAD COACH JOHN CUNNINGHAM 25 Years of Excellence

To spend 25 years doing any one thing, or to stay at one place for that long is quite unique. To spend 25 years at the same place do- ing the same thing is very special. One such man who has done just that is John Cunningham, the Universi- ty of San Diego's baseball coach. Cunningham, or J.C. as he is called by most, came to USO fresh out of the University of San Francisco in May of 1962 to be a mem- ber of the school's ~acuity as a physical education in- structor and to be an assis- tant basketball coach to newly named head coach and athletic director Phil Woolpert. San Diego was

nothing new to Cunningham, who graduated from St. Augustine High. In 1963 Cunningham started coaching the baseball team in addition to his other duties, and while those duties have changed numerous times over the years, Torero baseball under John Cunningham has not. Cunningham's first years at USO was a time when the school was struggling. "I remember in the early years, the University was in an unstable situation, and the talk among the faculty was if the University would even stay open," recalls Cunningham. "That started to turn around in the late 60's, and turned around dramatically when Dr. Hughes (school president) arrived.•The growth in the last five years has been nothing short of phenomenal." His early years at USO saw Cunningham wearing many hats, usually at the same time. From 1962-76, he served as either the freshmen or junior varsity basketball coach, plus assisting the varsity. From 1962-70, he also served as intramurals director. In addition to those, Cunningham served as athletic director for two weeks, was the athletic trainer for one year, and has logged over 200,000 miles driving USO athletes to away events in the school bus. Cunningham has worked with and coached a number of individuals who have gone on to make a name for themselves in the world of sports. He served as an assistant basketball coach with Bernie Bickerstaff and later recommended him for the head job at USO during his short tenure as athletic director. Bickerstaff is now the head coach of the Seattle Supersonics of the NBA. Cunningham was also responsible for hiring Jim Brovelli, who is now at USF, as the Torero's basketball coach. Among the people who played baseball for Cunningham a;e John Wathan, an All-America selection in 1970, who is now the manager of the Kansas City Royals, and USD's first All-America player, Ron Cady, who is the general manager of the San Diego Sockers. And then there is Phil Woolpert, who coached Cunningham at San Francisco and then hired him on at USO. " I think Phil Woolpert lent instant credibility to the school with his national reputation ," stated Cunningham. One of the reasons Cunningham has stayed on at USO for so long is his philosophy of academics and athletics falls perfectly in line with the University's. "I've always been a believer that academics and athletics are not incompatible," says Cunningham. "You can do both and do both well. Because of budget restraints, we can't do what other schools do, so we have to set certain guidelines, and then work within those guidelines." Cunningham has had his share of success at USO, as his 549 career victories as baseball coach will attest. His contributions to the University have not gone unnoticed, as the school is naming the baseball field after him, 'Cunningham Baseball Stadium'. But 25 years is a long time. How many more years and wins will Cunningham be at USO for? Says the coach himself, "We think that this year's baseball team will be one of the best, and that always gets the juices flowing. I have no immediate plans to do anything other than what I'm doing right now."

3