USD Baseball 1992

Head Coach

Page 4 JOHN CUNNINGHAM Head Coach Head Coach John Cunningham begins his 29th season at the helm of the USO baseball program. With 14 winning seasons under his belt, Cunningham carries a record of 645-663- 16 into the 1992 campaign. A native San Diegan, Cunningham attended St. Augustine High School and the University

of San Francisco. A basketball and baseball standout, Cunningham also made the President's Honor Roll six limes at USF as well as achieving membership in "Alpha Sigma Nu", the National Jesuit Honor Society. In basketball, he was named All-Conference and listed as Honorable Mention on the Catholic All-American lists and was named USF's "Athlete Of The Year" as a senior. After a tour in the armed forces and a brief stretch in the farm system of the Baltimore Orioles, Cunningham began his career at USO in 1962. He won his 600th game during the 1989 season. His teams have won thirty or more games six times ('71, '78 through '81, and '87) with four of his squads advancing to post-season playoffs. His 1971 squad won the regional title, advancing to the College World Series, and set a school record with 34 wins. For that performance, Cunningham was named "Coach Of the Year" in District VIII. 1979 was Cunningham's first effort at the Division I level. Contrary to expectations, he guided the Toreros to an impressive 32-19-1 record and a fourth place finish in the Southern California Baseball Association. The Toreros moved into the West Coast Conference in 1985 - with 1991 seeing them finish 11-24 in WCC action. Cunningham's fine career has been noticed by his peers. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall Of Fame at its annual Hall Of Fame-Coach Of the Year banquet in New Orleans on January 5, 1991 . An active member of the ABCA for 28 years, Cunningham joined 142 amateur baseball coaches in this elite group. John and his wife, Nancy, have one son, Geoffrey, age 17. CUNNINGHAM'S COACHING RECORD YEAR WON LOST PCT. 1964 12 19 .387 1965 17 21 .447 1966 20 26 .435 (NCAA Regionals, 0-2) 1967 14 26 .350 1968 13 24 .351 1969 22 17 .564 1970 21 16 .568 1971 34 12 .739 (NCAA Playoffs, 4-2) 1972 20 19 .513 (One Tie) 1973 19 22 .463 1974 23 15 .605 1975 19 20 .487 (One Tie) 1976 26 16 .619 (NCAA Playoffs, 5-3) 1977 24 19 .558 1978 33 22 .600 (NCAA Playoffs, 5-3) 1979 32 19 .615 (One Tie) 1980 30 25 .545 (One Tie) 1981 30 25 .545 (One Tie) 1982 29 24 .547 (One Tie) 1983 17 27 .386 (One Tie) 1984 20 36 .362 (One Tie) 1985 17 39 .310 (One Tie) 1986 26 25 .509 (Two Ties) 1987 31 23 .574 (One Tie) 1988 28 28 .500 1989 22 31 .417 (One Tie) 1990 24 32 .429 1991 21 34 .386 (Two Ties) Career 645 663 .493 (16 Ties)