USD Baseball 1996

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John Cunningham begins his thirty-third season at the helm of the USD baseball program. An ABCA Hall of Farner, Cunningham has led the Toreros to 16 winning seasons includ- ing two World Series appearances. Cunningham also has over 700 career victories to his credit ranking him in the top forty in all-time victories by Division I coaches. A native San Diegan, Cunningham attended St. Augustine High School and the University of San Francisco. A basketball and baseball standout, Cunningham also excelled academically making the President's Honor Roll six times at USF as well as achieving membership in Alpha Sigma Nu, the Na- tional Jesuit Honor Society. In basketball, he was named All-Conference and selected as Honorable Men- tion on the Catholic All-American lists as well as being named USF' s Athlete Of The Year as a senior. In 1960, he took part in the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team Trials. After a tour in the armed forces and a brief stint in the Baltimore Orioles organization, Cunningham began his career at USD in 1962. His teams have won 30 or more games seven times (71 , 78, 79, 80, 81, 87, 93) with four of his squads advancing to postseason playoffs. His 1971 and 1978 squads won regional titles and advanced to the Division II College World Series. Cunningham was named District VIII Coach Of the Year in 1971 . In 1979, USD moved into the Division I ranks and Cunningham guided the Toreros to an impressive 32-19-1 record and a fourth place finish in the South- ern California Baseball Association. The Toreros movedintotheWestCoastConferencein 1985. In 1993 Cunningham was named WCC Co-Coach of the Year after guiding the Toreros to a team record 36 wins. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall Of Fame on January 5, 1991 in New Orleans, La. An active member of the ABCA for 31 years, Cunningham joined 142 amateur baseball coaches in this elite group. Cunningham has one son, Geoffrey, who is a senior at the University of San Diego studying art.

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