Update: Legendary CPP baseball coach John Scolinos was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, during the Virtual Night of Champions ceremony. This video, produced by the NCBHOF, was his introduction video, followed by an acceptance speech by Tim Mead, a Cal Poly Pomona alum and current President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY.
Legendary Hall of Fame Cal Poly Pomona baseball coach John Scolinos will be inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, one of 12 individuals to be enshrined as the Class of 2020 later this month, the announcement was made by National College Baseball Hall of Fame president and CEO Mike Gustafson Thursday.
Scolinos led the Broncos to three NCAA Division II national championships and 822 wins during his 30 years as the head coach at Cal Poly Pomona from 1962 to 1991. At the time, he was the winningest coach in NCAA Division II history. Before coming to Cal Poly Pomona, Scolinos engineered Pepperdine to 376 wins over 14 seasons from 1946 to 1960, totaling 1,198 victories in 44 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
The three-time Division II National Coach of the Year led CPP to the national titles in 1976, 1980 and 1983, mixed together with six California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) championships. Scolinos was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in 1974, the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in 1980, the Cal Poly Pomona Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003 and the CCAA Hall of Fame in 2014.
In addition to his success at the college ranks, Scolinos was selected by former USC coach Rod Dedeaux to be the pitching coach for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Baseball Team where Team USA earned an unofficial Silver Medal in the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, losing to Japan in the first-place final. He also had many experiences internationally. Prior to the 1986 season and for the first six games of the 1987 season, Scolinos traveled to Holland and Italy to conduct coaching clinics arranged by the Sports Exchange USA. He also took the Pacific Coast College All-Stars to Japan in 1952. That was the first U.S. team to travel to Japan to play baseball after World War II. Later, Scolinos led the USA All-Star team against Japan in 1975 and he also coached the USA All-Star team in the World Cup Games in 1980.
Perhaps his biggest achievement, though, is the naming of Cal Poly Pomona's baseball field, called, appropriately enough, "Scolinos Field."
Scolinos will be inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously, as he passed away back in November 2009 at the age of 91.
Joining Scolinos in the College Baseball Hall of Fame as the Class of 2020 are Jason Varitek, Jim Morris, Paul Molitor, Doug Ault, Pete Barnes, Everett "Eppy" Barnes, Rick Cerone, John Deutsch, Gary Gentry, Jim Gideon and Roy Lee Jackson.
"I'm so proud of our voting committee," Gustafson said. "They gave this ballot such a high degree of attention during the pandemic, and I thank them for that. We are lucky to have their interest and participation, and they selected a truly great class."
More information about the virtual Night of Champions will be released soon at www.collegebaseballhall.org.
For more information, contact Mike Gustafson, National College Baseball Hall of Fame president and CEO, at gus@collegebaseballfoundation.org.