Rod Dedeaux
Encyclopedia
Raoul Martial "Rod" Dedeaux (February 17, 1914 – January 5, 2006) was an American
college baseball
coach who compiled what is arguably the greatest record of any coach in the sport's amateur history.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana
, Dedeaux attended the University of Southern California
, and after playing professional baseball briefly – he appeared in two games as a shortstop
for the Brooklyn Dodgers
– he turned to playing and coaching in the semi-pro and amateur ranks.
Meanwhile, in 1936 he and his father invested $500 to start a trucking firm, Dart (Dedeaux Automotive Repair and Transit) Enterprises, which he successfully built into a thriving regional business. When his college coach, Sam Barry
, entered the United States Navy
during World War II
, he recommended Dedeaux to take over the team in for the war's duration. Upon Barry's return in 1946, they served as co-coaches, with Dedeaux running the team each year until Barry finished the basketball
season. The arrangement was so successful that USC won the College World Series
in .
After Barry's death in September 1950, Dedeaux became the sole coach and proceeded to build on the early success to establish the strongest program in collegiate baseball. Prior to his retirement in , Dedeaux's teams won 10 additional CWS titles – no other coach won more than 3 until 1997 – including five consecutively (1970–74). He also developed dozens of future major leaguers
, including Ron Fairly
, Don Buford
, Tom Seaver
, Dave Kingman
, Roy Smalley
, Fred Lynn
, Mark McGwire
, and Randy Johnson
. Throughout his USC career, he accepted only a nominal salary of $1 per year, as his trucking business supplied a substantial income. He turned down numerous offers of major league
coaching positions, including invitations from Los Angeles Dodgers
manager Tommy Lasorda
to join his staff, always rejecting them due to his preference for the college game and his desire to remain close to his family.
He served as coach of the United States team at both the 1964 Summer Olympics
in Tokyo
, Japan
, and the 1984 Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles
, with baseball being a demonstration sport prior to its elevation to full medal status in 1988. He retired as the winningest coach in college baseball history and with a record of 1,332-571-11 (.699), and for the rest of his life remained a beloved annual presence at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska
. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association
's Hall of Fame in 1970, and in 1999 was named the Coach of the Century by Collegiate Baseball magazine.
With USC playing its home games at Bovard Field, Dedeaux became known as "The Houdini of Bovard" for its come-from-behind home-field wins. In 1974 USC constructed a new baseball field named Dedeaux Field
in honor of the coach.
Dedeaux also served as the baseball coach for actors and ballplayers on the film Field of Dreams
(1989). Phil Alden Robinson
, who directed the film, said the following about Dedeaux:
Dedeaux died at age 91 in Glendale, California
, of complications from a December 2, 2005, stroke
. He was survived by his wife of 66 years, the former Helen Jones, and their four children. On July 4, , he was a member of the first class of inductees into the College Baseball Hall of Fame
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
coach who compiled what is arguably the greatest record of any coach in the sport's amateur history.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Dedeaux attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and after playing professional baseball briefly – he appeared in two games as a shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
– he turned to playing and coaching in the semi-pro and amateur ranks.
Meanwhile, in 1936 he and his father invested $500 to start a trucking firm, Dart (Dedeaux Automotive Repair and Transit) Enterprises, which he successfully built into a thriving regional business. When his college coach, Sam Barry
Sam Barry
Justin McCarthy "Sam" Barry was an American collegiate athletic coach who achieved significant accomplishments in three major sports. He remains one of only three coaches to lead teams to both the Final Four and the College World Series.-Early career:Barry was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota...
, entered the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he recommended Dedeaux to take over the team in for the war's duration. Upon Barry's return in 1946, they served as co-coaches, with Dedeaux running the team each year until Barry finished the basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
season. The arrangement was so successful that USC won the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
in .
After Barry's death in September 1950, Dedeaux became the sole coach and proceeded to build on the early success to establish the strongest program in collegiate baseball. Prior to his retirement in , Dedeaux's teams won 10 additional CWS titles – no other coach won more than 3 until 1997 – including five consecutively (1970–74). He also developed dozens of future major leaguers
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, including Ron Fairly
Ron Fairly
Ronald Ray Fairly is a former Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. He either played in or broadcast over 7,000 major league games from through .-College career:...
, Don Buford
Don Buford
Donald Alvin Buford is a former Major League Baseball player. An infielder/outfielder, the switch-hitting Buford played for the Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles ....
, Tom Seaver
Tom Seaver
George Thomas "Tom" Seaver , nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets...
, Dave Kingman
Dave Kingman
David Arthur Kingman , nicknamed "Kong" and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter. The towering 6' 6" Kingman was one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and 1980s...
, Roy Smalley
Roy Smalley (AL baseball player)
Roy Frederick Smalley III is a former professional baseball shortstop. From 1975 through 1987, Smalley played in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers , Minnesota Twins , New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox . He was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. His father, Roy Jr...
, Fred Lynn
Fred Lynn
Fredric Michael "Fred" Lynn is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox , California Angels , Baltimore Orioles , Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres .Fred Lynn was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in and to the College Baseball Hall of Fame...
, Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...
, and Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson
Randall David Johnson , nicknamed "The Big Unit", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 22-year career, he pitched for six different teams....
. Throughout his USC career, he accepted only a nominal salary of $1 per year, as his trucking business supplied a substantial income. He turned down numerous offers of major league
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
coaching positions, including invitations from Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
manager Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...
to join his staff, always rejecting them due to his preference for the college game and his desire to remain close to his family.
He served as coach of the United States team at both the 1964 Summer Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and the 1984 Summer Olympics
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, with baseball being a demonstration sport prior to its elevation to full medal status in 1988. He retired as the winningest coach in college baseball history and with a record of 1,332-571-11 (.699), and for the rest of his life remained a beloved annual presence at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association
American Baseball Coaches Association
The American Baseball Coaches Association is a baseball coaching organization formed in 1945. It is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level.-History:...
's Hall of Fame in 1970, and in 1999 was named the Coach of the Century by Collegiate Baseball magazine.
With USC playing its home games at Bovard Field, Dedeaux became known as "The Houdini of Bovard" for its come-from-behind home-field wins. In 1974 USC constructed a new baseball field named Dedeaux Field
Dedeaux Field
Dedeaux Field is a college baseball stadium in Los Angeles, California, U.S., and the home field of the University of Southern California Trojans baseball team. The stadium holds 2,500 people and was built in 1974, the year USC won its record fifth consecutive College World Series title...
in honor of the coach.
Dedeaux also served as the baseball coach for actors and ballplayers on the film Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams
Field of Dreams is a 1989 American fantasy-drama film directed by Phil Alden Robinson and is from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella...
(1989). Phil Alden Robinson
Phil Alden Robinson
Phil Alden Robinson is an American film director and screenwriter whose films include Field of Dreams, Sneakers and The Sum of All Fears.-Life and career:...
, who directed the film, said the following about Dedeaux:
- "All of the ballplayers in the movie were prepped for the film by Rod Dedeaux. He coached at USC for many years, and is a wonderful man, very full of life, energetic, very supportive, just really was very giving of himself and cheerful all the time, was a great spirit to have around. And one day, we were in between setups and I said, 'Hey, coach, what position did you play?' He said, 'I was a shortstop.' I said, 'Really, could you -- were you good?' He got very quiet, and he said, 'I could field the ball.' I said, 'Could you hit?' He said, 'I could hit the ball.' And he was strangely quiet. And I said to him, 'Well, how come you never played in the majors?' And he said, 'I did.' I said, 'Really?' [Dedeaux said] 'Yes, in 1930-something.' I forget what year he said. He was the starting shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He played one game, broke his back, and that was the end of his career. And I just blanched. I said, 'My God, you're Doc GrahamMoonlight GrahamArchibald Wright "Moonlight" Graham was an American professional baseball player who appeared as a right fielder in a single major league game for the New York Giants on June 29, 1905. His story was popularized by Shoeless Joe, a novel by W. P...
.' He said, 'That's right.' And I said, 'Do you ever think about, "gee, the career I might've had."' And he said, 'Every day.' He said it very quietly. It was very out of character for him, and I was so touched by that. And I did look him up in the Baseball Encyclopedia: He did go, I think, 1-for-4 with an RBI. That was his lifetime stats. So having him be the man who trained all these fellows, including the kid who plays Doc Graham, was very meaningful to me, and I know it was to him, too. It was great to have him around. I think about that often, about what that must have been like, to be good enough to start with a Major League team, and for one unlucky moment, not be able to do -- the rest of your life takes another turn. What he did with that is, he put all of that emotion -- which could have gone into bitterness or regret -- into being a phenomenal coach. He sent more people to the majors than, I think, anybody else in college history. He's an amazing man." (Source: Director's commentary recorded for the anniversary edition DVD of Field of Dreams)
Dedeaux died at age 91 in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, of complications from a December 2, 2005, stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. He was survived by his wife of 66 years, the former Helen Jones, and their four children. On July 4, , he was a member of the first class of inductees into the College Baseball Hall of Fame
College Baseball Hall of Fame
The National College Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Lubbock, Texas, is a museum operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States...
.
External links
- Baseball America: "Coaching Legend Dedeaux Dies At 91"
- Trojan Family Magazine
- Rod Dedeaux at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...