USD Athletics Mourns the Loss of John Cunningham, Beloved Baseball Coach

SAN DIEGO — John "JC" Cunningham, the legendary coach who built Torero baseball from nearly the ground up and helped shape University of San Diego Athletics through its earliest, formative years, has passed away, his family announced on Tuesday. He was 88 years old.

Cunningham, a 2003 inductee into the Chet & Marguerite Pagni Family USD Athletics Hall of Fame and a 1991 inductee into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, began his USD career back in 1962 when he was hired to be head coach of the freshman basketball team, an assistant varsity basketball coach, and the director of intramural activities. 

In 1963 he assisted baseball coach Mike Morrow, who was in his final season, and in 1964 Cunningham was promoted to head baseball coach. He went on to lead Torero baseball for 35 years, compiling a career record of 843-839-18 as he put together 16 winning seasons and achieved NCAA Division II College World Series appearances in 1971 and 1978. 

"We are deeply saddened to learn of Coach Cunningham's passing," said San Diego baseball head coach Brock Ungricht. "JC laid the foundation for our program and built a legacy that will forever live on at Fowler Park and Cunningham Field and in the hearts of Toreros everywhere. Rest in peace, Coach."

In 1979, the Toreros moved into the Division I ranks and in his first year at that level, Cunningham guided the Toreros to a 32-19-1 record and a fourth-place finish in the Southern California Baseball Association. In 1985, USD joined the West Coast Conference and over the next 14 years in the league, Cunningham won 343 games. In 1993, he was named West Coast Conference Co-Coach of the Year after guiding the Toreros to a team-record 36 wins and a 19-11 league record. During parts of that 1993 campaign the Toreros earned national rankings as high as 17th (Collegiate Baseball), 22nd (Baseball America) and 25th (USA Today). Cunningham still owns the school record for WCC wins in a season from when his 1996 squad finished 21-7 in league play. In 2017, he was inducted into the WCC Hall of Honor.

In addition to his 843 victories at USD, Cunningham collected over 300 victories coaching teams in the California Collegiate League. Eleven players he coached from those California Collegiate League teams went on to play in the major leagues, including Brent Strom, Terry Forster, and Tony Muser. Forty-seven of his USD Toreros signed professional contracts, with seven making it to the Major Leagues: John Wathan, Kerry Dineen, Bill Pinkham, Jeff Grotewold, Mike Saipe, Brady Clark, and Bart Miadich. Eight of his players earned a total of 10 All-America honors, led by three-time All-American Kerry Dineen (1971-73).

To show their appreciation for his 25 years of service to the University of San Diego, school officials named the campus' baseball facility after him in 1988: Cunningham Baseball Stadium. During his final season of coaching at USD in 1998, his players paid a special tribute to him by wearing his number "33" on their sleeve the entire season. When Cunningham Stadium was renovated in 2013, it reopened as Fowler Park and Cunningham Field, and Cunningham's name and signature number "33" remain prominently displayed on the venue's center field wall.

"John Cunningham made an immeasurable impact on USD Athletics across a career unlike any other," said USD Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Athletics Kimya Massey. "His selfless dedication to our university and its student-athletes laid the foundation for Torero baseball, setting a standard for our program that lives on today. Perhaps most importantly, he positively impacted the lives of countless Toreros across his 60-plus-year tenure in our department. Nobody loved USD more than Coach Cunningham, and we are all mourning his loss today."

After retiring from coaching, Cunningham remained an integral part of USD Athletics by serving as the department's Director of Transportation, driving thousands of miles over nearly 20 years as he helped Torero teams travel to and from their games.

Cunningham received numerous other honors and awards during his tenure at USD. In 1993 he was honored by the City Club of San Diego and Junior Chamber of Commerce as 'Citizen of the Year' for the difference he made in young peoples' lives. In 1998, the San Diego Board of Supervisors, the County of Sacramento, and the State of California honored Cunningham with a Resolution for his commitment, dedication, and outstanding service as USD's baseball coach. The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)'s San Diego Chapter also recognized Cunningham as one of the 25 most influential people in San Diego involved in baseball — a group that included the likes of Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn. And in 2005, Cunningham received the ABCA's prestigious Lefty Gomez Award, amateur baseball's top award for service to the sport of baseball.

A native San Diegan, Cunningham attended nearby Saint Augustine High School, then went on to college at the University of San Francisco. A basketball and baseball standout, Cunningham made the President's Honor Roll six times at USF and achieved membership in Alpha Sigma Nu, the National Jesuit Honor Society. As a basketball player, he was named All-Conference and listed as Honorable Mention on the Catholic All-American lists. As a senior in 1959, he was named USF's Athlete of the Year. In 1960, he took part in the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team Trials and was a member of the All-Army basketball team.

After a tour in the armed forces and a brief stretch in the Baltimore Orioles organization, Cunningham was hired by former USD athletic director Phil Woolpert (Cunningham's collegiate basketball coach at USF) in 1962, beginning a more than six-decade tenure with the Toreros.

Cunningham is survived by his son Geoffrey, a graduate of the University of San Diego.