FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton and the Titan Athletics Department will be holding a Celebration of Life event honoring the late legendary Titan baseball head coach Augie Garrido inside Titan Gym on Friday, November 9th from 3:30 pm to approximately 5:00 pm PT.
The celebration of life for one of the men who truly put Cal State Fullerton Athletics on the map is open to anyone and everyone. Please see the save the date information below and stay tuned to FullertonTitans.com for more information. Click above to register.
We're just over two weeks away from this special event. A number of former Titan greats and influences will be in attendance to pay their respects including some of the best to ever wear at Titan uniform in Tim Wallach, Phil Nevin, George Horton and Mark Kotsay.
AUGIE GARRIDO CELEBRATION OF LIFE
WHERE: Titan Gym (on the campus of Cal State Fullerton in Fullerton, Calif.)
WHEN: Friday, November 9th
TIME: 3:30 pm PT until approximately 5:00 pm PT. Doors open at 2:30 pm PT
ABOUT AUGIE GARRIDO
Garrido's storied 48-year baseball coaching career spanned six decades, while his remarkable 1,975 victories goes down as the most managerial wins in the history of the game (1,975-952-9.) He is remembered as one of the most successful coaches in not only baseball, but college sports history.
Garrido retired from the game of baseball in June 2016 after completing his unprecedented coaching career as the head coach at the University of Texas. He was the first coach to claim National Championships with multiple college baseball programs, leading the Titans to three of the program's four overall titles (1979, 1984, 1995) and claiming two with the University of Texas (2002, 2005).
The most important thing a person can do in life is make a difference," said athletics director Jim Donovan." Clearly Augie made a difference in the lives of the players, coaches, administrators and their families and friends."
Andy Lopez is the only other coach to claim multiple College World Series Championships, winning the title with Pepperdine in 1992 and again with Arizona in 2012. Garrido was also one of only three coaches in NCAA history to guide five or more teams to NCAA championships in college baseball history. He's tied for second, trailing only USC's Rod Dedeaux (10).
During his two stints with the Titans (1973-87 and 1991-96), Garrido's teams compiled an impressive mark of 875-341-5 for a winning percentage of .719, which is still the best in school history. In addition to his three titles with the Titans, he helped guide Fullerton to seven College World Series appearances and 16 conference championships, including 11 straight from 1974-84. He was named the National Coach of the Year six different times during his career (1975, 1979, 1984, 1995, 2002, 2005), with four of those instances coming with the Titans.
Overall, the Vallejo, Calif. native took his squads to the College World Series 15 times (ranks second all-time), made 33 NCAA Regional appearances, claimed 16 NCAA Regional Tournament titles and won 25 conference championships. His 41 victories in Omaha also ranks third all-time. He served as a head coach at five different institutions during his career in San Francisco State, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Illinois and Texas.
He is a member of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame (2016), American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2016), the Omaha College Baseball Hall of Fame (2013), the Longhorn Hall of Honor (2008) the Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2005) and of course the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Hall of Fame (2005). Garrido was also the second-ever recipient of the Tony Gwynn Award, as it's given to an individual to honor his/her lifetime contributions to the game of baseball in December of 2016.
Garrido made one last visit to Goodwin Field on Feb. 17th, 2017, as the Titans honored him during a jersey retirement ceremony on Opening Night of the 2017 season. Garrido also threw out the first pitch and addressed the crowd.
Garrido also met up with Vanderhook and the Titans just two weeks before his passing in Tulane, as he watched Cal State Fullerton win its first series of the year, taking two of three games from Tulane.
Garrido is survived by his Wife Jeannie and daughter Lisa.
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