Rod Dedeaux
Raoul Martial "Rod" Dedeaux (February 17, 1914 – January 5, 2006) was an American college baseball coach who compiled what is widely recognized as among the greatest records of any coach in the sport's amateur history.
Dedeaux c. 1950 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 17, 1914 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | January 5, 2006 (aged 91) Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | USC |
| Playing career | |
| Position(s) | Shortstop |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1942–1986 | USC |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 1,332–571–11 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
| College Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
|
Baseball career | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 28, 1935, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1935, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .250 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 1 |
| Teams | |
Dedeaux was the head baseball coach at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles for 45 seasons, and retired at age 72 in 1986. His teams won 11 national titles (College World Series), including a record five straight (1970–1974), and 28 conference championships. Dedeaux was named Coach of the Year six times by the Collegiate Baseball Coaches Association and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1970. He was named "Coach of the Century" by Collegiate Baseball magazine and was one of ten initial inductees to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Dedeaux also coached the United States national team at two different editions of the Summer Olympic Games: Tokyo 1964 and Los Angeles 1984.