Arizona State's first varsity baseball coach, Bobby Winkles led the Sun Devils to a 524-173 (.752) record. During his 13 years as head coach, he was named NCAA Coach of the Year three times. In all, Winkles won three national championships ('65, '67, '69) in four appearances over the span of five years.
Winkles took the ASU program from scratch and built it into one of the premier powerhouses in all of college baseball. Only six years into the program's history, Winkles led his 1964 Sun Devil squad into Omaha and ended up placing sixth. One year later, the Sun Devils reached the pinnacle of college baseball, finishing with a 41-11 record and the school's first national championship. Winkles led ASU back to the College World Series and again reigned as NCAA champions in 1967 and 1969.
Winkles was named the 1965 and 1969 NCAA Coach of the Year and The Sporting News Coach of the Year in 1965, 1967 and 1969.
Winkles was also a trailblazer in another area, as he became one of the first college coaches to transition to Major League Baseball. After leaving ASU, he managed four years in the Majors with the California Angels and the Oakland Athletics.
Winkles was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006. His No. 1 jersey is retired at Arizona State, and the playing field at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark is named in his honor.
