Longtime Gaither High School head coach Frank Permuy collected over 1,300 wins across multiple levels of amateur baseball in his career. The Tampa (Fla.) native, who passed away in 2020, spent every one of his 50 seasons as a head coach in his home state, coaching at the high school, Legion and collegiate levels.
After his playing career was cut short by injury, Permuy began coaching American Legion baseball and continued to do so for 50 years. His Legion teams were very successful, including his 1981 team that claimed a World Championship as he was named American Legion National Coach of the Year. In total, his teams captured 25 district titles, 14 area titles, seven state titles and three regional titles.
Upon completion of his undergraduate degree at the University of Tampa, Permuy began his high school coaching career at Leto High School, where he coached both the baseball and football teams. In 1972, he led his baseball team to a co-conference championship.
After two seasons at Leto, he had the opportunity to return to his alma mater, the University of Tampa, where he served as head coach for five seasons from 1974-78. There, he led his teams to two NCAA Div. II top 10 national rankings and a 92-89-3 (.508) record. The team won just eight games in 1973 prior to Permuy’s arrival. In his fifth and final season of 1978, Tampa set a school record with 29 wins.
Permuy returned to high school baseball at Tampa Catholic in 1982, where he led the program to a Class 3A state title and was named the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) 3A State Coach of the Year in his first season. He followed that up with a district title the next season.
In 1984, Permuy began the process of building the baseball program at a new school, Gaither High School, where he would spend his final 30 years as a coach and compile a 513-276 (.650) record. By his retirement in 2014, Permuy led the Cowboys to eight Western Conference titles, 13 district titles, two regional championships and a state runner-up finish.
Permuy compiled a career record of 1382-728 (.655). To honor their longtime head coach, Gaither High School named their baseball field “Frank Permuy Park” in 2015.
He was named an ABCA/Diamond Sports Regional Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2006 and was voted Western Conference Coach of the Year eight times.
The former 36-year Lifetime ABCA member was the founder and first president of the Bay Area Baseball Coaches Association. He was also a charter member of the NHSBCA. He has previously been inducted to several Halls of Fame: Florida Athletic Coaches Association (2009), Florida High School Athletic Association (2010), National High School Baseball Coaches Association (2013) and the Sports Club of Tampa (2016).
He spoke at many conventions and was heavily involved in volunteer work with many youth groups such as Little League, PONY, Boys and Girls Clubs and SCORE International.
