John Winkin, American Baseball Coaches Association Board Member and Hall of Fame Inductee, passed away on July 19, 2014, just four days short of his 95th birthday.
Winkin was one of the outstanding leaders of the ABCA. He served as President in 1973 and was the ABCA's first Chairman of the Board of Directors, serving in that role from 1983-86. Winkin was inducted to 11 Halls of Fame, including the ABCA Hall of Fame in 1979, and was recipient of the ABCA's prestigious Lefty Gomez Award in 1986.
Winkin coached at Colby College, the University of Maine and Husson College, winning over 1000 games in his 50-plus year career.
At Colby College, Winkin spent 20 years as baseball coach and Athletic Director. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1965 (pictured above) and compiled a 301-202-5 record at Colby.
Winkin coached at the University of Maine from 1975 through 1996, leading the Black Bears to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances and six College World Series appearances during that span. Maine won a school record 48 games in 1991. Winkin compiled a 642-430-3 record at Maine while playing incredibly tough schedules.
Winkin finished his career at Husson University from 1996-2008. On March 12, 2006, Winkin became the 44th collegiate baseball coach to reach 1,000 career victories when Husson defeated Drew University 6–3 in Tampa, Florida. Winkin went 100-74-8 at Husson.
More than 90 of Winkin's players went on to sign professional contracts, including former Bill Swift and Mike Bordick, who each played more than a decade in Major League Baseball.
Winkin earned his undergraduate degree from Duke and earned his master's and doctorate degrees from Columbia. He was an officer in the Navy during World War II.
Read More...
• University of Maine obituary
• Bangor Daily News obituary
• John Winkin Wikipedia page