GARRIDO Jr., AUGUST EDMUN (1939 ~ 2018). The following is an obituary for National College Baseball Hall of Fame member Augie Garrido. The obituary was provided by the University of Texas Athletic Department.  

AUGUST EDMUN “AUGIE” GARRIDO, JR.
February 6, 1939 – March 15, 2018

Augie Garrido was one of college baseball’s legendary coaches who claimed five National Championships. Garrido's storied 48-year baseball coaching career spanned six decades, including his final 20 seasons at The University of Texas. He will be remembered as one of the most successful coaches in not only baseball, but college sports history. His achievements were many, but his legacy reaches far beyond the playing field.

Garrido finished his career in 2016 as college baseball’s all-time winningest coach with 1,975 wins. He is the first baseball coach to lead two different schools to national titles (Cal State Fullerton and Texas) and guided squads to National Championships in four different decades (1979, 1984, 1995, 2002, 2005). He led his teams to the College World Series 15 times, made 33 NCAA Regional appearances, and won 16 NCAA Regional Tournament titles and 25 conference championships, while being named National Coach of the Year six times (1975, 1979, 1984, 1995, 2002, 2005).

Hired in 1996 to continue the proud tradition of Longhorn baseball, Garrido did just that. After three years of laying the foundation of his program, 2000 was the year he brought the Horns back to the College World Series for the first time since 1993. He went on to lead Texas to eight College World Series appearances, winning the school’s fifth National Championship in 2002 and sixth in 2005. The Horns were runners-up twice (2004, 2009) and posted a pair of third-place finishes (2003, 2014). On the conference level, Texas won seven Big 12 Conference Championships (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011) and five league tournament crowns (2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2015). UT posted at least 50 victories six times in Garrido’s 20 years, topped by 58 wins in 2004. He finished his Longhorn career with a record of 824-427-2 (.658).

The Vallejo, Calif. native brought his own unique style to the game of college baseball and Longhorns athletics. He was known for the mental and physical development of his student-athletes and teams. His many honors, records, championships and victories are well documented, but the psychology with which he fostered that success may be what best defined him.

As a result of his unique style, the Major League Baseball Directors of Player Development once ranked Garrido as one of the top three baseball teachers in the nation. To deserve that distinction, Garrido coached three Golden Spikes Award winners, four National Players of the Year, six College World Series MVPs, 53 All-Americans (66 total honors), 14 all-league MVPs and 143 players who went on to professional baseball during his career. He developed 15 MLB first-round draft picks.

A 1961 graduate of Fresno State, Garrido played three seasons for the Bulldogs and earned all-conference recognition, while also taking part in the 1959 College World Series. Along with his UT predecessor Cliff Gustafson, he is one of only 11 men ever to both play and coach in the CWS. Upon graduating, Garrido signed a professional contract with the Cleveland Indians and played six years in their minor league system before retiring in 1966 to accept a coaching position at Sierra High School in Tollhouse, Calif.

Three years later, Garrido’s collegiate coaching career would begin as he accepted the head job at San Francisco State in 1969. He then spent his next three seasons at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo (1970-72) before taking the reins of the Cal State Fullerton program in 1973 where he embarked on the first of many highly-successful campaigns with the Titans. In two stints totaling 21 years as head coach there, Garrido produced a remarkable record of 929-391-6 (.703), while netting seven CWS appearances, one runner-up finish and three national crowns. In between his times at CSFU, Garrido led Illinois to a pair of Big Ten Conference titles, including the school’s first in 26 seasons, and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

Garrido was selected to the Titan Athletics Hall of Fame, Longhorn Hall of Honor, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Omaha College Baseball Hall of Fame, National College Baseball Hall of Fame and American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In 2016, Garrido received an Ellis Island Medal of Honor from the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations for his lifelong commitment to hard work and sacrifice.