Stevenson coached the El Segundo Eagles to 30 league championships, and to seven section championships in the competitive California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section. El Segundo made the playoffs in 42 of his 50 years there. His 1,059 career victories are a California record. Among the many players his program produced were Hall of Famer George Brett and his brother, Ken. Scott McGregor, winner of 138 major league games, was a teammate of George Brett. Another of Stevenson’s players was major league umpire Derryl Cousins.

“He was so instrumental in teaching us how to play the game,” said McGregor. “He made us play the game right. He taught us that if you want to be the best, you have to work to be the best.”

Born in October, 1933, the lifelong South Bay resident attended and played baseball at Redondo High, El Camino College and UCLA. He began his coaching career at El Segundo as a 26-year-old in 1960 and compiled a record of 1,059-419. He led his teams to the playoffs in 42 of the 50 seasons he coached.

“Dave Demarest, who coached nearby La Quinta High in Westminster to 753 victories, coached against Stevenson – after playing against Stevenson’s El Segundo teams. “John was bigger than life, when I saw him as a player,” Demarest said. “Then, when I coached against him … You know, you’re always trying to figure the other guy out. Well, I swear I never saw him give a sign, but I know he did. His kids knew what to do without him ever having to tell them.”

Craig Cousins, who played under Stevenson and served as an assistant coach with him for 37 years, said, “John was a great teacher and a great coach. Cousins’ brother Derryl, also played under Stevenson. Harry Jenkins, a former baseball coach at Redondo and West Torrance high schools, said, “I admire his even temperament on the field and his ability to get everything out of the athletes he coached. His impact on South Bay baseball will be his legacy.”

Former El Segundo High baseball player Alberto Concepcion, who went on to play at USA and professional baseball, said Stevenson “expected us to go out and play hard every day. He absolutely loved the game of baseball and he loved this town,” Concepcion said. “He had opportunities to go elsewhere but he never did.”

Stevenson coached junior varsity football at El Segundo High for a decade and taught geography for 30 years. After retiring from the classroom in the late 1980s, he became athletic director at the school, serving in that position for 13 years before retiring to focus full time on the school’s baseball squad.

According to his family, Stevenson was beginning to prepare for his 51st season. “He was really looking forward to coaching the team this year,” said Stevenson’s son, Eric, who played second base at El Segundo High under his father, winning a CIF Southern Section title game in 1989 at Dodger Stadium. “Hugging my dad on the field after we won that game was one of the best moments of my life,” he said, holding back tears. “We had a real bond over baseball.”

Stevenson’s influence on the area will be lasting. Stevenson Field, where the El Segundo Eagles play baseball, already is named in his honor. And it was never about him. When Stevenson became the first California high school coach to get to 1,000 wins, he told The Daily Breeze newspaper, “I’m glad it’s over so we can now get on with the rest of the season.”

During an interview with The Times last May, Stevenson attributed his coaching longevity to his wife, a staff of top-flight assistant coaches, a supportive administrator and community, and legions of talented players. “I’m sorry I’m 75, because I’d love to do it all over again. It’s an environment that makes you say to yourself, ‘I’m just not done yet!”

Stevenson was preceded in death by his wife, Gail, who died in September of ovarian cancer at age 68. In addition to his son, he is survived by a daughter-in-law, Sue-Jean, and a 2-year-old granddaughter, Allie. A public memorial service was held January 23 in the El Segundo High School auditorium.

Photographs by Bruce Hazelton and San Gabriel Valley Tribune

In my opinion, all this pitch calling on the college and high school levels is an indictment on the coaching staff for not doing their due diligence in setting up a plan for their pitchers and catchers prior to the game.

I am all for suggestions on the bench or during meetings on the mound. However, those suggestions at the highest level usually act as reminders or confirmations that, for example, “You have good bite to the curve ball and so and so will chase it in the dirt” type of thing. If a college coach were looking to bring in a top flight catcher and was told that the coaches will call the pitches, I would run away from a program like that.

Part of the development process is to set up a plan, try and execute a plan and use trial and error during the pre-season to get ready for those “monumental” 30-game conference schedules. It is amazing how smart we became or how stupid the players become due to lack of experience.

How does one get experience except to do it? The pitcher-catcher dynamic is a dance. It must be practiced so that there is a relationship. As a pitching coach, I realize my catcher has a better feel for what the pitcher is doing than anyone. As a pitching coach, I have a better feel than the head guy does due to time spent with the pitcher and catcher.

If I, as a pitching coach, feel that the catcher can do a better job than me, I know for a fact that he can do a better job than having the head guy call pitches or suggest someone other than the catcher to do so.

Work on a plan, gain the trust that the plan will be carried out with adjustments available in the plan, and sit back and watch young pitchers and catchers grow. It sure is a lot more satisfying than trying to control everything.

The first thing I remember most was that I was in better shape than anybody. I could run all day and seemed not to tire. This was a great advantage especially late in the game when everybody gets tired and tries to reach inside for more energy. Being in better shape allows an athlete to perform at his or her highest level throughout the game. This alone helped me to achieve the honors I experienced in all sports and the levels achieved.

My first year or so, I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to my scholastic achievements, but as I began to excel in sports, my coaches began to emphasize the importance of applying myself in and out of the classroom. My coaches became my mentors and helped guide me in many facets of my life, school work, eating habits, rest, the kind of people you associate with, how you treat people, discipline, concentration, commitment, and honesty. I wish more coaches would put more emphasis on these areas and less on winning for their own gain!! Some attributes didn’t have to be taught to me, like being competitive and a never give up attitude. This attitude was reinforced when playing semi-pro baseball in Marshall, Minnesota during my college years. We were down 9-1 in the last of the ninth with two outs and two strikes on our last batter, and we came back to win 10-9. To this day, I never give up on anything in life as long as there is a chance to succeed.

I had numerous scholarship offers from major colleges and universities in all three sports. Northwestern was my final choice because I would be able to play under the tutelage of a former major league player and Hall of Famer, Freddie Lindstrom (Giants, Cubs). Freddie was knowledgeable, kind, considerate, and fundamentally sound. He was my mentor.

In 1954, I signed professionally with the Chicago Cubs organization, and each year in the minor leagues I hit over .300. When I reached the big leagues in 1957, I was the Cubs’ opening day centerfielder. After two games and nine at bats, however, I was optioned to Fort Worth in the Texas League (AA). I was determined, however, to make it back to the majors. The dream came true after a month and a half and a .341 batting average. Even though I was in and out of the lineup, I remained with the team the rest of the year.

During spring training in 1958, I hardly saw any action with the Cubs, and on the last day, I was optioned to Portland (Pacific Coast League (AAA). Even though I had a slow start, in a few weeks I started playing at a higher level and rejoined the Cubs who were moving players from the club. Again, I was optioned back to Fort Worth where I had a great year. We won the pennant, and I hit .361 which led the league by 40 points. At the end of the season, I was called up to the big club.

Spring training in 1959 was another bummer for me. I felt I had a good enough spring to stay with the Cubs, but again was optioned to Fort Worth, now in the American Association (AAA). I was depressed, angry and wanting or thinking of being traded. I was told, however, that every time I was put on waivers, other teams would claim me. An excuse Cubs general manager John Holland gave was that they had too many left-handed hitters. I was dispensable but he didn’t want to trade me.

This move turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The year 1959 was a terrific year for me. A most valuable player and near minor league player of the year took away some of the sting that I may not be good enough to play at the major league level. I led the American Association in five categories, playing every inning of every game, including the play-off. Because we went deep into the playoffs and midway through September, I wasn’t called up to the Cubs.

The year of 1960 appeared to be a year of hope and frustration of trying to prove myself to play at the major league level. A rookie named Lou Johnson was having a terrific spring, and I hardly had a chance to prove myself and I only played sparsely. A few days before opening day, Lou was hit by a line drive in our dugout and was taken to the hospital. I was inserted into right field, and again it was like spring training all over again.

The first few weeks were difficult, but as the season wore on, my luck began to change and the hits started to fall. Charlie Grimm, known as “Jolly Cholly”, was our manager, and he was a terrific person. Always giving encouragement, he was fair and helpful when in need. After the first three weeks, my average was in the mid .270s. Our new manager, Lou Boudreau, gave me the opportunity to play every day and it paid off.

During these next several years, the Cubs kept finding new young players like Lou Johnson, George Altman, Billy Williams, and Lou Brock, all left-handed hitters like me. For the next couple of seasons, I was used sparingly, spot starting, and pinch hitting. In 1962, I managed 17 pinch hits, a Cub record I held for 23 years. I also held the record, with others, for the most career Cub pinch hits with 47 for many years.

The Cubs wanted to make me a player-coach, and I was sent down on two occasions in 1963-1964. In those years, I hit .361 and .370 for Salt Lake City (AAA), so I wasn’t ready to be led to the wood shed. I could still play and felt I wasn’t ready to give up my playing career in the early 30’s age.

During my minor league career, I tried to set goals for myself – daily, weekly, monthly, and personal, whether it is hits, batting average, learning to pull the ball better, or any way to help the team and play at a higher level. When I reached the major league level, the ultimate goal, I stopped establishing new goals. This was a big mistake!!

A player or person should never stop setting goals to improve their ability or their status in life. Young players should continue to establish attainable short term goals and look to long term goals. As a result, they can make progress and not give up by getting discouraged if some of the goals are not met to your liking.

The program is also a promoter of equality, making teammates out of wealthy bankers’ and industrial workers’ sons, and erasing any social divide between them. Most importantly, American Legion Baseball has been, and continues to be, a stepping stone to manhood for millions of young men who have gone on to raise families or play the sport at the highest level.

A Modest Beginning Community service has always been a core value of The American Legion. In 1925, this commitment was furthered to include a junior baseball program.

The league was first proposed at an American Legion state convention in Milbank, South Dakota, when Sioux Falls attorney and department commander Frank G. McCormick invited his close friend, Major John L. Griffith, to address the convention.

Instead of a traditional speech, Griffith, who was also the collegiate commissioner of the Western Conference (now the Big Ten), spoke about athletics’ role in the development of youth.

“The American Legion could well consider the advisability of assisting in the training of young Americans through our athletic games,” Griffith said. Athletic competition teaches courage and respect for others, fostering their growth into active citizens, he said. The South Dakota convention agreed and promptly passed a resolution urging the Legion to create an organized summer baseball league that started each June. National Commander James A. Drain backed the resolution, which passed that fall at the Legion’s national convention in Omaha, Nebraska.

The resolution read:

RESOLVED: That The American Legion … inaugurate and conduct baseball leagues and tournaments for local championships, and that local champions determined by the competitions be given opportunity to compete in departmental, sectional and regional tournaments, and that a junior world series championship baseball series be conducted at each national convention … “

The first program in the world to provide a national baseball tournament for teenagers, American Legion Baseball was born. In 1926, posts in 15 states began to make Griffith’s vision a reality. They organized and sponsored teams, drafted local schedules and conducted championship tourneys. Postseason tournaments at the state, sectional and regional levels culminated with a national championship.

Only a few changes have been made to the format over the years. The tournament still has a similar setup: 64 teams play at eight regional sites, with eight teams going on to the World Series. The winning team receives a trip to Major League Baseball’s World Series, a tradition dating back to 1926.

The first American Legion Baseball World Series was held in Philadelphia in 1926. Yonkers, N.Y., Post 321 beat a team from Pocatello, Idaho, capping off what appeared to be a successful first season.

Today, American Legion Baseball enjoys a reputation as one of the most successful and tradition-rich amateur athletic leagues. The program registers over 5,400 teams in all 50 states, including Canada and Puerto Rico. Almost 100,000 youths, ages 15 to 19, participate annually. Since its inception, the league has had 10 million players, and nearly 75 percent of current college players are program graduates.

And, if you attended Cal State Los Angeles during the 21 years that he was there, you endured a lot of experiences from Coach John Herbold. Known as a writer for Collegiate Baseball, a head coach at Lakewood High School, and the most winning coach at CSULA, Herbold used his knowledge of the game to inspire others in a way that some still scratch their heads about.

Whether you were at an ABCA coaches’ conference, played for or against Coach Herbold, or read a story of his in Collegiate Baseball, you can draw up a mental image as soon as you hear his name. These are from Coach’s last year at Cal State LA – simply a chapter in the Baseball Book of John.

August, 2003: Our first day of practice is going to be a blast. We’re going to take ground balls, fly balls, take some BP, learn about the signs, the plays we’re going to run, the … wait; coach is shuffling up to us like we already set him off.

In an unforgettably low, gruff and scratchy voice from 20 yards away, we hear how “WINKELMAAAAN (our freshman shortstop), if you don’t make it to the big leagues, it’s your own fault”. Wow, this guy has some expectations! Come to find out, he wasn’t mad, that was just the demeanor of our leader. We knew right away that expectations were high and he wasn’t afraid to call a spade a spade.

September, 2003: Being a writer from the mid-1900s, literally, there was never a piece of literature printed from a computer printer. Coach had everything typed on his old-school typewriter, including player expectations, plays to be run, and fundraising forms. Without fail, there would be a smudge on the paper and we could always assume that Herbold let out a low and pronounced “DAMN!” every time it happened.

For me and many of my teammates, it took at least 2 years to truly understand the intentions of Coach and the validity behind what he was saying. If you have heard him speak during a conference, he has jokes that nobody knows and stories that nobody has heard of. This is not because the jokes aren’t funny (strangely enough, some were pretty good) and the stories hold no value.

On the contrary, the stories that Coach told us have incredible value in the area of life and are often forgotten or passed over as irrelevant. Striving for perfection was a pipe dream for the 28th man on the Stanford baseball team. Coach always said, “The only reason I was 28 was because they didn’t make 29 jerseys”. However, he never stopped striving and he always pushed us to do the same.

His life struggles in the current day are fueled by his battle with Parkinson’s disease, superseding his battle for baseball knowledge.

Coach is, was and always will be a student of the game, something that should humble us as coaches no matter what stage of coaching we may be in. At 76 years old, he was still inviting the opinions of a 20 year old college student-athlete and acknowledged that there are more things to life than baseball.

Coach often referred to his former players and, while he loved his Jay Gibbons (Gibbons played for CSULA on the 1998 and 1999 teams that won the CCAA Championships), he also enjoyed talking about his former players who were firefighters, a garbage truck driver, tax professional, lawyer, etc. His allegiance is insurmountable, as he once told us, “One day I hope I’ll be working for you.” That’s quite a humbling experience coming from a guy who has done it all and seen just about everything.

Coach’s end of the year awards may have been peculiar to some, but his intentions were undeniable. Coach gave every senior a plaque of appreciation and a silver dollar with a dandelion in the case. The silver dollar represents the value of the individual and the rarity of their character, but that wasn’t the part that held the most meaning.

The dandelion represented uniqueness, the ability to stand out in a crowd. Coach preached for us to “not just be a blade of grass. There are a million blades of grass out there, but be a dandelion. Be the one that stands out and stands above the rest." Thanks, Coach Herbold, for the lessons you taught us, the stories you told us and the influence that you innately held over our future as an athlete, teammate, and contributing member of society. Your words speak volumes, and your good hearted nature has been instilled in every one of us.

You have been our worst enemy, our biggest influence, and most of all, an inspiration to expect perfection in everything that we do.

If alternative testing and policing methods are proven to ensure compliance with current BESR (Ball Exit Speed Ration) standards, the committee will consider lifting the moratorium,” said Rules Committee Chairman Bob Brontsema who is the head baseball coach at the University of California at Santa Barbara. “Based on the research, we believe this is the right step to protect the integrity of the game.” The composite bats pictured here were in the Georgia dugout at the 2009 SEC Baseball Tournament. “They have come under harsh criticism because of players’ ability to “juice” bats,” wrote Bob Sims in the Birmingham News.

During the 2009 NCAA Division I baseball championship, which included all regional, super regional and College World Series games, 25 non-wood composite bats were selected for (BESR) certification tests. Of the 25 bats, 20 failed the BESR test for performance of non-wood composite bats changed after use. New non-wood composite bats that have the BESR stamp on them were legal prior to any balls hitting the barrel of these bats.

It was not known if any of the 20 bats that failed BESR tests were intentionally doctored with a process called “rolling”. A bat that has been altered by “rolling” can improve the exit speed of the ball off the barrel of composite bats by 1015 mph, according to Tim Weiser, chairman of the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee.

Non-wood composite bats are made of many alloy layers such as carbon fiber, resin and glue. With a new bat, the fibers are stiff and less pliable. After numerous balls hit the barrel of the bat, the resin and glue break up as the bat becomes more flexible in that area. That is why a break-in period is usually needed with new composite bats for higher performance.

The rolling procedure takes place when composite bats are compressed along the barrel between top and bottom nylon rollers or hard rubber rollers.

For the first time in the 63-year history of the College World Series, bat testing was performed to prevent illegal bats from being used. Careful inspection of every bat from all eight competing teams prior to the start of the College World Series resulted in 31 total bats being eliminated in Omaha. Pictured here is a college hitter using a composite bat.

After a ring test was performed on bat barrels which checked barrel roundness, 25 bats were eliminated from play. The majority of those were aluminum bats while some may have been non-wood composite bats, according to Gene McArtor, Coordinator of Umpires. Six additional bats were eliminated after compression tests were performed on bat barrels. All six were non-wood composite bats. It was not known how many of these bats may have been rolled, if any.

Batting averages and home runs have jumped the last two years in NCAA Division I baseball, according to NCAA statistics. In 2007, the per-game average for home runs was 0.68. That number increased to .84 in 2008 and .96 this spring. Batting averages also jumped from .291 in 2007 to .296 in 2008 and .302 this spring.

In 2008, the Rules Committee approved a new protocol for measuring non-wood bat performance that takes effect in 2011. Starting in 2011, the NCAA will use a new method for testing bats called the Ball-Bat Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR). It will replace the BESR length bats and is a more direct measure of bat performance. The new BBCOR protocol recommended by the NCAA Baseball Research Panel will predict the speed that a ball will leave the bat.

NCAA Rules Committee Chairman Brontsema said his committee faced many complaints about non-wood composite bats that were performing at a higher level than allowed during the past season. “We were concerned about the integrity of the game as well as the health and safety of our student athletes.”

“We took a look at the situation and were given a lot of evidence through championship testing,” said Brontsema. “We found the concerns of our membership to be warranted. Our committee felt that not allowing non-wood composite barreled bats to be used at this time in NCAA competition was the proper decision.”