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- Year:
- 1956
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- Sports Played:
- Baseball State Champions
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- Induction Year:
- 2024
Bio
With the celebration of the 100th state championship in the Spring of 2024, the Pirates now celebrate the team that started the celebrations … the 1956 state-champion OCC baseball team. With the school just eight years old, head coach Wendell Pickens began a successful program right from the opening season of 1948, including a 1955 team that advanced to the state finals. In 1956, “Pick” had the right blend of talent to take the team all the way to the top of the championship mountain. Things didn’t start too well for the Pirates as they fell to Long Beach City College (10-5) and Compton (8-4), but after that came a year that never drifted off course. Coast proceeded to win 25 of their final 28 games, including a first-ever perfect 12-0 in the Eastern Conference (OCC’s fourth conference title in a row) and a return trip to the postseason. In the opening round, the Pirates topped Compton, 8-5 to earn a showdown with powerhouse Long Beach City College. Against the Vikings, Coast won two straight (9-8 and 11-0) to take the Southern California championship for the second year in a row. From there, Coast hosted one of the top community college teams in the nation, Coalinga College. Winners of 33 in a row and champions of Northern California, Coalinga head coach said before the series that there wasn’t a ball club in the United States that could defeat his boys. Pickens and the Pirates proved them wrong, topping the Falcons 5-4 in the first game after trailing 4-0 with two outs in the ninth inning. Coast tied the score in the ninth and won the game in the 10th. In the final game, Coast and Coalinga needed 15 innings before Butch Coopman drove home Rowland Hill with the winning run to give the Pirates a 3-2 win and the school’s first-ever championship. Pitchers Wayne Coughtry (13-2, 1.33 ERA), Jim Newkirk (5-1, 2.17 ERA) and Don Leigh (6-0, 1.20 ERA) highlighted the stats for OCC in 1956, while the bats were led by Butch Coopman (.330, 35 hits, 31 runs, 12 RBI), Jerry Wayt (.337, 33 hits, 24 runs, 26 RBI) and Gene Raine (.305, 33 hits, 29 runs, 24 RBI).
