Bob Milano is an American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

coach. He served as the head coach of the

California Golden Bears baseball The California Golden Bears baseball team represents the University of California, Berkeley in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other California athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Pac-12 Conference. The Bears ...

team from 1978 to 1999.

Early life and playing career

Bob Milano grew up in Oakland, California and attended

Bishop O'Dowd High School Bishop O'Dowd High School is a Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory school in Oakland, California, administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland and named for the late auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Jam ...

, graduating in 1957. Milano went on to play baseball for the California Golden Bears in 1960 and 1961, leading the 1960 team in hitting with a 357 average.California History A Salute to Bob Milano
/ref> Milano played summer baseball for the Lloydminster Meridians in the Western Canada Baseball League in 1960 and 1961. After graduating from Cal, Milano was a varsity assistant for the Cal baseball team, while playing for the

Humboldt Crabs The Humboldt Crabs are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Arcata, California. Playing in every season since they were founded in 1945 by Lou Bonomini, later joined by Ned Barsuglia, the Crabs are the oldest continually-operated summer co ...

in the summers of 1962 and 1963, playing in the

National Baseball Congress The National Baseball Congress of Wichita, Kansas is an organization of 17 amateur and semi-professional baseball leagues operating in the United States and Canada. Since its founding in 1935 by Hap Dumont, it has conducted an annual North America ...

World Series in 1963.

Coaching career

After 10 years as head coach at Burlingame High School, Milano was an assistant coach at Cal under

Jackie Jensen Jack Eugene Jensen (March 9, 1927 – July 14, 1982) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three American League (AL) teams from 1950 to 1961, most notably the Boston Red Sox. He was named the AL's Most Valuable Pl ...

from 1974 to 1977, until he was chosen as the new Cal head coach in 1978. Coach Milano returned to coach the Humboldt Crabs in 1979, with five of his Cal players, including Rod Booker, finishing with a record of 34-16 and a return trip to the NBC World Series in Wichita. Those five Cal players Coach Milano brought to the Crabs, formed the core of the 1980 Cal team who made the College World Series. He was inducted into the Humboldt Crabs Hall of Fame in 2018. In 22 years at Cal, Coach Milano compiled a record of 688-644-4 (.516). His teams made the postseason six times, making the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

in 1980, 1988 and 1992. His Cal teams produced numerous future Major Leaguers including

Bob Melvin Robert Paul Melvin (born October 28, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach, who is the manager of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has been named Manager of the Year three times. Selected in t ...

Jeff Kent Jeffrey Franklin Kent (born March 7, 1968) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1992–2008 for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, San Francis ...

Lance Blankenship Lance Robert Blankenship (born December 6, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball utility player. Blankenship played his entire career with the Oakland Athletics (1988–1993) after the A's drafted him in the 10th round of the 1986 M ...

Darren Lewis Darren Joel Lewis (born August 28, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player who played center field in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1990), San Francisco Giants (1991–1995), Cincinnati Reds (1995), C ...

Xavier Nady Xavier Clifford Nady VI (; born November 14, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. Nady played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Ari ...

, and Rod Booker.

Head coaching records

Source:2019 Golden Bears Record Book
/ref>

International coaching

*USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Assistant Coach (1985) *USA Baseball Olympic Assistant Coach (

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

) *USA Baseball Head Coach (1997)

References

External links

Cal profile

ABCA Hall of Fame profile

California Athletics Hall of Fame profile

San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milano, Bob California Golden Bears baseball coaches California Golden Bears baseball players Baseball catchers People from Oakland, California University of California, Berkeley alumni