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Winstead earns place in Spartan hall
By Dick Sparrer
Joe Winstead accomplished plenty in his 40 years as a baseball coach at Los Gatos High School. But when Winstead is honored later this month in Santa Clara, it won't be for what he has accomplished in the past 40 years, but for what he did in two seasons before that 40-year coaching careeer.
Winstead will be one of two inductees at San Jose State University's 14th annual Spartan Baseball Hall of Fame ceremonies on Oct. 22 at the Santa Clara Golf Course.
Winstead and Dave Sick will be honored when San Jose hosts its annual golf tournament, dinner and induction ceremonies.
Winstead was an outstanding outfielder for the Spartans in 1956 and '57, and Sick starred for the Spartans from 1991 to 1994.
Winstead, 66, recently announced his retirement from the game after a 40-year career as a baseball coach at Los Gatos.
He began playing baseball as a youngster growing up in Oakland in the 1940s. He was a star outfielder at Oakland Technical High School and played for American Legion teams that won back-to-back national championships in 1949 and '50. He played in the same outfield with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson on the Oakland Legion squad.
Winstead went on to play two seasons at Santa Rosa Junior College before joining the service and heading to Korea in 1954.
He returned to the diamond in 1956 and started in center field for two seasons at San Jose State.
"I could have signed-- I had a couple of buddies who signed and went on to the Pioneer League," said Winstead. "But I felt my best way was to go to college."
The pros' loss was San Jose State's gain.
After his college graduation, he joined the faculty at Los Gatos High in 1958. He took over as the head varsity baseball coach in 1962, a job he would keep until the spring of 1999.
Winstead's Los Gatos teams rolled up 545 victories and won seven league championships, and 23 of his players went on to play professional baseball.
The induction day begins with a 1 p.m. golf tournament, followed by a reception at 6 p.m., dinner at 7:30 p.m. and inductions at 8 p.m. Tickets for golf and dinner are priced at $145. It is $45 for dinner only.
For ticket information, call Doug Thurman at 408.924.1467.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
