John Winkin's mother earned her medical degree at Columbia University and was a physician on the staff of Columbia Presbyterian Medical College before her death in 1932.
28 Facts About John Winkin
2.
John Winkin's father was a linguistics professor at Columbia University who spoke seven languages.
3.
John Winkin attended Duke University, where he played baseball for head coach Jack Coombs as a 5-foot 6-inch left-handed hitting center fielder.
4.
John Winkin played basketball and soccer and was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
5.
John Winkin graduated in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in education.
6.
John Winkin served as one of 158 crew aboard the USS McCall, a destroyer assigned to protect aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.
7.
John Winkin made his first foray into coaching, becoming manager of the American Legion baseball team in Englewood.
8.
In 1949 Dr Harry Stearns, superintendent of Englewood schools and a friend of John Winkin, suggested he revisit coaching.
9.
John Winkin then became head football coach at Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, where he was a baseball coach and history teacher.
10.
John Winkin spent the next 20 years there as baseball coach and athletic director.
11.
John Winkin was named National Baseball Coach of the Year in 1965.
12.
John Winkin developed a friendship with Ted Williams, and Winkin coached at Williams' summer youth baseball camps in Lakeville, Massachusetts for 15 years.
13.
John Winkin became head baseball coach at the University of Maine in 1975, taking over for Jack Butterfield, who had left to become the head coach of South Florida.
14.
John Winkin's arrival spawned an era of great success for the Black Bears that included six College World Series appearances and a third-place finish.
15.
John Winkin's teams, composed largely of players from Maine and the other five New England states, proved to be formidable competition for major southern and western universities that had substantially larger budgets and fielded superior talent.
16.
John Winkin pioneered an innovative system of indoor baseball training and workouts, which he detailed in one of his books.
17.
John Winkin's team found themselves in yet another matchup with Miami, with a championship date against Wichita State at stake.
18.
John Winkin's club got off to a dismal start in 1984, losing 11 of their first 13 games on a road trip that pitted them against powers such as Texas and Oklahoma.
19.
John Winkin's club failed to qualify for the NCAA playoffs for the first time since 1979.
20.
Stump Merrill, an assistant coach at UMaine under John Winkin, went on to manage the New York Yankees.
21.
John Winkin held the positions of senior lecturer and vice president for sports leadership as the school's first Fellow in Sports and Leadership.
22.
John Winkin became head coach of the Eagles in November 2003 after Kolasinski departed to take a similar position at Siena Heights University.
23.
On December 10,2007, John Winkin suffered a stroke while out on his daily walk in Bangor, Maine.
24.
John Winkin remained Husson's head coach for the 2008 season, but with his return uncertain in January the school appointed Jason Harvey as interim coach.
25.
John Winkin was married and divorced before being widowed by his second wife in 1983 after 23 years of marriage.
26.
John Winkin has two children, David and Mary, and eight grandchildren.
27.
John Winkin was Roman Catholic, an avid fan of swing-era jazz, and was affectionately nicknamed "Wink" by friends and former players.
28.
Winkin developed close friendships with Red Sox CEO John Harrington and longtime Maine sports benefactor Harold Alfond, who was a Red Sox minority owner.