Pacific dedicates its clubhouse to Tom Stubbs
Pacific baseball unveiled a newly remodeled locker room today in honor of longtime coach Tom Stubbs, who managed the program from 1964 to 71 and again from 1973 to 81. Stubbs’ 410 wins stands as the program record for coaching wins.
The Tigers, with the help of the 1968 team which went 32-15 and holds the record for best winning percentage in program history, added graphics over the top of two thirds of the lockers that honors the Tigers past and present. A wall in the entrance way to the locker room honors Stubbs himself. The clubhouse has been renamed the Tom Stubbs Clubhouse in honor of the coach.
The unveiling and re-naming of the clubhouse was a complete surprise to the legendary coach.
“I love what they’ve done with the pictures of the team and that sort of thing. It’s truly amazing. I didn’t expect this at all,” Stubbs said. “This is very humbling to think of.”
The dedication ceremony took place in the Tom Stubbs Clubhouse and nearly all of the 1968 team was able to return to see their former coach honored. Pacific’s director of athletics, Janet Lucas, and head baseball coach Ryan Garko were on hand and both spoke prior to the unveiling. The Tigers also gave out a new award, the Tom Stubbs Leadership Award, which will be given to a Pacific player that demonstrates the same type of leadership traits as Stubbs. Former Tiger Lucas Halsted, who hit .278 with four homers and 23 RBIs in 2018, was the first Tiger to earn the honor.
The 1968 team made a point to honor their coach and did so in a fantastic way. The group, along with the help of Pacific’s current coaching staff, worked tirelessly throughout the summer to decide what to display in the locker room and how to honor their coach. The result is graphics above the lockers on one wall that honor the 1968 team’s successes. The wall opposite of the wall that honors the 1968 team, honors Pacific’s more recent history. There is also a section dedicated to Pacific’s 88 players that have gone on to play professionally. The entrance way is dedicated to Stubbs himself.
“Tom recruited me and I chose to come to Pacific and play baseball, and it had a huge effect on my life,” Jeff Friestedt, a member of the 1968 team, said. “This was the best of the four teams I played on. We were also the closest group of players. After we graduated we all went on to be hugely successful. Coach Stubbs put together a group of people that liked to play together and he encouraged us. We suffered through some difficult times early on and in the second half of the season, we won a lot of games. I’m impressed with what they’ve done with the clubhouse. It will help build a more successful program here at Pacific.”
Lucas praised all that Stubbs did for Pacific’s baseball program as well as the university.
“After 36 years at UoP, coach Tom Stubbs was much more than just a coach to this athletic program and this university. This clubhouse named after him is a small representation of that legacy,” Lucas said. “We’re honored to have him back on campus and to celebrate all that he has done for the University of the Pacific.”
\
Leave A Comment