Long-time Gopher baseball coach John Anderson died Sunday after suffering a heart attack last week.
He won a school record 1,390 games in 43 season, getting the job in 1982 after nearly taking a job outside of athletics.
"Paul Giel was the athletic director, and offered me the opportunity to be the head coach here," said Anderson in 2023 on the day he announced his retirement, which took place after the following season. "Some people ask how did that happen, I said I was available and I was cheap. That's probably not too far from the truth.
What Anderson put together in Dinkytown was far from cheap.
His Gopher baseball eams won seven Big Ten regular season titles and nine tournament championships.
He was eight-time Big Ten coach of the year and is in the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.
Anderson's uniform number 14 is among those retired by the U of M.
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Hall of Fame coach John Anderson.
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) July 26, 2026
Our thoughts are with his wife Jan, their daughter Erin, and the thousands he impacted during his 43 years as head coach of the Gophers.
🔗: https://t.co/PI4CP9MaVs pic.twitter.com/C440AoJWyl
Among the Twins players who were coached by Anderson... Terry Steinbach, Denny Neagle, Brian Raabe, Cole De Vries, and Glen Perkins.
"I've been fortunate that we've been able to have some success on the diamond, said Anderson. "More importantly, I think we've been able to graduate our young men at a very, very high level, and prepare them for the next 50 years of their lives.
"I've had to pinch myself sometimes, it's a little bit surreal."
John Anderson was 71 years old.
