Stan Sanders (1998) - Hall of Fame - University of Toledo Athletics

Stan Sanders

Induction:
1998

By the time he retired in 1992, Toledo baseball coach Stan Sanders has amassed the MAC record of 534 career victories and sent 46 players into professional baseball. During his 23-years tenure, Sanders coached 31 All-MAC performers, as well as serving as a professional baseball liaison to the NCAA and as a member of the Mideast Regional Advisory Committee. Sanders has a pro baseball background himself, as a player with the Philadelphia and St. Louis organizations and as a part-time scout for Kansas City, Detroit and New York Mets. He has the distinction of having worked with some of the most famous athletes in professional sports, including Major League Baseball Hall of Fame member Mike Schmidt and Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway. In 1971, Sanders' Rockets became the first American college baseball team to play in Italy. In 1983, he was the first coach in NCAA history to obtain permission to take a leave of absence to be an instructor in a professional sport, as he served as a coach and scout for a year with the New York Yankees before returning to Toledo as head coach. Prior to coming to UT, Sanders was an assistant to the legendary Bob Wren at Ohio from 1966-69, when the Bobcats won two MAC titles and finished twice.