High school baseball coaches with more than 1,000 wins

Over 20 years later, not one, but two fellow Oklahoma coaches are closing in on Bowen's national record of 2,115 wins. Eddie Collins of Latta (Ada, Okla.) enters the 2020 season eight wins away from tying the mark.

Behind Collins is a coach who probably wouldn't mind keeping the national record in the family — Billy Jack Bowen of Silo (Okla.), the nephew of Murl Bowen, has 2,070 wins and is closing fast.

Bowen's Silo team has won 40 straight games — the longest active streak in the nation — and recently went 29-4 during the fall season. He's won three straight spring championships and has 15 state championships in all.



Collins can nearly match Bowen in state championships with 11, including 10 at Latta. His 2019 spring team went 20-10, a record matched by his fall contingent.

Collins is in his 43rd year of coaching and says he's grateful for the long years he's put in at Latta.

"I'm just a country guy that knew he was going to have to work his whole life," Collins told the Ada News following his 2,000th career win. "As long as I'm healthy and feel like I'm doing a good job and am able to take care of the field, I just hope the school will be gracious enough to keep working."

Bowen is in his 34th year at Silo. While Collins' teams dominated the Class 2A division in Oklahoma during the late 1990s and early 200s, Bowen's Silo teams have shown the same domination over the past decade in the spring including eight straight appearances in the state finals. One of his state title wins came in 2015 over Collins and his Latta team. That year is the only time the two coaches have met in a spring state championship game.

When it comes to national wins leaders, Oklahoma baseball coaches have a bit of an advantage as the Class A and B teams also play a fall schedule between 30 and 40 games. As a result, 16 of the 45 coaches who have won over 1,000 games come from Oklahoma, including the top four. Iowa and New York have also held fall seasons in the past.




High school baseball coaches with more than 1,000 wins
1. Murl Bowen, Asher (Okla.)
Bowen's Asher teams won 43 state titles between the fall and spring seasons. His record during the spring was 1,063-216. Named the National Coach of the Year in 1975.

2. Eddie Collins*, Latta (Ada, Okla.)
Coached a season at Jones, three years at Rattan (with a state title) and 38 seasons at Latta, where his teams have won three spring state championship and seven fall state titles.

3. Billy Jack Bowen*, Silo (Okla.)
Won 15 state titles, including 10 in the spring and five in the fall. His 2019 team went 33-0 last year and has the nation's longest win streak at 40 games.

4. Daryl Scales, Lookeba-Sickles (Lookeba, Okla.)
Scales won a single state championship in the spring and six state championships in the fall.

5. Gene Schulz, Kee (Lansing, Iowa)
Schulz has the most wins among spring coaches with 1,578, as reported to the National Federation of High Schools record book. He had nine spring state titles and two fall state championships when Iowa played fall ball during the 1970s.

6. Jack Curran, Archbishop Molloy (Queens, N.Y.)
He also won 972 games in basketball for a combined total of 2,680 wins in the two sports. In baseball, Curran won 17 CHSAA City championships and 24 Queens Division titles and fall championships in 55 seasons of coaching. Curran is listed by the NFHS record book with 1,154 spring wins.



7. Trey Booth*, Red Oak (Okla.)
Record: 1,445-450
Tenure: 1993-2019
Won a state title this past fall for his fifth fall championship. He's also won six in the spring. Also a basketball coach, Booth retired from the sport in 2018 with over 500 wins and three state championships.

8. Dennis Olejniczak, Decorah-North Winneshiek (Decorah, Iowa)
Record: 1,417-560-2
Tenure: 1963-2018
Olejniczak spent one season at Janesville before 55 seasons at Decorah. His teams won three state championships. The NFHS record book lists Olejniczak with 1,409 career spring wins.

9. Mike Turo*, Monroe Campus (Bronx, N.Y.)
Record: 1,369-227
Tenure: 1978-2019
Turo has won six city championships and 35 borough titles in his 42 seasons. Turo's totals are not listed in the NFHS record book.

10. John Lowery*, Jefferson (Shenandoah Junction, W. Va.)
Record: 1,332-352-3
Tenure: 1971-2019
Lowery is in his 50th season of coaching, 48 at Jefferson. He has won 12 state championships and ranks third in spring wins, according to the NFHS record book.

11. Pat O'Keefe, Grand Ledge (Mich.)
Record: 1,315-326-2
Tenure: 1970-2019
Recently announced his retirement from coaching after 51 years at Grand Ledge. He won a pair of state championships.

12. Larry Tuttle*, Blissfield (Mich.)
Record: 1,297-423-5
Tenure: 1969-2019
Now the winningest active coach in Michigan with the retirement of O'Keefe, Tuttle has won seven state championships in his 51 seasons.

13. Steve Mandl, Washington (New York City)
Record: 1,232 wins
Tenure: 1984-2017
Mandl won multiple PSAL championships with the Trojans and coached Manny Ramirez.



14. Jerry Boatner, West Lauderdale (Collinsville, Miss.)
Record: 1,202-359
Tenure: 1968-2018
Coached five seasons at Clarkdale and 45 at West Lauderdale. He claimed 14 state titles during that run.

15. Greg Druba, Binger-Oney (Binger, Okla.)
Record: 1,191-329
Tenure: 1983-2008
Druba also coached at Binger and Binger-Oney, where he won four state titles, two in the fall and two in the spring.

16. Randy Bowen*, Kiowa (Okla.)
Record: 1,176-261
Tenure: 1990-2019
Retired after last season. He spent five seasons at Kiowa while also coaching at Coleman, Leedey, Soper, Wayne and Cameron.

17. Larry Turner*, Owasso (Okla.)
Record: 1,147-261
Tenure: 1983-2019
All of Turner's wins have come in the spring, making him the winningest Oklahoma coach if only spring wins are counted. He's won 11 state championships in his 37 years with the Rams.

18. Bill Miller, Pleasure Ridge Park (Louisville, Ky.)
Record: 1,144-305
Tenure: 1980-2017
Miller won six state championships in Kentucky, which only holds a single division state tournament for baseball. Miller passed away in 2018.

19. Mac Whitaker*, Harrison County (Cynthiana, Ky.)
Record: 1,132-355
Tenure: 1978-2019
Will likely overtake Miller as the all-time wins leader in Kentucky this year. He's won four state titles in his 42-year career.



20. Ray Miller, Krum (Texas)
Record: 1,131-470
Tenure: 1985-2015
Miller spent 22 seasons coaching in the fall and spring seasons in Oklahoma, where he registered 962 wins. He spent his final eight seasons at Krum, picking up another 169 wins. He claimed 32 district championships between the two states.

21. Bobby Moegle, Monterey (Lubbock, Texas)
Record: 1,115-226-1
Tenure: 1960-1999
Moegle is the all-time wins leader in Texas. He won four state championships and 33 district titles.

22. Vincent Meyer, Bancroft St. John's (Iowa)
Record: 1,105-179
Tenure: 1946-1981
Meyer battled a heart condition the last decade of his coaching career and passed away from a heart attack the year after he retired. He was the first baseball coach inducted into the National Federation of High Schools Hall of Fame.

23. Roy Edwards, Verden (Okla.)
Record: 1,103-771
Tenure: 1977-2009
Racked up his win totals during 64 seasons of coaching at Verden, 32 in the fall and 32 in the spring.

24. Frank Sumbera, Grosse Pointe North (Grosse Pointe, Mich.)
Record: 1,097-442-1
Tenure: 1973-2018
Also coached football for nearly 30 years and won over 200 games. He won one state championship in baseball.

25. Tom Jenk Jr., Beckman (Dyersville, Iowa)
Record: 1,088-527
Tenure: 1975-2016
Jenk won five state titles during his 42-year career at Beckman. He retired in 2017 only after developing brain cancer. He passed away in the fall of 2017.



26. Buster Kelso*, Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tenn.)
Record: 1,079-390
Tenure: 1979-2019
In 40 years, 36 at Christian Brothers, Kelso has won nine state championships.

27. Bill Fisher, Sperry (Okla.)
Record: 1,077-394
Tenure: 1969-2009
Spent 36 of his 41 years coaching at Sperry, where he led the team to six spring state championships.

28. William Booth*, Hartselle (Ala.)
Record: 1,074-475
Tenure: 1988-2019
Booth has coached for 32 years at Hartselle, but he was a teacher for 49 years before retiring recently from the classroom. He's won eight state titles in Alabama.

29. Rex Berryman, Mooreville (Miss.)
Record: 1,067-351
Tenure: 1973-2010
Retired in 2010 as the state's all-time wins leader. He also won 457 games in softball and 639 in boys basketball for a total of 2,163 wins in three sports. He won eight baseball state championships.

30. John Stevenson, El Segundo (Calif.)
Record: 1,059-419
Tenure: 1960-2009
During his 50-year career, Stevenson won 30 league championships and seven Southern Section titles while becoming the winningest coach in California history. Among those he coached were George Brett and Scott McGregor.

31. Bob Andrezejewski, Bridgeport (Mich.), Heritage (Saginaw, Mich.)
Record: 1,057-457
Tenure: 1973-1994, 1996-2018,
Inducted into the Michigan Baseball Hall of Fame after his first coaching stint at Bridgeport in 1993, he went on to coach 22 more seasons at Heritage.



32. Ead Simon*, Roff (Okla.)
Record: 1,054-298
Tenure: 1999-2019
In just 21 years, Simon has gone over 1,000 wins. He has won seven state titles in the spring and two in the fall.

33. Rich Hofman, Westminster Christian (Miami)
Record: 1,047-266-17
Tenure: 1969-2012, 2014,
Hofman spent most of his career at Westminster Christian, where he coached Alex Rodriguez and won national mythical championships in 1992 and 1996. Won 10 state championships and is the only Florida coach with over 1,000 wins.

34. Steve Chapman*, Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Record: 1,046-233-3
Tenure: 1983-2019
In 37 years of coaching, Chapman has won 26 district championships in three state champions. He's one of only two Texas coaches to win over 1,000 games.

35. Bill Claborn, Wright City (Okla.)
Record: 1,042-508
Tenure: 1985-2013
Claborn spent 29 seasons coaching fall and spring baseball at Wright City.

36. Tim Barton*, Stilwell (Okla.)
Record: 1,034-293
Tenure: 1985-2019
Barton has won three spring state championships during his tenure. All of his wins have come during the spring season.

37. Morgan Gilbert, Tuckerman (Ark.)
Spent 41 of his 48 years coaching at Tuckerman. He made the state baseball tournament 39 times and the state basketball tournament 38 times. He is also the only high school coach to have over 1,000 wins in basketball as well with 1,077.



38. Jerry Roling, Wahlert (Dubuque, Iowa)
Record: 1,022-527
Tenure: 1972-2015
Roling spent most of his career at Cascade, where he coached for 29 years. He coached his final 10 seasons at Wahlert Catholic.

39. Bill Krumplebeck*, Covington Catholic (Park Hills, Ky.)
Record: 1,022-441-2
Tenure: 1977-2019
"Krumps" picked up win No. 1,000 in 2018, one game short of winning the regional title. His teams have won 36 district championships and 10 regional titles during his tenure.

40. Dave Pishkur*, Andrean (Merrillville, Ind.)
Record: 1,014-284
Tenure: 1980-2019
Pishkur became the all-time wins leader in Indiana while finishing the season with 35 straight wins and a Class 3A state title. The championship was the seventh state title in 40 years of coaching.

41. John Turner, Wynnewood (Okla.)
Turner coached at multiple schools, including 15 years at Latta.

42. Ken Schrieber, LaPorte (Ind.)
Record: 1,010-216-12
Tenure: 1960-1998
Collegiate Baseball named Schreiber "Coach of the Century" in 1998. He won seven state titles in 39 years with the Slicers.

43. Cooper Brown, Crowder (Okla.)
Record: 1,008-477
Tenure: 1986-2008
Brown needed 23 seasons, coaching in the fall and spring seasons, to collect 1,000 wins.



44. Larry Gumm, Green County (Greensburg, Ky.)
Record: 1,006-493
Tenure: 1964-2007
Known as "Pee Wee," Gumm became the first Kentucky coach to win over 1,000 games.

45. Bobby Howard*, St. Anne-Pacelli (Columbus, Ga.)
Record: 1,003-307A coach for 40 years, most recently at Saint Anne-Pacelli, Howard spent 31 seasons at Columbus where he won 12 state championships.

Top 10 baseball coaching wins — spring only
Gene Schultz, Kee —1,578
Dennis Olejniczak, Decorah —1,409
Mike Turo, Monroe Campus — 1,369
John Lowery, Jefferson — 1,332
Pat O'Keefe, Grand Ledge — 1,315
Larry Tuttle, Blissfield —1,297
Steve Mandl, George Washington — 1,232
Jerry Boatner, West Lauderdale — 1,202
Jack Curran, Archbishop Molloy — 1,154
Larry Turner, Owasso — 1,147

Note: Edit was made to include Ray Miller of Krum at No. 20 with 1,131 wins.