In the last game of the regular season, the Falcons beat East L.A. College, 15-6, which gave Gaylord his 300th win as head baseball coach at Cerritos in a period of 10 years.
Head football and golf coach Frank Mazzotta said, “Most people don’t realize that in 10 years he’s won more games than Kincaid did. That’s around 30 wins a year.”
Wally Kincaid coached Cerritos’ baseball team from 1958 to 1980. In that 22-year period he amassed 678 total wins.
After everyone was gathered in the coaches’ parking lot, Mazzotta, who called the group together, led the contingency toward the practice field.
Armed with three odd shaped items that were wrapped in newspaper, the group walked out onto the practice field, yelled for the players and coaches to gather around, and then began the ceremony.
The mood was laid back, casual and fun spirited as Mazzotta congratulated Gaylord on his milestone, then gave him the gifts.
The first gift was a gold rake.
Mazzotta told Gaylord he had earned the privilege of using a golden rake to manicure the baseball field.
He then told him to take good care of it because he had spent the whole morning spray painting it, as everyone laughed.
Gaylord’s second gift was a sign that read “300 Gaylord Dugout.”
The joke was in reference to the words “Kincaid Field” that were taken down from the field’s scoreboard earlier in the season. Gaylord had personally put the letters up as a tribute to his old coach, but was quickly told that since he had not gotten proper approval from the administration, the words would have to come down. After getting the proper approval, he was told that the scoreboard would be redesigned, and the words put back up. However, as of now it has not been done.
The final gift was a plaque.
When asked by his fellow coaches to say a few words, Gaylord simply said, “I’m just happy to be here,” as he smiled.
One of Gaylord’s players, pitcher Jason Dibble, said, “I think it’s great. He really works hard with all the players to make them better. I’m glad to see all his hard work paid off.”
- The baseball team
- Gaylord’s assistant baseball coaches
- Mazzotta’s assistant football coaches
- Track coach, Doug Wells
- Swim and water polo coach, Hal Simonek
- Sports information director, John Van Gaston
- Men’s tennis coach, Gerry Ellis
- Retired wrestling coach, Jeff Smith
- From the booster club, Jerry Cloward
- P.E. equipment man, Leonard Armijo
- Judicial affairs, Pat Calahan
- Student activities, Dean Ackland
- Gardner, Danny Contreras
- The Tribune, Robert Young
