Dan Bodary, Lompoc High School’s legendary baseball coach, died Sunday in his home state of Michigan. He was 81.
In his 35 seasons of teaching and coaching at Lompoc, Bodary led the Braves to four CIF-Southern Section championships and 18 league titles.
He retired in 2001 with 615 wins, making him one of the winningest high school baseball coaches in California. His 615-284-13 record ranks sixth among the winningest coaches in the CIF-Southern Section.
The baseball diamond at Lompoc High is named after Bodary, who was honored as the State Coach of the Year in 1970.
Lompoc won CIF titles in 1970, 1974, 1979 and 1993. In 1970, it won 27 straight games en route to a CIF-SS Division 3A title against an El Segundo team that included future Hall of Famer George Brett.
Bodary’s 1970 team was led by a pair of future major league players, Roy Howell and Roy Thomas, who were both first-round draft picks.
Other Bodary players who made it to the majors include David Stegman, Jeff Bettendorf, Casey Candaele and Ryan Church.
“When the term ‘Coach’ is applied to a person at Lompoc High School, he is the standard to which all will be measured for none achieved more success on the field, in the classroom, and in the personal lives of those young men and women he taught and coached, “Jim McKaskle, one of Bodary’s longtime assistant coaches, said in a Facebook post. “I mourn his passing and grieve with his family, but I count myself as one who was blessed because I was privileged to coach beside him on the same baseball field.
“Those wishing to express personal condolences or notes about Coach Bodary may do so by sending a note to his wife Bev at bbodary@hotmail.com.”
In the 1993 final at Anaheim Stadium, Lompoc defeated Dos Pueblos and its legendary coach Scott O’Leary, 3-2.
Bodary was inducted into the CIF Hall of Fame in 2015.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.