LES MURAKAMI
(Born June, 1936)
College Baseball Coach 
In 1971, Les Murakami became the part-time Head coach for the University
of Hawaii baseball team. He had no scholarships, no baseball field and no
equipment to participate in a local baseball league.
During the next 30 years, he built an NCAA division 1 power with full scholarships, an on-campus stadium and an all-collegiate schedule. He became one of the best
coaches in college baseball history, posting a total of 1,079 wins.
In his career, Murakami coached over 400 college players. Seventy-six of them went on to play professional baseball.
Other achievements include, Hawaii Sportsman of the Year (1977, 1980), Lefty
Gomez Award (1981), District Coach of the Year ( 1986), WAC Coach of the Year ( 1987, 1991), and in 2000 he was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Under his leadership his University of Hawaii team won the WAC(Western
Athletic Conference) Championship six times, went to the NCAA tounament 11 times, was ranked number 1 in the nation during 1979, and was the runner-up at the College World Series in 1980.
Les Murakami was born in Hawaii and graduated from St. Louis High School in 1954.
Historical Timeline: 1971, Pentagon Papers published.
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