Feature Stories: Three-Part YouTube Video (Feb. 2012) Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
One of the premier coaches in college baseball history, and a man whose name is synonymous with the Stanford baseball program, Mark Marquess enters his 36th year at the helm of his alma mater in 2012 as the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball.
Since he arrived on The Farm as a two-sport athlete in baseball and football in the fall of 1965, Marquess' impact upon Stanford baseball is beyond measure, even by the benchmark of his long list of on-field accomplishments. Perhaps more important than any of the wins or championships his club has produced is the nature of the program he has developed, both on and off the field. In his four decades associated with the school, Marquess has been the architect of a Stanford program that is nationally recognized as one of winning baseball and quality student-athletes.
A member of the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, Marquess opens the season as the seventh-winningest coach in NCAA Division-I baseball history - fourth among active skippers - with a career 1,422-741-7 (.657) record. He moved past USC's Rod Dedeaux's 1342 victories in 2009. Each of those 1,422 victories have come on The Farm, as he has won more games than any coach in any sport ever at Stanford.
A three-time NCAA Coach of the Year recipient and nine-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year honoree, he has guided his Stanford clubs to 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, a pair of College World Series championships (1987 and 1988), six NCAA Super Regional titles, 15 NCAA Regional crowns and 12 Pac-10 regular season championships. Marquess owns a career 123-59 (.676) record in postseason play, including a 75-26 (.742) mark in NCAA Regionals, a 12-6 (.667) ledger in NCAA Super Regionals and a 36-25 (.590) record at 14 College World Series.
In a testament to the standard of winning baseball Marquess has created at Stanford, 33 of his 34 teams have finished at .500 or better. He has presided over 19 teams that have won at least 40 games, including six clubs that have crested the 50-win plateau. Marquess led the Cardinal to a school-record stretch of 10 consecutive 40-win campaigns from 1995-2004.
Marquess' clubs have advanced to postseason play in 27 of a possible 35 seasons, including a school-record 13 straight campaigns from 1994-2006. Stanford has won at least one game in 25 of its trips to the NCAA Tournament under Marquess.
Long recognized as one of the toughest conferences, Marquess has led the Cardinal to a .591 winning percentage in the Pac-10 (565-391 .591). Stanford has finished either first or second in the Pac-10 a total of 23 times (including Southern Division finishes), while capturing 12 conference championships. The Cardinal has won at least two consecutive conference titles three different times under Marquess, as Stanford captured three straight crowns in both 1983-85 and 1997-2000 before winning back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004.
Perhaps the crowning moment of Marquess' career came when the Cardinal captured back-to-back College World Series titles in 1987 and 1988, becoming one of only four programs in the 63-year history of the CWS to have ever won at least two consecutive titles.
Another testament to his achievement is the fact that 46 of the 55 players that reached the majors under Marquess, have earned their degrees.
But there was much accomplished before and much has been done since. Stanford has reached the College World Series a total of 14 times and been in the CWS final on five occasions during Marquess' tenure, including a stretch where the Cardinal finished second three times during a school-record string of five consecutive trips to Rosenblatt Stadium from 1999-2003. The trips to Omaha were just two shy of Oklahoma State's NCAA record run of seven in a row from 1981-87. Even more impressive, each of the 14 teams Marquess has skippered to the CWS has won at least one game.
Both of Marquess' championship clubs won the title after having their backs against the wall.
His 1987 team won the first CWS crown in school history, finished the season 53-17 overall and was 21-9 in the Pac-10 Southern Division - winning the league title by five full games. But, the Cardinal had to win its final three CWS contests after a second-round loss to claim the title, defeating Oklahoma State in the championship game.
Stanford completed the back-to-back feat in 1988 by winning eight postseason elimination games, four in each the CWS and the NCAA Northeast Regional, concluding its unbelievable run by defeating league rival Arizona State in the CWS championship.
Stanford's recent near misses for another national title began in 2000 when the Cardinal went unbeaten in its CWS bracket before dropping a 6-5 heart-breaker to LSU in the championship game. In 2001, Stanford again swept through its bracket before falling to Miami in the championship contest. Two years later, the Cardinal made a run through the 2003 CWS losers' bracket with three straight wins in elimination games to reach the championship again, extending Rice into the final game of the inaugural best-of-three CWS championship series.
Marquess became the 23rd NCAA Division-I baseball coach to reach the 1,000-win mark, with a victory over Florida State on February 9, 2001. He picked up his 1,100th career victory with a February 17, 2003 win over Nevada. Win number 1,200 came against California on March 5, 2005, while he reached the 1,300-win plateau by defeating top-ranked Arizona State on April 6, 2008 at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond. Marquess recorded his 100th career postseason win in Stanford's NCAA Super Regional-clinching victory over Long Beach State on June7, 2003.
Stanford's success under Marquess has paid dividends at the next level as well, as his players are normally very visible on the radar screens of professional baseball scouts. A total of 192 Cardinal players have been chosen in the draft since 1977, including 22 first round or compensation picks since Jack McDowell in 1987. Since Marquess was named head coach in 1977, fifty-five players have made the Majors.
Marquess has also developed several fine young coaches that were either former assistants or players on The Farm, including Jeff Austin (assistant coach - Stanford), David Esquer (head coach - California), Mark Machtolf (head coach - Gonzaga), Dave Nakama (former head coach - San Francisco State; assistant coach - Stanford/Washington), Mark O'Brien (former head coach - Santa Clara, assistant as SJSU) and Ed Sprague (head coach - Pacific).
The accolades have streamed Marquess' way throughout his career at Stanford, including three NCAA Coach of the Year selections (1985, '87, '88). His most recent major honor came in 2003 when he earned his ninth Pac-10 Coach of the Year award. He was previously chosen as the Pac-10 Southern Division Coach of the Year seven times in the final 16 seasons of the league (1983, '85, '87, '90, '94, '97, '98) and the Pacific-10 Coach of the Year during the first season of the conference's restructuring in 1999.
Marquess has also been a well-known coach on the international level. In 1988, he won International Coach of the Year honors after leading the United States Olympic team to a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Marquess guided his club to a 4-1 record, defeating Japan, 5-3, on September 28 to capture the first gold medal in baseball for the United States.
Prior to arriving in Seoul, Marquess led the national team to the silver medal at the 15th World Amateur Baseball Championships in Italy. The Americans posted an 11-2 mark in the tourney, losing both games to gold medalist Cuba in the bottom of the ninth inning. For the summer, the USA squad posted a 42-11 overall record.
As head coach of the USA National Team, Marquess skippered the club to a silver medal at the 1987 Intercontinental Cup Tournament in Cuba. In the summer of 1984, he served as an assistant coach on the USA squad that competed at the World Amateur Championships that were also played in Cuba.
As head coach of USA Baseball in 1981, Marquess guided the U.S. collegiate team to a gold medal at the World Games in Santa Clara. Following that accomplishment, he led the club to the gold medal at the Intercontinental Cup in Edmonton, Canada. His squad edged Cuba, 5-4, in the finals to mark the first time since 1970 that the United States had beaten the Cubans in international competition. In addition, Marquess became the only person ever to post victories over the Cuban team as both a player and a coach.
From 1989-98, Marquess served as President of USA Baseball, an organization that handles all aspects of amateur baseball - from the youth level through the college-aged player and the Olympic squad.
Marquess' success as a coach can be traced to his days as a player. A three-year starter at first base for Stanford (1967-69), he earned first-team All-America honors in 1967 and garnered second-team All-America recognition in 1968. He was also named first-team All-Pac-8 and All-District-8 both seasons. Marquess' name is still etched in the school's record book, as his .404 batting average in 1967 is fifth all-time on the school's single-season list and his 15 career triples are tied for fifth.
In addition, Marquess is one of only 10 to have both played in and coached at the College World Series. He also competed on the 1967 USA Pan American Games team that captured the gold medal. One of the greatest two-sport athletes ever on The Farm, he completed his collegiate baseball career with three seasons on the Stanford football squad as a quarterback, split end, defensive back and punt returner.
A member of the American Baseball Coaches' Association Hall of Fame, he is also a member of the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame.
After graduation, Marquess signed with the Chicago White Sox organization in 1969 and spent four seasons as a professional baseball player before getting a taste of coaching as a player/coach with the Des Moines (Iowa) Triple-A team in 1973. He was also an assistant coach on the Boulder Collegians squad that captured the 1975 National Semi-Pro championship. The following year, his Boulder team placed third at the national tourney.
Prior to his appointment as head coach at Stanford in 1977, Marquess spent five seasons (1972-76) as an assistant under Ray Young at Stanford. Marquess now officially serves as the Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball at Stanford. The Nelsons, through a large gift to the baseball program, endowed the position in 1987.
His success in the dugout and on the field has led to some other exciting and noteworthy experiences. Marquess made his broadcasting debut for CBS during the network's coverage of the 1987 Pan American Games in Indianapolis. After winning the College World Series and Olympic gold medal in 1988, he was asked to throw out the first pitch before Game 4 of the 1988 World Series on October 19 at the Oakland Coliseum. Later, President Ronald Reagan honored Marquess and the Olympic championship squad at a White House reception. He also served as a color commentator for the baseball venue during NBC's coverage at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. In 2001, Marquess and the Cardinal played in the opening game at the College World Series in which President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch.
Marquess earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Stanford in 1969. He completed his master's degree in political science at San Jose State in 1976.
Marquess and his wife, Susan, reside in Mountain View. They have three daughters - Bridget Dunnington, Anne Lohman and Maureen Sullivan. Bridget and her husband, Gan, have a daughter, Ella, and twins, Reagan and Gan, Jr. Anne and her husband, Chris, have two sons, Wyatt and Henry. Both families make their home in Los Altos. Maureen and her husband, Tom live in New York City.
Personal •Born - March 24, 1947 •Wife - Susan •Children - Bridget Dunnington, Anne Lohman, Maureen Sullivan •Grandchildren - Ella Dunnington, Reagan and Gan Dunnington (twins), Wyatt and Henry Lohman
College Education •Bachelor's Degree, Political Science, Stanford (1969) •Master's Degree, Political Science, San Jose State (1976)
Milestone Wins 1st Career Win (February 4, 1977 vs. USF, 6-1) 1000th Career Win (February 9, 2001 vs. Florida State, 6-2) 1100th Career Win (February 17, 2003 vs. Nevada 5-4) 1200th Career Win (March 5, 2005 vs. Cal 10-3) 1300th Career Win (April 6, 2008 vs. Arizona State 10-2) 100th Career Postseason Win (June 7, 2003 vs. Long Beach State 4-2)
International Coaching • Olympic Head Coach (1988) • National Head Coach (1981, '87, '88) • USA Baseball Assistant Coach (1984) • Gold Medal (1988 Seoul Olympics) • Gold Medal (1981 Intercontinental Cup) • Gold Medal (1981 World Games) • Silver Medal (1987 Intercontinental Cup) • International Coach of the Year (1988)
Collegiate Playing Career • First-Team All-American (1967) • Second-Team All-American (1968) • Two-Time All-Pac-8 (1967, '68) • Stanford First Baseman (1967-69) • Stanford Football (1966-68)
International Playing Career • Gold Medal (1967 USA Pan American Games)
Professional Playing Career • Chicago White Sox Organization (1969-73)
