FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — Len Bourdet won more baseball games as Fresno City College head coach than any of his predecessors. He mentored future Hall of Famers and touched the lives of ballplayers across multiple generations.
Which is why the line to shake Bourdet’s hand at his 100th birthday celebration Saturday afternoon spanned the length of the room.
Among those visiting Bourdet, Mark Gardner carried one of the loftier resumes, as a 3-time World Series champion pitching coach and 13-year MLB veteran.
Yet Gardner remembered a time he nearly gave all of that up, following his freshman season at City where he threw just five innings.
“Really didn’t see a future for baseball in my life,” Gardner said. “Coach Bourdet comes over to me, and he expressed interest in next year and me improving on innings. Knowing that somebody believed in me and somebody was counting on me, it really made me check my heart and soul.”
There were many more with similar stories of Bourdet’s graciousness, either as one of his Fresno City College Rams from 1958 to 1988, or one of his golf buddies.
His impact was felt across town at Fresno State, too, when he played baseball for and later coached alongside the legendary Pete Beiden.
In the winters leading up to baseball season, Bourdet starred on the Fresno State basketball team. Add that to his list of sports, right next to golf and baseball.
Even at 100, Bourdet is still as sharp and witty as ever. He quickly recalled which year he won his first of four State championships – 1961 – and his answer to what he does for fun was: “try to stay alive.”
If the packed room of admirers for Bourdet was any indication Saturday, Len Bourdet will have no problem staying alive in people’s hearts and minds for more generations to come.
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Hear more about his accolades and perspective from his successor Ron Scott, in the video above.