Arizona St. Coach Brock Dies at 57

Jim Brock, 57, the Arizona State baseball coach whose battle with cancer forced him to miss much of the recent College World Series, died Sunday night.

Brock, one of college baseball’s winningest coaches, died of liver and colon cancer, said Mark Brand, sports information director at ASU.

Brock sat out ASU’s game against Oklahoma at Omaha on June 6 because of a reaction to medicine. The next day, he returned to Tempe on the advice of his family doctor and checked into Desert Samaritan Hospital in Mesa, where he remained until his death.

His team was eliminated in a 13-5 loss to eventual champion Oklahoma on Thursday.

Brock was the only coach to win national championships with American Legion, junior-college and major-college teams. He had a 1,100-440 record in 23 years at Arizona State.

During his tenure, the Sun Devils won two College World Series titles and finished second four times in 11 other trips to the national tournament.

“We are indebted to the wonderful fans and our friends in the community who supported us throughout this challenging time,” said Pat Brock, his wife of 37 years. “The outpouring of friendship and concern has been unbelievable. People have been so wonderful.”

Athletic director Fred Miller hired Brock in 1972 on a temporary basis, but the Sun Devils’ 64-6 record and runner-up finish in the CWS paved the way for a permanent position.

His 1976 team set the school record for victories with a 65-10 mark, and the 1977 squad (57-12) won the national championship and earned Brock his first Coach of the Year selection by the American Association of College Baseball Coaches. He got his second CWS title and second AACBA national honor in 1981.

Brock had his only losing season (31-35) in 1985, a year after the NCAA stripped Arizona State of 14 scholarships because of irregularities in the team’s work-study program. That was the first season in an eight-season stretch during which the team qualified for the CWS only twice, in 1987 and 1988.