On Monday, April 8, the Cerritos College baseball family, along with all who have had participated in baseball, lost a legend when former Falcons baseball player Don Sneddon passed away two days after his 72nd birthday. He quietly passed at 5:01 p.m. while watching a baseball game. Sneddon, who played for legendary Falcons head coach Wally Kincaid from 1971-72, was best known for his career as the Santa Ana College baseball coach.
"This world lost a great Bird/Titan/Don/(many other hats) and a better man yesterday (April 8)", said former teammate and Cerritos head coach George Horton. "A giant amongst giants. I had the privilege to know Donny for 53 years. He basically took me by the hand and mentored me when he was an upper class teammate of mine at Cerritos (in 1972). I was much like 1000's of others, Coach and Professor Sneddon inspired and educated throughout his legendary life. I'm proud to say he became my friend, coach, colleague, competitor, and one of my mentors. What a tremendous amount of gifts he gave to ALL of us."
Current Cerritos head coach Nate Fernley echoed those sentiments by saying, "Don Sneddon made such an impact in so many lives. He was a great motivator and baseball mind. As a young coach, I learned so much from just coaching against him. His program was the model of consistency and admired by so many. He is a Bird legend and his legacy will always be a part of Cerritos Baseball. He will be greatly missed."
While with the Falcons, he helped them win the South Coast Conference title in 1972 and was named the team's first-ever Dallas Moon Award recipient which represented a teammate who went above and beyond and was the consummate teammate. Sneddon was also voted the Team Captain by his teammates that season.
Following his playing career with the Falcons, he was recruited to play at then NCAA Div. II Cal State Fullerton by eventual ABCA Hall of Fame coach Augie Garrido. While at Cal State Fullerton, Sneddon led the Titans to a California Collegiate Athletics Association championship in 1974 and was the first NCAA Div. II All-American in school history.
Upon graduation, Sneddon joined Garrido's coaching staff at Fullerton as an assistant in 1975. After two seasons with the Titans, Sneddon became an assistant for then head coach Jim Reach at Santa Ana College, before taking over the program in 1981.
Sneddon spent 32 years as the head coach of the Dons where he became the all-time winningest coach in California community college baseball history. Sneddon's tenure ended at SAC with a career record of 1,072-383-3. After breaking the career wins record in 2006 with his 832nd victory, a 2-1 win at Riverside City College on March 21, Sneddon went on to become the first coach to record 900 and 1,000 wins.
Among those 1,072 victories are three state championships (1993, 1995, 1996) and 16 conference championships. Sneddon also led the Dons to the second round of postseason competition for 25 consecutive seasons from 1988-2012. His teams never finished with a losing record and 22 of his 32 seasons had a winning percentage of .700 or higher. He was named the conference coach of the year 16 times, including five-straight seasons from 2007-2011.
Ken Gaylord, another former Falcon baseball player, coached against Sneddon during his time as the head coach at Long Beach City and Cerritos College, is heartbroken by the loss of his friend.
"We lost such a great person, not just a baseball coach and mentor," commented Gaylord. "We had our battles on the field, but it ultimatley came down to a pair of former Birds who took the teachings of Wally Kincaid and tried to do the best we could. He will be greatly missed."
Sneddon also coached in summer leagues, which included four years as the Wareham Gateman, where he led them to the 2018 Cape Cod League championship. He also spent the 2014 season as the manager of the Modesto Nuts of the California League.
Following his retirement, Sneddon was inducted into the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Added Horton, "From his family, his players, his students, the first responders, his loved ones, friends and everyone he touched, THANK YOU COACH!! You gave us more than you knew. You lived your whole adult life giving us all tools to get better. You did so with an unparalleled humility with grace, style, and class!! You won the most games of any California Community College coach. The footprint you left as an educator was world wide. You accomplished the 3 M's:
You Mastered
You Mentored
You Made a difference"
