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Photograph by George Sakkestad
Joe Winstead, left, and Wayne Senini have developed a great friendship during their 30 years of coaching LGHS baseball together.
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Baseball Diamond
Retiring Los Gatos High School coach Joe Winstead leaves fond memories and no regrets
By Dick Sparrer
Much has changed at Los Gatos High School since the spring of 1962. Teachers and administrators have started and finished illustrious academic careers. Students have graduated, then returned to watch their children participate in graduation ceremonies on the same grand front lawn. Athletic teams have won and lost championships, and still others haven't won at all. Buildings have disappeared so that more modern buildings could take their places. Even the glorious main building has undergone extensive renovation.
But one thing hasn't changed at LGHS since 1962. Joe Winstead has remained the school's head varsity baseball coach.
Now that, too, will change.
Winstead, who joined the baseball program at Los Gatos in the spring of 1959, has resigned his post. "I just felt it was the best thing for myself and my family, and the best thing for the program," Winstead said of his decision to retire from baseball. "It was time."
"I've gotten a lot of enjoyment and a lot of pleasure out of baseball [at Los Gatos]," he added. "But I'd rather leave too soon than too late."
Winstead will be joined in retirement by Wayne Senini, a veteran of 30 years on the LGHS diamond, and frosh-soph coach John Lassetter, who worked for 17 years in the program. Senini joined the staff in 1969, and for well over a decade has worked closely with Winstead as co-head coach.
"I told my wife a long time ago that when Joe gets out, I will, too," Senini said. "I enjoyed it a lot, and I had a good experience for 30 years. But it was time."
Winstead's Legacy: Joe Winstead leaves with an impressive coaching record.
Coaches step down
Both Winstead and Senini will remain at LGHS as teachers, but will retire from baseball. Former Bellarmine and Cupertino head coach Don Ardissone will take over the program at Los Gatos.
And what a program it is.
"It's been a premium place to coach," said Winstead, whose teams have rolled up 545 victories and seven league championships under his leadership. "I feel a lot of coaches over the years have been envious of me being at Los Gatos.
"I always felt that we have been highly respected in baseball, and I'm proud of the respect people have in the program."
But it's more than respect for the program; it's also respect for the man. "A lot of respect grows through the years," Senini said. "I have great respect for him, and he always gave me respect. That's why I love the guy."
The two veteran coaches have spent three decades together on the diamond, and that time has produced more than a winning tradition--it's also spawned a lasting friendship. "Why I coached for so long, more than anything, was because Coach Winstead and I are very good friends," Senini added. "He's like a brother to me."
The feeling is mutual.
"We have a very friendly relationship," Winstead said. "I was an only child. And Wayne's been like a brother to me."
Winstead leaves game
Winstead, 66, will step away from the game that has been part of his life since he was a youngster growing up in Oakland in the 1940s. He was a star outfielder at Oakland Technical High School and played for American Legion teams that won back-to-back national championships in 1949 and '50. He also played in the same outfield with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson on the Oakland Legion squad.
Winstead went on to play two seasons at Santa Rosa Junior College before joining the service and heading to Korea in 1954. He returned to the diamond in 1956 and started in center field for two seasons at San Jose State University.
"I could have signed--I had a couple of buddies who signed and went on to the Pioneer League," Winstead said. "But I felt my best way was to go to college."
The rest is Los Gatos baseball history.
Not long after marrying his wife of 41 years, Ann, Winstead joined the faculty at LGHS in the fall of 1958. By the spring he was working under varsity head coach Pete Denevi in the school's baseball program. He coached "B" football (the precursor to frosh-soph) from 1959 to 1961, but gave up the game when he became the head varsity baseball coach in the spring of 1962. It was a job he would keep for 38 seasons.
From A to Z, Winstead has literally coached every player in nearly a half century of LGHS baseball. From Bob Allen to Jim Zanardi, from Dave Adams to Mike Zukin--and every player in between. That includes 23 players who have gone on to play baseball in the professional ranks, and probably a couple hundred who have continued playing the game at the college level.
Leagues have changed
Baseball in the area is much different than it was when Winstead took over the varsity in the spring of 1962. Of the 10 schools the Wildcats played that first season, five (Samuel Ayer, Sunnyvale, Camden, Campbell and Blackford) no longer exist. And the West Valley Athletic League, so familiar to early players like Johnny Mesa, John Taughinbaugh and Chris Benson, has long since given way to divisional play in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League.
"Those were the good old days," said Senini. "All of the coaches knew each other and had respect for each other. Now teams travel all over the valley to play league games.
"And the bus trips I will not miss!" Senini was quick to add.
Winstead agrees with that point, too. "I never liked to travel on those buses," he said.
Still, despite the bus trips and no matter what the league, Los Gatos was a perennial contender. "We've never finished last, not even in that first season," Winstead said.
Quite the contrary. Los Gatos has generally figured among the title contenders. In Winstead's 38 varsity seasons, his clubs have managed top-three finishes 24 times.
"We must have been doing something right," said Winstead, who coached in the North-South state high school all-star game and who has been honored by the California Coaches Association. "But you know what makes a good coach?" he asked, somewhat rhetorically. "Good players. And we've had some very good players at Los Gatos."
And pretty good coaches, too.
Joining longtime LGHS baseball coach Joe Winstead, left, in retirement is his good friend and colleague Wayne Senini.
Photograph by George Sakkestad
Senini joins staff
Winstead and Senini have been together at Los Gatos for more than 30 years. Winstead was already a veteran of 10 high school seasons before Senini joined the school's faculty in 1968. That spring, he worked as an assistant for LGHS frosh-soph baseball coach Pete Denevi.
"I've loved baseball since I was a kid," Senini said. "I grew up with it. So when I started teaching, it was something to do outside the classroom that would provide a kind of balance."
Senini and his wife, Megan, were high school sweethearts in Watsonville. He went on to play baseball at Cabrillo College before graduating from San Jose State. The Seninis have two children, Michelle and Sean, who both graduated from LGHS. Sean, in fact, played four seasons (1993-96) for his father on the school's baseball team, and Michelle served as the team's scorekeeper.
"It was an enjoyable experience to have him play," said Senini of his son's involvement on the squad. "Of course, I had to treat him like I would any of the players. But I was probably tougher on him than any of the others," he added.
It was about that time that Senini was honored with a spot on the coaching staff in the annual North-South state all-star team. Senini actually gained his prominence on the varsity staff under unfortunate circumstances, when Winstead suffered a stroke 16 years ago.
"It was really a blessing in disguise," said Winstead of the stroke. "I was fortunate that the stroke did not leave me with any major problem. But the administration wanted to give me some help."
And that's when Senini joined the varsity staff as co-head coach. Their relationship grew from there.
Memorable season
The Wildcats won seven league championships during Winstead's tenure as the head baseball coach. The first was especially memorable.
"I remember Mike Denevi slid into home plate with the winning run, and we took over first place at that time," Winstead said. "I jumped up and started to run out on the field, and I remember wondering what hit me in the back of the leg."
What "hit" Winstead was a torn Achilles tendon. He spent the rest of that school year coaching and teaching from a wheelchair.
Los Gatos won that title, and went on to win six more. But it was never the winning that was the most important thing to Winstead. "I never felt that winning a ballgame was ever the most important thing," he said. "When you walk onto a field, there are so many important things for a young man to learn.
"I love to win," he added. "I never played on a losing ballclub from the time I was 12 years old. But along with winning, there are a lot of important lessons for players to learn."
Winstead hopes that, along with teaching the Los Gatos boys about baseball, he was also able to share some of life's lessons.
"He always wanted to do what was best for the kids," Senini said.
Now Winstead has decided to do what's best for his family. He and his wife, Ann, will be able to spend more time with their daughters, Nancy and Laurie, and their three grandchildren: Kyra, 9; Dylan, 7; and Kaysha, 2. Of course, the adjustment to life without baseball may be a tough one for Ann.
"She was always part of the program," said Winstead of his wife. "There were probably only about 10 times she ever missed a ballgame."
And considering that Winstead coached Los Gatos in 933 games, that's a lot of baseball. Now, after 40 years and all those games, Winstead has decided it's time to step down. And he does so with no regrets.
"I've been at a great school, and I've had some great kids," he said. "I've been blessed with so many things. I feel so fortunate."
And Los Gatos should feel fortunate to have been blessed with Joe Winstead.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
