FRISCO, Texas – The Southland Conference named its annual baseball championship team trophy after Jim Gilligan, the legendary Lamar University head coach who’s retiring after 39 seasons and more than 1,300 wins with the Cardinals’ program. The Jim Gilligan Trophy announcement was made by Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett during a pre-game retirement celebration for the coach in Beaumont, Texas, on May 14.
Gilligan entered last weekend’s series with Sam Houston State with a 1,349-890-5 coaching record throughout 40 seasons, including one season at Western New Mexico in 1972 that pre-dated his two tenures at Lamar (1973-86; 1992-2016). As the Cardinals’ skipper, he led the program to 10 Southland championships and coached 133 all-conference selections, including one conference player of the year, four hitters of the year, and nine pitchers of the year.
“Jim Gilligan has always defined baseball success in the Southland Conference since its earliest days, and has led Lamar and the league to consistent achievement throughout his coaching career,” Burnett said of the five-time Southland Coach of the Year. “We’re proud of the long-time association we’ve had with Coach Gilligan, and we’re honored to provide him with this well-deserved award.”
During the Southland Conference’s 50th anniversary commemoration in 2013, Gilligan was named the skipper of the league’s all-decade teams from the 1970’s, 1980’s and 2000’s. He was also named an all-decade pitcher on the 1960’s team after leading the Cardinals in wins, ERA and strikeouts during the 1967 season.
Gilligan was one of only two active individuals inducted into the Southland Conference Hall of Honor before retirement, as he was installed in the Class of 2011. He is also a member of the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame, joining Major League stars Craig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Kenny Rogers in the Class of 2004. The City of Beaumont has honored the coach with Jim Gilligan Way, a street that runs adjacent to Lamar’s Vincent-Beck Stadium, and recently proclaimed “Jim Gilligan Days” in the city during his final home series against Sam Houston State.
The all-time winningest coach at Lamar and in the Southland Conference, Gilligan became the 18th coach in college baseball history to reach 1,300 wins.
Gilligan also served a historic tenure in professional baseball from 1987-91. His Salt Lake City Trappers of the Pioneer League set a professional baseball record with 29 consecutive wins, earning Gilligan and his team recognition in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
