Born in
Atwood, Oklahoma, Bennett attended
Roosevelt High School in
Fresno, California and graduated in 1951. In college, Bob caught for Fresno State, setting a school record for fielding in 1953 by going 224 chances without an error. Bennett began his coaching career in 1956 after graduating college with a degree in physical education. He was 41–19 from 1956 to 1957 at
Kingsburg High School. He then spent 11 seasons coaching
Bullard High School. Bennett took a break from Bullard in 1967 to coach Fresno State when
Pete Beiden took a sabbatical; the team went 38–10. When Beiden retired after 1969, Bennett became head coach, a job he held until his retirement in 2002. He would go 1,302–759–4 to finish 7th in
NCAA Division I history in career victories; he only had two losing seasons in his career. He won 14 Conference Coach of the Year honors and was named NCAA Coach of the Year in 1988 by
The Sporting News. Bennett coached for
Team USA in 1977 and 1979 and managed the team in the
1983 Intercontinental Cup (when they won a silver medal) and
1986 Amateur World Series. Bennett took Fresno State to the
1988 College World Series and
1991 College World Series. He helped develop
Dick Ruthven,
Ron Johnson,
Terry Pendleton,
Eric Fox,
Mark Gardner,
Tom Goodwin,
Steve Hosey,
Bobby Jones,
Todd Johnson,
Jeff Weaver,
Dan Gladden,
Adam Pettyjohn and
Dennis Springer among other major leaguers. In May 2001, Bennett announced his intention to retire following the 2002 season. Bennett retired with a 1,302–759–4 win–loss record at Fresno State. the ABCA Hall of Fame, and
College Baseball Hall of Fame (2010). Bennett continued in his retirement to coach players, lead instructional videos and practice as well as write literature related to baseball techniques and methods. Bennett was a poet and published a multitude of books over the years. Bennett continued to lead young players, was a motivational speaker and provided ongoing consultation to baseball coaches and players from the High School levels up to the Major Leagues. His #26 was the first number retired at Fresno State and in 2016, the school renamed its baseball stadium "Bob Bennett Stadium at Pete Beiden Field." He died on May 31, 2020, at the age of 86. ==See also==