Tom Giacomini Selected to Hall of Fame

Legendary College of the Redwoods coach and administrator Tom Giacomini was inducted into the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Thursday in Bakersfield.
Giacomini, who was inducted into CR’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004, was the head baseball coach at CR for 22 years from 1970-1991, leading the Corsairs to five Golden Valley Conference championships and three state championship games.
Giacomini has the most wins all-time at CR with 342.
“Tom had a way of getting the best out of the players that he had,” said CR Athletic Director Joe Hash, who took over the athletic director position after Giacomini retired in the spring of 2001. “He didn’t always have the best talent, but he could get the best out of the guys he had, and they could compete with most teams because of that.”
On top of being CR’s Athletic Director from 1991-2001, Giacomini also served as the defensive coordinator for CR’s football program from 1969-1986, was the head coach of the Humboldt Crabs from 1987-1991 and coached the CR golf team from 1994-2001. He also served 11 years on the Commision On Athletics (COA) Management Council.
“We are excited to have a man of such character and leadership qualities as Tom Giacomini in
our Hall of Fame,” said the CCCBCA in a press release.
Giacomini, who joined the Corsairs in 1969, served 32 years at the school and was a part of many of CR’s most successful teams.
“He was one of the first coaches they hired here on staff,” Hash said of Giacomini. “He helped lay the foundation for the success of our athletic department. Not just for baseball, but he assisted in football and coached golf and was a big reason we had the success that we did in the 70s and 80s.”
Before joining the Corsairs, Giacomini played both football and baseball for UC Davis, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree. He then went on to UC Berkeley, where he received his Master’s Degree and also served as an assistant baseball coach.
In Giacomini’s honor, CR created the Tom Giacomini Athletic Scholarship in 2004, which is available for all baseball players who complete their two years of athletic eligibility at CR and maintain a 3.0 GPA with at least 24 units.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place at Bakersfield College, which is currently hosting the CCCAA Baseball State Championship.