Joseph A. Arnold (born February 26, 1947) is a former American college and professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

coach. During his twenty-four seasons as a head coach, Arnold led the college baseball teams at

Florida Southern College Florida Southern College (Florida Southern, Southern or FSC) is a private college in Lakeland, Florida. In 2019, the student population at FSC consisted of 3,073 students along with 130 full-time faculty members. The college offers 50 undergradu ...

, the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and

Polk State College Polk State College, formerly Polk Community College, is a public college in Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college changed its name from Polk Community College in 2009 to reflect its first Bachelor's deg ...

, and also served as the manager of two Class A minor league teams within the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

organization.

Early years

Arnold was born in

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

. Staten Island Yankees Announce Field Personnel For 2000 Season
" Staten Island Yankees (January 17, 2000). Retrieved July 20, 2011. He attended Lake Worth High School in

Lake Worth, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about north of Miami. The city's name is derived from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Worth ...

, where he was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

for the Lake Worth Trojans high school baseball team.

Playing career

He attended

Miami-Dade Community College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College S ...

, where he was a standout pitcher for the MDCC baseball team, and was recognized as a junior college All-American in 1966 and 1967.Associated Press,
Gators Hire Arnold As Baseball Coach
" ''Ocala Star-Banner'', p. 5C (August 16, 1983). Retrieved July 20, 2011. After he exhausted his junior college eligibility, he transferred to

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

, where he played for the

Arizona State Sun Devils baseball The Arizona State Sun Devils baseball program at the Arizona State University (ASU) is part of the Pac-12 Conference. Since it became a member of the Pac-12, it had the highest winning percentage, at .681, of all schools that participate in Divi ...

team in 1968. Following the 1968 college season, the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

selected Arnold in the third round (55th pick overall) of the

1968 MLB Draft The 1968 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft took place prior to the 1968 MLB season. The draft saw the New York Mets take shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, whi ...

. He appeared in 114 games while playing for four different Class A affiliates of the Astros in 1968 and 1969; in two seasons, he batted .221 and won his only appearance as a pitcher.

Coaching career

From 1977 to 1983, Arnold was the head coach of the Florida Southern Moccasins baseball team of Florida Southern College in

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay area, Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,6 ...

.FSCMocs.com, Hall of Fame
Joe Arnold
. Retrieved July 20, 2011. In seven seasons, he led the Mocs baseball team to an overall win–loss record of 316–69 (.821), four

Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly ...

(SSC) championships (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983), six consecutive appearances in the Division II

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

, two Division II national championships (1978, 1981) and two national second-place finishes (1979, 1982). From 1980 to 1983, Arnold managed the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fie ...

, a

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team in the prestigious

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. Arnold was the head coach of the

Florida Gators baseball The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

team at the University of Florida in

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in ...

, from 1984 to 1994.
2011 Florida Baseball Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 76, 88, 97, 109, 118–121 (2011). Retrieved July 20, 2011. In eleven seasons, Arnold coached the Gators to an overall win–loss record of 434–244–2 (.640), two

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) championships (1984, 1988), three SEC tournament titles (1984, 1988, 1991), seven appearances in the Division I baseball tournament, and the program's first two appearances in the

(

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

).Pat Dooley,
Former UF baseball coach needs brain surgery
" ''The Gainesville Sun'' (June 2, 2010). Retrieved July 20, 2011. He was twice chosen by his fellow coaches as the SEC Coach of the Year (1984, 1988). Arnold managed the

Oneonta Yankees Oneonta may refer to several places: Communities *Oneonta, New York, A small city and inspiration for some of the other "Oneontas" *Oneonta (town), New York, a town that surrounds the City of Oneonta *Oneonta, Alabama, Blount County * Oneonta, Ke ...

in 1997 and 1998, and the Staten Island Yankees in 1999 and 2000; both teams were the Yankees affiliates in the Class A New York–Penn League. In four seasons managing Single-A baseball, he compiled a record of 179–119 (.601), his Yankees teams finished first or second in the standings three of four years, and won the league championship twice.Baseball-Reference.com
Joe Arnold
. Retrieved July 20, 2011. Thereafter, he continued as the director of East Coast scouting for the parent

. Not ready to retire, Arnold became the head coach of his third college baseball team in 2007, accepting the opportunity to coach the Polk State Vikings of Polk State College in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making ...

.Lisa Coffey,
Longtime Baseball Coach Arnold Retires
" ''The Ledger'' (May 17, 2010). Retrieved July 20, 2011. He coached the Vikings for four seasons, until health concerns forced him to step down after the 2010 season.

Personal

Arnold and his wife Beverly have two children, a son and a daughter.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnold, Joe 1947 births Living people Baseball coaches from Florida Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from Florida Cocoa Astros players Cape Cod Baseball League coaches Florida Gators baseball coaches Greensboro Patriots players Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Peninsula Astros players Sportspeople from Daytona Beach, Florida People from Lake Worth Beach, Florida Staten Island Yankees coaches Williamsport Astros players National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees