Billy Bock

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Billy Bock (April 30, 1935 – July 8, 2003) was a legendary American baseball coach who led high school teams to nine state championships over four decades and never had a losing season.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Bock excelled in multiple sports at Subiaco Academy and later played at the College of the Ozarks, where he starred in baseball and football and also boxed. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Ozarks and a master’s in education from Northeastern State University.

Bock’s coaching career spanned four decades in Arkansas. He coached high school baseball at St. Anne’s Academy (1967), Sylvan Hills High School (1974), Texarkana Arkansas High School (1982), and Pine Bluff High School (1983–86, 1992, 1995). He also coached at Henderson State University (1976–1981), where he compiled a 98–69 record. His overall high school coaching record was 641–121 (.841) with 27 state tournament appearances and 23 district championships.

Among his many honors, Bock was named Arkansas High School Coaches Association Baseball Coach of the Year nine times and received multiple ABCA awards. Nationally, he was recognized as Coach of the Decade for the 1980s and Co-Coach of the Century. He also served as head coach for the 1986 USA Olympic Festival gold-medal team and earned various other coaching awards. Gov. Bill Clinton proclaimed Billy Bock Day on two occasions. He died of cancer in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in 2003, leaving a lasting legacy as one of the country’s most successful high school baseball coaches.