Leo Pinsky

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Leo Pinsky (born 28 September 1926 in Hartford, Connecticut) is a member of the Connecticut High School Coaches Hall of Fame and was the first Connecticut coach to win three state baseball championships (1957, 1965, 1978). He won 411 games in 31 seasons.

Pinsky coached Dick McAuliffe, who won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1965, and led the league in runs in 1968, when he also won a World Series with the Detroit Tigers. McAuliffe made the All-Star Team at two different positions (second baseman and shortstop), and went two years in a row without grounding into a double play.

In 1986, Pinsky was names to the Hall of Fame for Greater Hartford Jewish Athletes. In 1988 he received the Baseball Coach Gold Award from Scholastic Coach Magazine, and in 1989 he was inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association's Hall of Fame.

In 2003 he was unanimously voted to receive the Red O'Neill Award from the University of Connecticut, citing his character, leadership, athletic ability and successful career. Also in 2003 he was inducted into the Hartford Public High School Sports Hall of Fame.

Pinsky was a three sport athlete in High School and played both baseball and football at the University of Connecticut. In five years he never had a punt blocked. Until recently Leo, along with his brothers Jules, David, and Albert held a national collegiate record for the most letters by a single family.

Pinsky was drafted into the United States Marine Corps in the fall of his freshman year of college. He went through basic training at Paris Island and also trained at Camp Lejeune. He later served on the South Pacific island of Guam where he played baseball and famously hit two grand slams in a 8-7 win over the Navy.