Remembering Wally Goodwin: 1927-2021

Legendary golf coach Wally Goodwin passed away on July 19 at the age of 94. He coached Stanford from 1987-2000 and was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.

"Stanford Golf and the world of college athletics lost an icon," Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf Conrad Ray said. "Coach Goodwin had a profound impact on so many young student-athletes over the years, including myself. He was not only a legendary coach, but also a man of character, hard work, and total positivity which carried over to everything he was involved in. Our sincere condolences go out to Nancy Goodwin and the entire Goodwin family."

Goodwin led the Cardinal to the 1994 NCAA title, its first since 1953, while finishing second in 1995. He was named national coach of the year in 1992 and 1994 and Pac-10 Coach of the Year twice. He guided Stanford to a pair of conference championships and produced seven All-Americans.

Thanks coach Goodwin for giving a Native American kid from New Mexico a chance! I will forever be grateful and will miss you! Rest easy you old cowboy!! #CardinalPride #94NationalChampions https://t.co/MbH8yHPQE5

— Notah Begay III (@NotahBegay3) July 20, 2021

Goodwin helped revive a struggling Stanford program and returned it to national prominence by recruiting Tiger Woods, Notah Begay III, Casey Martin, Joel Kribel, and current head coach Conrad Ray, among many other notables.

Prior to Stanford, Goodwin spent six years as the head golf coach at Northwestern. After retiring from Stanford in 2000, Goodwin returned to coaching and started the Division I program at Northern Colorado, where he coached from 2003-07.

In 2014, Stanford renamed its annual tournament 'The Goodwin' in honor of the legendary head coach. Up until that time it had been called the United States Intercollegiate.

Courtesy of Stanford Athletics