Bob Milano, an Oakland kid who played catcher at Cal and then became the winningest baseball coach in school history, has died. He was 85.

Milano retired following the 1999 season with 688 career victories. He was inducted to the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004 and had his jersey number “7” retired by the school.

The school confirmed Milano’s death on Monday afternoon. Steve Kroner was the first to report the news for the San Francisco Chronicle. Kroner reported Milano died from complications from Alzheimer’s.

In 22 seasons as the Golden Bears’ head coach, Milano guided Cal to three College World Series appearances (1980, ‘88 and ‘92) and six NCAA Regional berths. The Bears finished third in the 1980 CWS.

Twelve Cal players were All-Americans under Milano, and among the future Major

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