Joe Maddon

Guest Speaker

Known for his superb communication skills and fearless use of imaginative managerial tactics, Joe Maddon has spent 48 seasons in professional baseball. Joe spent 17 years as a major league manager with the Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs, the latter where he managed the storied franchise to its only World Series Crown in the past 113 seasons. The three-time manager of the year managed the Rays for nine seasons (2006-14), the Cubs for five (2015-19) and the Angels for three (2020-22). Joe’s all-time winning percentage .532 (1,382-1,216) is 14th all-time among managers with 2,500 or more games. In his nine seasons with Tampa Bay, Joe led the Rays to four post season appearances and one American League pennant. His 32 postseason wins are 11th in major league history. He is the only major league manager to reach the postseason eight times in his first 13 full seasons.

Joe attended Lafayette College (Easton, PA), where he played three years of varsity baseball. He received his honorary degree from Lafayette in 2010 and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 2009. Maddon went undrafted but signed with the Angels and played three seasons of minor league ball.

Joe is also a committed philanthropist. Joe backed the creation of the Hazleton Integration Program in 2015 to help bridge the growing gap between the Anglo and growing Hispanic populations in Hazleton, PA. His Hazleton One Community Center stands as the crowning jewel of the whole project. In 2021, Joe received a “Community Hero” award from the Tampa Bay Lightning and with it a $50,000 grant to his Respect 90 Foundation.

Always leaving himself open to the possibility of managing again, Joe spends most of his time with his wife, Jaye, their four grown children and five grandchildren.

Long-time Tampa resident Gary Koch, the 2023 Payne Stewart Award recipient in acknowledgment of his character, charity, and sportsmanship, enjoyed a distinguished career as a PGA Tour professional and golf broadcaster. As Chairman of the First Tee – Tampa Bay Board of Directors, Koch, along with his good friend and fellow golf course architect Steve Smyers, oversaw the design and building of the Short Course at Rogers Park in 2023. Before turning professional, Gary won the Florida Open at age 16, and then the next year he claimed the USGA Jr. Amateur title. Gary attended the University of Florida, where he was a three-time first team All-American and a member of the Gators’ 1973 NCAA Championship team.

Gary’s professional playing career began in 1975, and over the next fifteen years, he won six tournaments on the PGA Tour. In 2002, Gary started competing on the PGA Champions Tour, eventually ending up with two runner-up finishes to his credit. In 2024, at age 71, Gary became the oldest qualifier to ever play in the US Senior Open Championship. He began his broadcasting career in 1990 with ESPN working PGA Champions Tour telecasts. Gary joined NBC Sports as a part of their announcing team in 1997 before retiring in 2022. He is perhaps best known for his “Better Than Most” call of Tiger Woods’ long downhill, double-breaking putt for birdie on the famous island green, #17 at the TPC Sawgrass, in the third round of the 2001 Players Championship.

Gary is an enthusiastic advocate for junior golf around the country and has been involved with First Tee - Tampa Bay for more than two decades. The Gary and Donna Koch Family Foundation has raised more than $400,000 over the years for college scholarships to deserving students in the Tampa area. Gary is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors for First Tee - Tampa Bay. Gary and his wife Donna have two daughters and three grandchildren while continuing to call Tampa home.