Image courtesy of WikiCommons.

Poly alumnus and Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn passed away today in Poway, California, after battling cancer of the mouth and salivary glands.

A dedicated Californian, the 54-year-old had played all 20 of his MLB seasons with the San Diego Padres since he joined the club in 1982. San Diego also marked the home of his alma mater, San Diego State, where he had coached baseball until he he left on medical leave in spring of this year.

His legendary career includes being named eight times the National League Batting Champion, eventually building his career batting average to .338, as well as being named an All-Star fifteen times. Come the summer of 1994, he had a .401 batting average, the highest since 1930—and what could have been the highest ever had a players strike not ended the season early.

In total, Gwynn left the MLB with 3,141 hits and helped the Padres achieve their only two pennants in the team’s history.

Born in Los Angeles, Gwynn moved to Long Beach with his family when he was 9. After attending Poly, he played both basketball and baseball for San Diego State before he was drafted to the Padres in the third round of the draft in 1981.

His son, Tony Gwynn Jr., is an outfielder for the Phillies in his eighth major league season.