Stan Charnofsky, Member of 1950's CWS All-Decade Team, Dies
January 16, 2025 | Baseball
LOS ANGELES – Stan Charnofsky, who led USC to the 1951 College World Series and was named to the All-Decade CWS Team for the 1950's, passed away earlier this month.
Charnofsky, who along with his twin brother Hal made up one of the greatest double-play duos in USC history, was 93 at the time of his passing.
Charnofsky played for USC from 1950-52, earning All-Pacific Coast first team honors twice while leading the Trojans to two conference championships and a berth in the 1951 College World Series. He is still tied for eighth all-time on USC's career triples list with nine.
Charnofsky hit .362 as a junior in 1951, compiling 34 RBI and 51 runs scored. He went on a tear in the Trojans' four games in Omaha that season, hitting .467, with six RBI, a double, a triple and a homer, as well as one stolen base. The performance earned him a spot among the greats on the decade's All-CWS Team.
He finished his collegiate career with another stellar season in 1952, posting a .350 average with 29 RBI and 51 runs scored to earn his second consecutive nod to the All-Pacific Coast first team.
Charnofsky went on to play and coach in the minor leagues for seven seasons after leaving USC. During his time in professional baseball he again teamed up with his brother Hal to set an Eastern League double play record while playing one season with Binghamton in 1952. He also played two years for Augusta in the Sally League, breaking up a Bob Gibson no-hitter in the sixth inning while there. Charnofsky managed for two seasons, including as a player-manager in Edmonton where he batted .350 in leading the team to a pennant.
After the conclusion of his playing career, Charnofsky returned to USC as an assistant coach under Rod Dedeaux for two years before taking over the head coach position at Cal State Northridge (then San Fernando Valley State College) for five seasons. Charnofsky earned his doctorate in Counseling Psychology at USC and served as a professor at CSUN from 1961 all the way until his retirement in 2020. As the program's second ever head coach and first to win a conference title (1965) he was inducted into the Matador Hall of Fame in 2016.
Charnofsky, who along with his twin brother Hal made up one of the greatest double-play duos in USC history, was 93 at the time of his passing.
Charnofsky played for USC from 1950-52, earning All-Pacific Coast first team honors twice while leading the Trojans to two conference championships and a berth in the 1951 College World Series. He is still tied for eighth all-time on USC's career triples list with nine.
Charnofsky hit .362 as a junior in 1951, compiling 34 RBI and 51 runs scored. He went on a tear in the Trojans' four games in Omaha that season, hitting .467, with six RBI, a double, a triple and a homer, as well as one stolen base. The performance earned him a spot among the greats on the decade's All-CWS Team.
He finished his collegiate career with another stellar season in 1952, posting a .350 average with 29 RBI and 51 runs scored to earn his second consecutive nod to the All-Pacific Coast first team.
Charnofsky went on to play and coach in the minor leagues for seven seasons after leaving USC. During his time in professional baseball he again teamed up with his brother Hal to set an Eastern League double play record while playing one season with Binghamton in 1952. He also played two years for Augusta in the Sally League, breaking up a Bob Gibson no-hitter in the sixth inning while there. Charnofsky managed for two seasons, including as a player-manager in Edmonton where he batted .350 in leading the team to a pennant.
After the conclusion of his playing career, Charnofsky returned to USC as an assistant coach under Rod Dedeaux for two years before taking over the head coach position at Cal State Northridge (then San Fernando Valley State College) for five seasons. Charnofsky earned his doctorate in Counseling Psychology at USC and served as a professor at CSUN from 1961 all the way until his retirement in 2020. As the program's second ever head coach and first to win a conference title (1965) he was inducted into the Matador Hall of Fame in 2016.
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