Joe Goddard

Goddard will be in his fifth year on the Golden Bears' coaching staff in 2019. He has both played and coached at all levels of baseball from the high school to professional levels.

 He is a Raleigh County native and a graduate of Marshall University, where he was a catcher for the Thundering Herd baseball team.  He was later recognized for his achievements on the field for The Herd in 2015 by being inducted into the Marshall University Athletic Hall of Fame.

 He was an 8th round selection by the San Diego Padres in the 1971 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft after his junior year at Marshall.  He played pro ball in the San Diego organization from 1971-1976 and was highlighted by being called up to the majors with the Padres twice in 1972, once in July and again in September.  During the six seasons he played professional baseball, Goddard was a member of four championship teams: 1971 Northwest League, 1972 Eastern Division-Texas League, 1975-Pacific Coast League, and 1976-Texas League.

 Some of his highlights as a major leaguer began with his MLB debut on July 31, 1972 at the Houston Astrodome followed the very next day by playing against National Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.  He collected his first big league hit at Dodger Stadium off Claude Osteen and his manager at San Diego during his MLB stint as a player was baseball legend Don Zimmer.

 He retired as a player following the 1976 season and returned to West Virginia, where he embarked on a 36-year head coaching career at nearby Independence High School.  In 1990, he was the head coach of the school's first team to capture the West Virginia High School State Baseball Championship.  Overall, he piloted the Patriots to six state tournament berths and also several more seasons of capturing the sectional title.  In recognition of his long career of achievements at the school, the baseball field at Independence is now named in his honor. 

 Goddard also has coaching experience by being a member of the coaching staff of the West Virginia Miners of the summer collegiate wooden bat Prospect League from 2010-2017.  During that period, the Miners appeared in the postseason all but one year and won three Prospect League titles (2012, 2013, and 2016).  

He still resides in Raleigh County with his wife, Angela, and they have two children, Dr. Nicole Goddard and Dr. Matthew Goddard.