 Birmingham in 2015. | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 14, 1955 Hobbs, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Alma mater | New Mexico State University College of the Southwest |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1981–1983 | Mayfield HS |
| 1988–1989 | Southwest |
| 1990–2007 | NMJC |
| 2008–2021 | New Mexico |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 467–413–4 (.531) (NCAA) 53–73 (.421) (NAIA) 765–255–2 (.750) (NJCAA) |
| Tournaments | NCAA: 3–10 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Raymond Joseph Birmingham Jr. (born November 14, 1955) is an American former college baseball coach. He was a baseball coach at the high school, junior college, and four-year college levels from 1978 to 1983 and 1988 to 2021, starting at Mayfield High School in Las Cruces, New Mexico from 1978 to 1983, then the College of the Southwest from 1988 to 1989, New Mexico Junior College from 1990 to 2007, and finally the New Mexico Lobos from 2008 to 2021. Upon retirement in 2021, Birmingham finished as the winningest baseball coach in New Mexico history and the winningest coach in Mountain West Conference history.
Birmingham has over 1,200 cumulative career wins as a head coach. He was the 2005 NJCAA Coach of the Year and is a member of the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, NM Sports Hall of Fame, Lea County Hall of Fame, WJCAC Hall of Fame and the UNM Hall of Honor. Birmingham won 8 WJCAC coach of the year awards at NMJC. At the University of New Mexico, Birmingham was a three-time Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year and won seven Mountain West championships. Every program he coached was ranked in the top 25 teams in the country.
Birmingham was an assistant basketball coach at NMJC (1983-87) when the Thunderbirds won their first conference championship.
Birmingham was named National “Keeper of the Game” in 2020 as the baseball Coach/Player that displayed incredible service to his fellow man within his community.