William Arce

William Arce, the man after whom the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) baseball facility was named, has left an indelible mark on baseball, in Claremont and throughout the world.

Coach Arce was the founding athletic director of the CMS athletic program. He developed the program, facilities, and staff into one of the top NCAA Division III programs in the country. He served as head coach of the baseball team from 1958 to 1979, compiling a record of 446-354-16 and leading the Stags to Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in 1970, 1971, and 1975. Arce was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame 1976.

Since retiring Arce has committed his summers and sabbatical leaves to developing baseball internationally. He is the first American baseball coach to have provided baseball instruction in Sweden (1962), Czechoslovakia (1969), Yugoslavia (1979), and the People's Republic of China (1980). Arce also coached the national teams of both the Netherlands (1971) and Italy (1975) to the European Baseball Championship. In 1985, Arce founded International Sports Group, a non-profit organization that conducts international coaching clinics. Arce was also on the coaching staff for the U.S. national teams in 1970, 1976, and 1978.