Dave Winfield

As a kid growing up in the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Dave Winfield grew to value the importance of sports, health, education, family, and community. With hard work and focus, Winfield earned a baseball scholarship to the University of Minnesota in 1969. Over the next four years, he starred in baseball and basketball. During that time, he won Big Ten Championships in both baseball and basketball, All American Honors in baseball, and a College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award. Winfield did all of this, culminating in once-in-a lifetime opportunity by getting drafted by four professional sports leagues: MLB, NFL, NBA and the ABA.

With the death of George Floyd close to home, the legendary first-time ballot Hall of Famer is inspired to carve out the next chapter of his life. Building off his lifelong role of mentor to younger ball players throughout his career, Winfield is ready to offer his wisdom and experience to help sports teams, corporations, start-ups, and nonprofits to maximize their success while becoming more socially responsible and conscious.

Throughout his career in baseball, Winfield was a key representative advocating for players salaries and benefits. Today, Dave is an advisor to Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association where he plays an active role in advising athletes about their rights, protections, and benefits.

Winfield’s academic studies in communications at the University of Minnesota prepared him for his work in television as an on–air analyst for ESPN and FOX Sports, as well as in radio as a program host and print as a columnist. He’s been a New York Times best-selling author and has traveled the world as a corporate advocate and speaker. Over the years, he has done extensive voiceover work and made cameos in numerous TV shows. In 2010, he appeared in national commercials for Verizon and Ask.com and Susan G. Komen to combat breast cancer.

Well-known for his philanthropy, Winfield was the first active professional athlete to create a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation – and inspired many other athletes to do the same. For over 20 years, the Winfield Foundation provided healthcare services, nutritional counseling, scholarships, computer literacy, and holiday dinners to children and families in need — in and beyond the six major league cities he called home. He established the Winfield Nutrition Center in conjunction with Hackensack Medical Center. The Foundation’s primary focus became substance abuse prevention through TURN IT AROUND, a community action campaign. The program’s innovative audio-visual and print materials for elementary school children were recognized as potent and innovative tools in the war on drugs.