Charles was born to Tom Gwynn and Calice Ann Patterson. He enlisted in the Air Force and served during the Korean Conflict from July 3, 1951-July 2, 1955. On January 11, 1958, he married Vendella Douglas in Tennessee and at some point moved to Los Angeles, California. The Gwynns were parents to three sons: Charles, Tony, and Chris; both Tony and Chris became MLB players, with Tony being named a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 and Chris a member of the US Olympic Baseball Team silver medal team in 1984.
Charles and Vendella decided to move from Los Angeles and buy a house in Long Beach, California, a location they chose because of its schools, parks, and youth sports options throughout the year. Charles Jr. played college baseball and became a teacher; Tony and younger brother Chris became MLB players. Charles and Vendella were civil servants who were tag-team parents. Charles Sr. worked at a warehouse from 7:30 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., and he also coached Pop Warner football and Little League Baseball; Vendella worked at the post office from 5:30 P.M. until 3:00 A.M. Both parents instilled in their sons the value of being prepared.
Charles encouraged his sons to play ball in the makeshift baseball field that he assembled in their backyard. The setup was a narrow strip of grass that was longer than wide. Pulling the ball too much resulted in it being lost over the neighbor's fence, but left field being short ruled out hitting it to the opposite field as well. Once the brothers' supply of wiffle balls was exhausted, they resorted to using a sock rolled in rubber bands, a wad of tape, or a hardened fig from a neighbor's tree. Growing up, the boys attended Los Angeles Dodgers games and watched their hero, Willie Davis; the Dodgers outfielder had twice as many stolen bases as home runs (398 SB, 182 HR) in his career. Tony admired Davis for being black, left-handed, and "aggressive but under control"; he respected Davis' work habits as well.
Charles and Vendella decided to move from Los Angeles and buy a house in Long Beach, California, a location they chose because of its schools, parks, and youth sports options throughout the year. Charles Jr. played college baseball and became a teacher; Tony and younger brother Chris became MLB players. Charles and Vendella were civil servants who were tag-team parents. Charles Sr. worked at a warehouse from 7:30 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., and he also coached Pop Warner football and Little League Baseball; Vendella worked at the post office from 5:30 P.M. until 3:00 A.M. Both parents instilled in their sons the value of being prepared.
Charles encouraged his sons to play ball in the makeshift baseball field that he assembled in their backyard. The setup was a narrow strip of grass that was longer than wide. Pulling the ball too much resulted in it being lost over the neighbor's fence, but left field being short ruled out hitting it to the opposite field as well. Once the brothers' supply of wiffle balls was exhausted, they resorted to using a sock rolled in rubber bands, a wad of tape, or a hardened fig from a neighbor's tree. Growing up, the boys attended Los Angeles Dodgers games and watched their hero, Willie Davis; the Dodgers outfielder had twice as many stolen bases as home runs (398 SB, 182 HR) in his career. Tony admired Davis for being black, left-handed, and "aggressive but under control"; he respected Davis' work habits as well.
Charles was born to Tom Gwynn and Calice Ann Patterson. He enlisted in the Air Force and served during the Korean Conflict from July 3, 1951-July 2, 1955. On January 11, 1958, he married Vendella Douglas in Tennessee and at some point moved to Los Angeles, California. The Gwynns were parents to three sons: Charles, Tony, and Chris; both Tony and Chris became MLB players, with Tony being named a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 and Chris a member of the US Olympic Baseball Team silver medal team in 1984.
Charles and Vendella decided to move from Los Angeles and buy a house in Long Beach, California, a location they chose because of its schools, parks, and youth sports options throughout the year. Charles Jr. played college baseball and became a teacher; Tony and younger brother Chris became MLB players. Charles and Vendella were civil servants who were tag-team parents. Charles Sr. worked at a warehouse from 7:30 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., and he also coached Pop Warner football and Little League Baseball; Vendella worked at the post office from 5:30 P.M. until 3:00 A.M. Both parents instilled in their sons the value of being prepared.
Charles encouraged his sons to play ball in the makeshift baseball field that he assembled in their backyard. The setup was a narrow strip of grass that was longer than wide. Pulling the ball too much resulted in it being lost over the neighbor's fence, but left field being short ruled out hitting it to the opposite field as well. Once the brothers' supply of wiffle balls was exhausted, they resorted to using a sock rolled in rubber bands, a wad of tape, or a hardened fig from a neighbor's tree. Growing up, the boys attended Los Angeles Dodgers games and watched their hero, Willie Davis; the Dodgers outfielder had twice as many stolen bases as home runs (398 SB, 182 HR) in his career. Tony admired Davis for being black, left-handed, and "aggressive but under control"; he respected Davis' work habits as well.
Charles and Vendella decided to move from Los Angeles and buy a house in Long Beach, California, a location they chose because of its schools, parks, and youth sports options throughout the year. Charles Jr. played college baseball and became a teacher; Tony and younger brother Chris became MLB players. Charles and Vendella were civil servants who were tag-team parents. Charles Sr. worked at a warehouse from 7:30 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., and he also coached Pop Warner football and Little League Baseball; Vendella worked at the post office from 5:30 P.M. until 3:00 A.M. Both parents instilled in their sons the value of being prepared.
Charles encouraged his sons to play ball in the makeshift baseball field that he assembled in their backyard. The setup was a narrow strip of grass that was longer than wide. Pulling the ball too much resulted in it being lost over the neighbor's fence, but left field being short ruled out hitting it to the opposite field as well. Once the brothers' supply of wiffle balls was exhausted, they resorted to using a sock rolled in rubber bands, a wad of tape, or a hardened fig from a neighbor's tree. Growing up, the boys attended Los Angeles Dodgers games and watched their hero, Willie Davis; the Dodgers outfielder had twice as many stolen bases as home runs (398 SB, 182 HR) in his career. Tony admired Davis for being black, left-handed, and "aggressive but under control"; he respected Davis' work habits as well.
Inscription
A1C US AIR FORCE
KOREA
Family Members
Siblings
Children
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
