Widely considered the greatest player in Padres history, Gwynn regularly accepted less money to remain with the small-market team; he became a civic icon for the city of San Diego.

[4][5] Charles excelled at sports, preferring football and baseball which he played in high school, and was also very passionate about history and politics; he spent the majority of his young adulthood in the 1950s serving for the U.S. Army.

[11] A few weeks after the bike crash, his parents decided they would move from their apartment and buy a house in nearby Long Beach, a location they chose because of its schools, parks, and youth sports options throughout the year.

His friends often attended parties with drugs and alcohol on Friday nights, but Gwynn abstained from such activities to avoid disappointing his parents and squandering future opportunities.

[30] One year, Gwynn and the Jets won the local league and advanced to the state tournament in San Rafael of Northern California; they were defeated in the championship game.

[18] Playing point guard developed Gwynn's baseball skills, as the dribbling strengthened his wrists—avoiding what he called "slow bat syndrome"—and basketball taught him to be quick, which improved his baserunning.

[57] In the summer of 1981, Gwynn was promoted to the Padres' Reno affiliate but was unable to travel there due to the ongoing air traffic controller strike, so he got sent to Amarillo instead.

However, the Padres were set in the outfield with veterans Gene Richards, Ruppert Jones, and Sixto Lezcano, and Gwynn began the season with the Hawaii Islanders of Triple-A.

[67] Gwynn hit second in the Padres batting order behind Alan Wiggins, and benefited from the higher number of fastballs opposing pitchers threw in response to the speedy leadoff hitter (70 SB) being on base.

[91] He led the league in WAR,[86] and was second in stolen bases, triples (13), and on-base percentage (OBP) (.447); he also ranked fourth in runs scored (119) and 10th in walks with a career-high 82.

[114] "No one bothers Tony Gwynn because he wins batting titles, but the Padres finish fourth or fifth every year", said Clark, who also stirred controversy on his prior teams.

[108][115] Teammates Mike Pagliarulo and Garry Templeton sided with Clark,[116] who also said Gwynn was "50 pounds [23 kg] overweight", leading to his lower stolen base total.

[64] From April 22 through the 24 against Philadelphia, he had eight consecutive hits and reached base nine straight times, tying Padres records held by Winfield and Bip Roberts, respectively.

[147][148] Gwynn was batting .383 at the All-Star break; however, talk of a strike by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) was looming, and he wanted to get to .400 before that date.

[148] At the 1994 All-Star Game in front of the national television audience, Gwynn scored the game-winning walkoff run for the NL during the bottom of the 10th inning to seal the 8–7 victory, sliding into home plate from first base to barely beat the throw and tag following a Moises Alou double.

[62] On September 28, Gwynn hit a patented single between third base and shortstop to score two runs and break a 2–2 tie in the eighth against the Dodgers, clinching a playoff berth for the Padres.

"[26] Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times opined in 1993 that Gwynn's "deceptive" looks and failing to "look the part" contributed to his regularly being overlooked in the voting for league MVP.

[223] Citing discussions with people in the sports medical community, San Diego sportswriter Tom Krasovic believed that the health problems on Gwynn's legs caused by the heavy bodyweight load were an obstacle to greater success; Krasovic posited that if Gwynn had sustained his lower early career weight, he would've challenged Pete Rose's career hits record.

[47][230] When he entered the majors, Gwynn was not a very good right fielder nor an accurate thrower;[85] in college, he could not even throw the ball from center field to second base without it hopping first.

[88][244] He spoke with a twang in his high-pitched voice, often filled with loud, infectious, childlike laughter;[168][1][251][252] Chris Berman of ESPN called Gwynn's laugh the "best sound I've ever heard in my life".

[255] Gwynn was unimpressed by other people's social standing, wealth, or fame; he received offers to appear on Jay Leno's talk show on several occasions and declined all of them.

"[257] In 1989, Gwynn first expressed his concerns regarding the increasing usage of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in baseball with Bob Nightengale, the Padres reporter for the Los Angeles Times.

Steve Jobs had the personal computer, Thomas Edison the light bulb, Albert Einstein the theory of relativity, and Tony Gwynn the mechanically efficient swing.

[298][303] "It's rare, and becoming rarer, that one man is so identified with a franchise and a city as Tony is with San Diego and the Padres", said political columnist and baseball writer George Will.

[92] Commissioner Selig called Gwynn "the greatest Padre ever and one of the most accomplished hitters that our game has ever known, whose all-around excellence on the field was surpassed by his exuberant personality and genial disposition in life".

[325] Following his playing career, Gwynn was the baseball head coach at SDSU for 12 seasons, compiling a 363–363 record including three Mountain West Conference championships and three NCAA tournament appearances.

1 overall draft pick in 2009;[38] under Gwynn's coaching, Strasburg won the 2009 Dick Howser Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's best college baseball player.

[341] Gwynn (along with his father) was fond of jazz music; he regularly listened to the genre prior to his baseball games, as well as during his 2010 radiation treatments to soothe his fear, anxiety, and unease.

[352] After alerting MLB management, he assisted the FBI in verifying his signature and identifying fake autographs during their nationwide Operation Bullpen, which hunted down rings of memorabilia forgers.

[367] Gwynn's death brought the previously obscure issue of ubiquitous tobacco usage in MLB to the forefront of public awareness,[368][369] prompting calls for a league-wide ban on the substance.