Rod Dedeaux

Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Dedeaux moved to Los Angeles and graduated from Hollywood High School in 1931. He played baseball at the University of Southern California for three seasons. Dedeaux then played professional baseball briefly in 1935, appearing in two games as a shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The following year his baseball career ended due to an injury. Dedeaux invested $500 to start a trucking firm, Dart (Dedeaux Automotive Repair and Transit) Enterprises, which he built into a successful business. Now known as Dart Entities. While running a business his love for baseball kept him coaching at USC. A new baseball field at USC named Dedeaux Field opened in 1974, named in honor of the active head coach. Dedeaux piloted the Trojans to a record 1,331 victories, 11 College World Series titles and 28 conference championships in 45 seasons as manager. In 1999, he was named the coach of the century by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Dedeaux was married to the former Helen L. Jones (1915–2007) for 66 years, and they had four children.

Company History

Dart is a closely held distribution and fulfillment 3PL provider that has been in business since 1938. Founded by legendary USC baseball coach Rod Dedeaux, the Dart entities have built their team within a framework of flexibility; changing with the times to offer several variations of supply chain and logistics solutions for customers. Based in Los Angeles, the Dart organization today consists of 5 operating divisions serving facilities throughout North America.

Within the scope of warehousing and distribution services, Dart performs contract and 3PL services for many of its accounts. Dart has mobilized management oversights and support for sixteen 3 PL startups or transitions in 9 states since 1985. We have progressed a long way from the humble beginnings as Dedeaux’s Automotive Repair and Transport, but still maintain a small company mindset of going above and beyond to serve our customer.