Omaha Paper Rates CSF 6th Most Dominant in CWS June 22, 2005 – Omaha, NE
BY STEVEN PIVOVAR
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
It seemed like a slam-dunk proposition when The World-Herald
decided to name the most dominant school from the first 58 years of the
College World Series.
The University of Southern California won 12 national
championships. No other school has more than five. The Trojans won 74
CWS games. Texas is second with 73. USC has compiled a .740 winning percentage
in 100 total games. Minnesota, which played one-fourth of that total,
is second at .708.
About the only thing that kept the Trojans from being
the hands-down pick is one question: What have you done for me lately,
USC?
A legitimate question, coach Mike Gillespie said.
"In fairness, the game hadn't spread like it
has now when we were winning all those titles," Gillespie said. "Back
then, there were relatively few schools that were in contention year in
and year out. No one had heard of LSU or Miami or many of the schools
that now are playing very, very good baseball.
"There are probably 40 or 50 or 60 schools that
now have legitimate shots to make it to Omaha. That wasn't always the
case."
USC won 11 titles in the first 31 years of the CWS,
including an unprecedented five in a row from 1970 through 1974. Gillespie,
who played on USC's 1961 national championship team, led the Trojans to
championship No. 12 in 1998. That season's appearance was one of the four
USC has made since 1978.
In the same span, Miami has made it to Omaha 20 times,
Texas 15, Louisiana State and Stanford 13 each, Cal State Fullerton and
Florida State 12 each, and Oklahoma State 11. They've done it under the
restrictions of scholarship reductions and at a time when schools are
trying to outdo themselves in a boom of stadium building.
Given that, why should USC still be No. 1 when it's
been such a non-factor over the past quarter of a century?
"Because we won more than anybody else,"
Rod Dedeaux said.
Dedeaux guided USC to 10 of its championships. The grand old man of college
baseball, Dedeaux is perhaps the only person who can claim he's seen every
College World Series. He's back in Omaha this week to take in what he
calls "the greatest show on earth."
USC's success under Dedeaux didn't necessarily make
it the most popular team to visit Rosenblatt Stadium.
"We were probably booed more than any team that
has played in Omaha," Dedeaux said. "But we always tried to
play exciting baseball, and I'd like to believe that we added a little
luster to making the series the appealing event that it is."
A panel of World-Herald writers with more than 100
years of combined experience in covering Omaha's biggest event agreed
with Dedeaux. The Trojans are The World-Herald's pick for the most dominant
team in CWS history.
THE TOP 25 PROGRAMS OF ALL TIME
1. SOUTHERN CAL
CWS appearances: 21
National championships: 12 (1948, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1970, 1971,
1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 199
Runner-up finishes: 2
CWS record: 74-26 (.740)
Record in championship games: 12-2
Championship coaches: Sam Berry, Rod Dedeaux, Mike Gillespie
CWS MVPs: Bill Thom (195 , Bud Hollowell (1963), Bill Seinsoth (196 ,
Russ McQueen (1972), George Milke (1974), Rod Boxberger (197 , Wes Rachels
(199
Comment: Trojans lose some points because they've made just four appearances
since 1978 and won just one championship (199 . But there's no denying
that for the first three decades of the CWS, no team could match USC's
level of excellence. Trojans' streak of five straight titles from 1970
through 1974 is a feat that, in these days of reduced scholarships and
increasing parity, will never be matched. USC backers like to point out
that the Trojans' run came during a time when it arguably was more difficult
to get to Omaha because only teams that won their conference championships
were allowed to advance to postseason play.
2. TEXAS
CWS appearances: 31
National championships: 5 (1949, 1950, 1975,
1983, 2002)
Runner-up finishes: 4
CWS record: 73-53 (.579)
Record in championship games: 5-5
Championship coaches: Bibb Falk, Cliff Gustafson, Augie Garrido
CWS MVPs: Tom Hamilton (1949), J.L. Smith (1953), Mickey Reichenbach (1975),
Calvin Schiraldi (1983), Huston Street (2002)
Comment: No team knows Omaha better than the Longhorns, who rank first
in CWS appearances and in games played (126). Texas also is second to
USC in victories with 73 and could have broken the Trojans' record had
it not faltered in last season's championship series. Under Falk, Gustafson
and Garrido, the Longhorns have established a record of consistency that
is unmatched in college baseball. Texas has made it to the final four
in Omaha at least once in each decade of the CWS, and it has played in
the last game of the season in the 1940s, 1950s, 1970s, 1980s and in the
2000s.
3. ARIZONA STATE
CWS appearances: 31
National championships: 5 (1965, 1967, 1969,
1977, 1981)
Runner-up finishes: 5
CWS record: 55-30 (.647)
Record in championship games: 5-5
Championship coaches: Bobby Winkles, Jim Brock
CWS MVPs: Sal Bando (1965), Ron Davini (1967), John Dolinsek (1969), Bob
Horner (1977), Stan Holmes (1981)
Comment: Some of the greatest individual stars to play in Omaha have worn
Arizona State uniforms, including Barry Bonds, Rick Monday, Bando and
Horner. The Sun Devils' glory days spanned almost 25 years, when they
made the CWS field 15 times from 1965 through 1988 and won all five of
their titles. That haul could have been greater had it not been for a
pair of one-run losses to USC in the 1972 (1-0) and 1973 (4-3) championship
games. While Arizona State has made it to Omaha just once in the past
decade, the Sun Devils always will be remembered for being a part of one
of the least memorable championship games when they lost by a touchdown
(21-14) to USC in 1998.
4. LOUISIANA STATE
CWS appearances: 13
National championships: 5 (1991, 1993, 1996,
1997, 2000)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 29-17 (.630)
Record in championship games: 5-0
Championship coaches: Skip Bertman
CWS MVPs: Gary Hymel (1991), Todd Walker (1993), Brandon Larson (1997),
Trey Hodges (2000)
Comment: If there is a coach that can rival Miami's Ron Fraser in turning
nothing into something special, it's Bertman. He took a bunch of toothless
Tigers and turned them into the Bayou Bombers. Many consider LSU's five
championships in 10 years a feat to rival USC's streak of five straight
titles, given the changed landscape of the collegiate game. He adapted
the Tigers' game to Rosenblatt after renovations made the park play small,
loading his lineup with heavy hitters capable of turning the best pitchers
into batting-practice hurlers. Still, it was the wiry Warren Morris who
supplied the Tigers with their most memorable homer in Omaha: a game-winning
two-run shot to give LSU a 9-8 victory over Miami.
5. MIAMI
CWS appearances: 21
National championships: 4 (1982, 1985, 1999, 2001)
Runner-up finishes: 2
CWS record: 45-34 (.570)
Record in championship games: 4-2
Championship coaches: Ron Fraser, Jim Morris
CWS MVPs: Dan Smith (1982), Greg Ellena (1985), Pat Burrell (1996), Charlton
Jimerson (2001)
Comment: Fraser took a program with no tradition, no budget and no players
and turned it into a perennial championship contender. Since first making
it to Omaha in 1974, the Hurricanes have failed to make it back just 10
times in 31 seasons. Master promoter Fraser proved he could coach a little,
too, in leading Hurricanes to its first two titles. The Hurricanes suffered
no slip under Morris, who has brought Miami to Omaha in nine of his 11
seasons and produced championship seasons in 1999 and 2001 as well as
the most memorable finish to a title game. That came in 1996, when Warren
Morris' two-run homer on the game's final pitch stunned Miami 9-8 and
gave Louisiana State the national title.
6. CAL STATE FULLERTON
CWS appearances: 13
National championships: 4 (1979, 1984, 1995, 2004)
Runner-up finishes: 1
CWS record: 32-21 (.603)
Record in championship games: 4-1
Championship coaches: Augie Garrido, George Horton
CWS MVPs: Tony Hudson (1979), John Fishel (1984), Phil Nevin (1992), Mark
Kotsay (1995),
Jason Windsor (2004)
Comment: The Titans have given Omaha plenty to remember, least of which
is a handful of visits by Fullerton's most famous alum, actor Kevin Costner.
Garrido turned a commuter school with limited resources into one of the
game's heavyweights. Horton, who played on Fullerton's first CWS team
in 1975, has kept the Titans among the game's elite in spite of an operating
budget that some schools would consider petty cash. Perhaps it was fitting
that Horton led Fullerton to last season's title by besting his mentor
and his big-bucks Texas program in the championship series.
7. STANFORD
CWS appearances: 15
National championships: 2 (1987, 198
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 38-27 (.585)
Record in championship games: 2-3
Championship coaches: Mark Marquess
CWS MVPs: Paul Carey (1987), Lee Plemel (198 , John Hudgins (2003)
Comment: The Cardinal have shown they can hit the curveball as well as
they can hit the books in being among the final four teams playing in
Omaha 10 times since 1987. Stanford made it to the final game in three
of the past five seasons, losing to LSU and Miami in 2000 and 2001 and
coming up short in the first best-of-three championship series vs. Rice
in 2003. Few teams can match the impressive array of arms that Stanford
has brought to Omaha over the past two decades, a list headed by Mike
Mussina and Jack McDowell. It was Stanford's skill on the hill that allowed
the Cardinal to become the first back-to-back champions in 1987 and 1988
since USC won five straight titles.
8. ARIZONA
CWS appearances: 15
National championships: 3 (1976, 1980, 1986)
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 33-27 (.550)
Record in championship games: 3-3
Championship coach: Jerry Kindall
CWS MVPs: Steve Powers (1976), Terry Francona (1980), Mike Senne (1986)
Comment: Frank Sancet set the foundation in the 1950s and '60s that produced
championships in the '70s and '80s under Kindall, one of college baseball's
true nice guys. Ironically, it was Kindall, the only man to hit for the
cycle in a CWS game, that kept Sancet from winning the 1956 championship
as Minnesota routed Arizona 12-1 in the title game. Arizona also placed
second under Sancet in 1959 and 1963. Thirty years later, Kindall directed
an Arizona team that was an also-ran in its conference race to the school's
third national title. Arizona didn't make it back to Omaha until 2004,
the same year that Francona, the star of its 1980 championship team, led
the Boston Red Sox to the World Series title.
9. OKLAHOMA STATE
CWS appearances: 19
National championships: 1 (1959)
Runner-up finishes: 5
CWS record: 38-36 (.514)
Record in championship games: 1-5
Championship coaches: Toby Greene
CWS MVPs: Tom Borland (1955), Jim Dobson (1959), Littleton Flowers (1961)
Comment: The Cowboys hold the CWS record for most consecutive appearances,
having made it to Omaha seven straight years in the 1980s under coach
Gary Ward. Oklahoma State twice lost in the championship game in that
span, falling to Arizona State 7-4 in 1981 and dropping a 9-5 decision
to Stanford in 1987. It was Greene who established Oklahoma State as a
title contender, leading the school to four top-four finishes in five
visits from 1954 through 1961. The Cowboys are one of two teams to have
two players (Borland, Flowers) to win the tournament's outstanding player
award and not win a national title.
10. OKLAHOMA
CWS appearances: 9
National championships: 2 (1951, 1994)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 14-14 (.500)
Record in championship games: 2-0
Championship coaches: Jack Baer, Larry Cochell
CWS MVPs: Chip Glass (1994)
Comment: The Sooners went from unranked in the preseason in 1994 to national
champions under the guidance of Cochell, one of three coaches who have
brought three different schools to Omaha. Oklahoma's best run came in
the 1970s, when the Sooners made five consecutive appearances (1972-76).
That ties Miami, Stanford, Southern California and Texas for third in
consecutive trips to Omaha. Baer's 1951 title team went unbeaten in Omaha,
clipping Tennessee 3-2 in the championship game.
11. WICHITA STATE
CWS appearances: 7
National championships: 1 (1989)
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 16-11 (.593)
Record in championship games: 1-3
Championship coaches: Gene Stephenson
CWS MVP: Greg Brummett (1989)
Comment: Few coaches in any sport can equal the dramatic success that
Wichita State has achieved under Stephenson. Since taking over the program
in 1978,
Stephenson has led the Shockers to more than 1,500 wins and seven trips
to Omaha. Four have ended with Wichita State playing in the final game.
The Shockers won it all in 1989, when Brummett became one of the eight
pitchers to win three games in one CWS, and finished second in 1982, 1991
and 1993. They were participants in what many consider the most memorable
game in CWS history, the 3-2, 12-inning victory over Creighton in the
1991 tournament.
12. FLORIDA STATE
CWS appearances: 18
National championships: 0
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 25-36 (.410)
Record in championship games: 0-3
Championship coaches: None.
CWS MVPs: Gene Ammann (1970), Marshall McDougall (1999)
Comment: No team has been to Omaha more times and left disappointed more
than Florida State, which has never celebrated a championship in 18 visits
to
Rosenblatt Stadium. Two of the Seminoles' three championship game appearances
have ended in bitter defeats - 2-1 in 15 innings to Southern California
in 1970 and 6-5 to Miami in 1999. Florida State also made the final game
in 1986, losing 10-2 to Arizona. Ammann, the pitching star of the 1970
team, and McDougall, the Seminoles' leading hitter in 1999, each earned
outstanding player awards on runner-up teams.
13. MINNESOTA
CWS appearances: 5
National championships: 3 (1956, 1960, 1964)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 17-7 (.70
Record in championship games: 3-0
Championship coaches: Dick Siebert
CWS MVPs: Jerry Thomas (1956), John Erickson (1960), Dave Winfield (1973)
Comment: Golden Gophers challenged Southern California for the title of
most dominant team of the first two decades of
the CWS, winning championships in their first three appearances in Omaha.
Minnesota came close to making it 4 for 4 when it returned in 1973 but
fell one win short of the title game when USC rallied for seven runs in
its final at-bat to pull out an 8-7 victory. That game marked the final
mound appearance of Winfield, who went on to star as an outfielder in
professional baseball. Winfield still ranks fourth on the CWS chart for
most strikeouts in a series with 29.
14. MICHIGAN
CWS appearances: 7
National championships: 2 (1953, 1962)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 12-12 (.500)
Record in championship games: 2-0
Championship coaches: Ray Fisher, Don Lund
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: Wolverines went 2 for 2 in their first two visits to the CWS,
winning the 1953 and 1962 national championships. Michigan didn't make
it back to Omaha until 1978, starting a run that saw the Wolverines earn
a CWS berth in five of seven seasons. Michigan's final four visits came
under the direction of Bud Middaugh, whose team included future professional
stars Barry Larkin and Chris Sabo. Middaugh eventually was forced to resign
in the wake of charges of misappropriating athletic department funds,
and Michigan hasn't been back to Omaha since.
15. SOUTH CAROLINA
CWS appearances: 8
National championships: 0
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 17-16 (.515)
Record in championship games: 0-3
Championship coaches: None
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: The other "USC" is still searching for its first title
but has finished second three times, third once and fourth once. South
Carolina made its first visit to Omaha a memorable one, advancing to the
1975 championship game before losing to Texas 5-1. The Gamecocks' other
runner-up finishes came in 1977 and 2003, when Texas again dashed their
title hopes with a 12-6 win in the final winner-take-all national championship
game. After dropping its first game in Omaha last season, South Carolina
battled back to push eventual champion Fullerton to a second bracket championship
game before bowing out.
16. MISSOURI
CWS appearances: 6
National championships: 1 (1954)
Runner-up finishes: 3
CWS record: 18-11 (.621)
Record in championship games: 1-3
Championship coaches: Hi Simmons
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: Under Simmons, Mizzou was a force in the early years of the CWS.
The Tigers' .621 winning percentage still ranks fifth all-time. Missouri's
1954 title ruined one of the CWS' true Cinderella stories as the Tigers
defeated Rollins, a private Florida school with a male enrollment of 300,
in the championship game. Missouri fell one win short of titles in 1952,
1958 and 1964, and also finished third in 1963. Missouri's 1964 appearance,
its sixth in the first 15 years the event was held in Omaha, also proved
to be the Tigers' last.
17. CALIFORNIA
CWS appearances: 5
National championships: 2 (1947, 1957)
Runner-up finishes: None
CWS record: 10-6 (.625)
Record in championship games: 2-0
Championship coaches: Clint Evans, George Wolfman
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: It was fitting that the Bears won the first CWS title in 1947
as Evans was among the movers and shakers to get the event off the ground.
The first CWS, played in Kalamazoo, Mich., brought together Yale, with
a first baseman named George Herbert Walker Bush, to play Evans' Cal team.
The Bears swept the best-of-three series, holding the future president
hitless in seven at-bats. Cal won its second title a decade later in Omaha,
posting a 1-0 championship game win over a Penn State team that brought
a 19-0 record to town. Cal's three trips to Omaha since have produced
one third-place finish in 1980.
18. GEORGIA
CWS appearances: 4
National championships: 1 (1990)
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 6-7 (.462)
Record in championship games: 1-0
Championship coaches: Steve Webber
CWS MVP: Mike Rebhan (1990)
Comment: In the third year of the two-bracket double-elimination format,
the Bulldogs showed that having two strong starters can take a team a
long way. Future professional Dave Fleming and future computer programmer
Mike Rebhan each earned spots on the all-tournament team for pitching
the Bulldogs through the bracket and into the title game. The Bulldogs
then turned to freshman Stan Payne and Fleming to beat Oklahoma State,
which had pounded its way through its bracket by outscoring opponents
35-8, in a 2-1 thriller in the championship game. The Bulldogs' other
appearances came in 1987, 2001 and 2004.
19. CLEMSON
CWS appearances: 10
National championships: None
Runner-up finishes: None
CWS record: 9-20 (.310)
Record in championship games: 0-0
Championship coaches: None
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: Tigers' 10 trips to Rosenblatt Stadium is tied for 11th on the
CWS all-time appearance list, but they've done little once they've hit
town. Clemson's best finishes came in 1996 and 2002, when the Tigers came
within one win of advancing to the title game. Weird things seem to happen
when Clemson makes it to Omaha. First-round draft picks pitch like little
leaguers, heavy hitters can't get the ball out of the infield, and a left
fielder throws a live ball into the stands, thinking it was foul, to allow
an opposing runner to circle the bases.
20. RICE
CWS appearances: 4
National championships: 1 (2003)
Runner-up finishes: None
CWS record: 6-7 (.462)
Record in championship games: 1-0
Championship coaches: Wayne Graham
CWS MVP: None
Comment: The Owls' first three trips to Omaha produced just one win until
they rode four heat-throwing pitchers and an opportunistic offense to
the first CWS title decided by a championship series. Rice backed up Phillip
Humber, Wade Townsend and Jeff Niemann, considered by some the finest
starting staff in collegiate history, with an All-America closer in David
Aardsma. All were first-round draft picks - Aardsma in 2003, the other
three in 2004. After advancing unbeaten in bracket play, Rice won the
first and third games of its championship series against Stanford to claim
the school's first national title in any sport.
21. ALABAMA
CWS appearances: 5
National championships: None
Runner-up finishes: 2
CWS record: 11-10 (.524)
Record in championship games: 0-2
Championship coaches: None
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: The Crimson Tide haven't been a frequent visitor to Omaha, but
they have shown well in three of five trips to Rosenblatt. Alabama played
for national championships in 1983, losing to a pitching-rich Texas team
that featured a right-hander named Roger Clemens, and in 1997, when fellow
Southeastern Conference member LSU pounded out a 12-6 win in the title
game. The Tide also finished third in 1999.
22. OHIO STATE
CWS appearances: 4
National championships: 1 (1966)
Runner-up finish: 1
CWS record: 9-7 (.563)
Record in championship game: 1-1
Championship coaches: Marty Karow
CWS MVP: Steve Arlin (1966)
Comment: Arlin was selected as one of the two pitchers on the CWS' 50-year
anniversary team for his work in the 1965 and 1966 tournaments. Arlin
still holds the CWS career record for ERA (0.96), and his four victories
and 47 innings pitched are tied for the all-time lead. In leading the
Buckeyes to the 1966 title, Arlin finished all five of their wins - two
on complete games. His most memorable performance might have come the
year before, when he pitched a 15-inning, 1-0 victory over Washington
State after lasting just one-third of an inning in his first CWS start
against Arizona State.
23. PEPPERDINE
CWS appearances: 2
National championships: 1 (1992)
Runner-up finish: 0
CWS record: 7-2 (.77
Record in championship games: 1-0
Championship coaches: Andy Lopez
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: Waves have made some in two visits to Omaha. Pepperdine finished
third in 1979, then carted home the championship trophy in 1992 with the
help of two big plays by second baseman Steve Rodriguez. His grand slam
in the bottom of the seventh produced a 5-4 win over Texas that put the
Waves into the championship game. Rodriguez then provided Pepperdine with
a game-saving defensive play in the title game against Fullerton to preserve
a 3-2 victory. In spite of his heroics, Rodriguez saw Fullerton's Phil
Nevin win the outstanding player award.
24. HOLY CROSS
CWS appearances: 4
National championships: 1 (1952)
Runner-up finishes: None
CWS record: 9-7 (.563)
Record in championship games: 1-0
Championship coaches: Jack Barry
CWS MVPS: James O'Neill (1952)
Comment: The Crusaders never made a substitution in their six-day, seven-game
drive to their national championship in 1952. O'Neill, Ron Perry and Jack
Lonergan pitched complete games, and Barry stuck with his same lineup
even when the Crusaders were forced to play a doubleheader in 100-degree
heat four days into the tournament. Holy Cross became the first team from
east of the Mississippi to win the championship, and O'Neill became the
first pitcher to win three games in a series. The Crusaders finished third
in 1958, and returned in '62 and '63.
25. MISSISSIPPI STATE
CWS appearances: 7
National championships: 0
Runner-up finishes: 0
CWS record: 7-14 (.333)
Record in championship games: 0-0
Championship coaches: None
CWS MVPs: None
Comment: The Bulldogs have made five of their seven trips to Omaha under
Ron Polk, one of three coaches to bring three schools to Rosenblatt Stadium.
Once Mississippi State gets here, it rarely sticks around long. The Bulldogs
have won more than one game just once, and that came in 1985 with a roster
that included future major leaguers Will Clark, Rafael Palmiero, Bobby
Thigpen and Jeff Brantley. Even with that collection of talent, Mississippi
State had to settle for third place behind Miami and Texas.
