Editorβs note: For more than six decades, the UA has been college baseball royalty, making 17 College World Series appearances and winning four national championships. The Star is re-living each of the teamβs trips to Omaha.
1963: Wildcats finish second β again
What went down: Arizona beat Penn State, Florida State, Missouri and Texas to start the College World Series, advancing to the championship series, before losing two straight games to rival USC. The Trojansβ 5-2 win in the winner-take-all title game gave USC its record fourth College World Series championship in 17 years, while Arizona finished as the runner-up for the third time in eight years. The title game was moved from Saturday to Sunday when rain hit Omaha; the delay allowed USC to start Walt Peterson, who earned the win. USC led 5-0 by the fifth inning.
Arizonaβs Ron Theobald, Craig Morrison, Hector Barnetche and Doug Holliker made the all-tournament team.
From the archives: The Starβs Abe Chanin wrote that the β63 series was strange. He added:
There wasnβt a really great team in the tournament, but the tourney was great in itself. The record-breaking outpouring of Omaha fans proved what a wonderful tournament this was. Both the finalists in the CWS had backyard struggles, and in fact no one in Arizona would have bet that the Wildcats would even get to Omaha, much less into the championship finals. This Arizona club went much further than its basic ability. It was carried to a remarkable season by a tremendous spirit and desire.
He said it: βThe truth of the matter is that weβve been scrambling since February,β assistant coach Kenny Coopwood said. βNeither (coach Frank Sancet) nor myself thought this club could make it this far. Itβs a great tribute to the tremendous desire of these kids.β
After Omaha: The Wildcats flew back to Tucson on Frontier Flight 307, but Sancet and players Bob Gauna and Buzzie Acuna didnβt linger long. The three joined Pueblo High School coach Jim Estrada on a flight to Miami on the way to Central America, where they gave clinics on behalf of the state department.
The big number: .375. Theobald was 9 for 24 in the series. His .375 batting average was tops of any player in Omaha. Theobald played seven seasons in the minors before making his big-league debut with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971. He spent two seasons as the clubβs regular second baseman.
