Editor’s 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 team’s trips to Omaha.
1976: On 10th trip to CWS, Wildcats win it all
What went down: Bob Chaulk allowed six hits, Steve Powers hit a two-run homer and the Arizona Wildcats won their first College World Series title on their 10th trip to Omaha, defeating Eastern Michigan 7-1 in the final at Rosenblatt Stadium. The national championship was the first for any UA team in a major sport. (The Wildcats’ women’s billiards team won a title decades earlier). The Wildcats were led by seniors Dave Stegman and Powers, each of whom drove in three runs in the title game. Pete Van Horne finished the series with 13 hits, breaking the old CWS mark of 12 set by ASU’s Sal Bando in 1965.
Chaulk, Powers, Stegman, Van Horne and catcher Ron Hassey were all named to the all-tournament team. Powers, who pitched the Wildcats past rival Arizona State in an elimination game one day earlier — a victory that remains among the biggest in program history — was named the College World Series’ most valuable player.
Powers delivered the biggest moment in the championship game, belting a homer in the fourth inning that coach Jerry Kindall said was the turning point. Don Zimmerman followed with a single, chasing Eastern Michigan starter Bob Welch, who would go on to pitch 17 seasons in the big leagues.
From there, the Wildcats counted down to their first title.
“From about the fifth inning on,” Chaulk said, “I was thinking, ‘boy, I can’t wait until this thing is over.”
Arizona opened the series by losing to Arizona State in 10 innings, then rattled off five straight wins against Oklahoma, Clemson, Eastern Michigan, Arizona State and then Eastern Michigan again. The Wildcats outscored their final five opponents 43-16.
From the archives: The Star’s Tim Tyers wrote that the victory was vindication for Arizona after so many close calls. He added:
They spent most of the season battling back from adversity in the face of constant criticism. But they had the last laugh. Arizona’s Wildcats, behind the clutch pitching of slender southpaw Bobby Chaulk, dispatched Eastern Michigan 7-1 last night to grab the first national championship in the school’s athletic history.
Arizona first baseman Pete Van Horne checks to see he still has ball as Glenn Ambrose (10) of Eastern Michigan dives back during fourth inning pickoff attempt in championship game of NCAA College Baseball World Series at Omaha on Saturday, June 19, 1976. Ambrose was safe.
“I’ve never been prouder of a group of men,” said happy Wildcat coach Jerry Kindall amid the wild on-field celebration at the game’s conclusion. “The team faced adversity all year. It was criticized severely — bordering on ridicule at times. But it never stopped believing it itself. There were people pointing their finger, saying we couldn’t win the big one, couldn’t play under pressure. But we did when it counted most. Every one of our games in the last month has been played under pressure circumstances. And, during that time, we’ve played our best baseball of the season.
After Omaha: When the UA returned to Tucson, more than 6,000 fans crowded the terminal to greet the national champs.
Said Kindall: “I feel like a mountain climber who has reached the summit.”
The big number: 6. Arizona became the sixth team in the history of the College World Series to win it all after losing its opener.
