The Wizard of College Baseball: How Ron Fraser Elevated Miami and an Entire Sport to National Prominence
Autor David Braueren Limba Engleză Hardback – iun 2024
No one changed the landscape of college baseball like Ron Fraser. The sport enjoyed little national interest until Fraser arrived at the University of Miami in 1963 and built his program into an entertainment empire and a national champion. Nationally televised college baseball games on ESPN can be traced back to Fraser’s lobbying work in the network’s early days. His efforts resulted in coverage growth and paved the way to making the College World Series one of ESPN’s marquee events. He created zany, one‑of‑a‑kind promotions, such as an open-heart surgery for one “lucky” fan (redeemable in a five‑year window) and the first mascot devoted to a college baseball team (the Miami Maniac). Aimed at gaining attention for his program and putting fans in the seats, his innovations achieved desired results on both fronts. Miami Hurricanes baseball became widely popular as the sport’s main draw in South Florida long before Major League Baseball expanded to the market full time.
Fraser’s biggest impact was on the field. Before the Miami Hurricanes football program became a household name, he put the school’s athletics program on the map by winning its first national championship. Fraser inherited a floundering baseball program that had no equipment or following and could pay him only as a part-time employee; he built that program into a perennial national power that made regular appearances at the College World Series. Along the way, he developed countless players into All‑Americans, MLB Draft picks, and eventual Major Leaguers. While some coaches have matched his wins and championships, none compare to his trailblazing and impact on an entire sport. David Brauer traces the roots of modern-day college baseball’s success to Fraser’s work at Miami. The Wizard of College Baseball is an inspirational and entertaining reflection on how one man forever changed college baseball—accelerating the sport’s growth and setting a new standard for modern college baseball well ahead of his time.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781496220431
ISBN-10: 1496220439
Pagini: 232
Ilustrații: 25 photographs, 1 appendix
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 15 mm
Greutate: 0.5 kg
Editura: Nebraska
Colecția University of Nebraska Press
Locul publicării:United States
ISBN-10: 1496220439
Pagini: 232
Ilustrații: 25 photographs, 1 appendix
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 15 mm
Greutate: 0.5 kg
Editura: Nebraska
Colecția University of Nebraska Press
Locul publicării:United States
Notă biografică
David Brauer is a communications, public relations, and marketing professional with more than two decades spent in the sports industry. His experience includes leadership in NCAA Division I athletics and summer collegiate baseball. A former baseball publicist at two Division I schools, he is a longtime college baseball aficionado and twenty-plus year College World Series attendee and season ticket holder. He is a University of Illinois graduate, who currently lives in Mahomet, Illinois, with his wife and two children.
Extras
1
Early Days at Miami
Considered a second-tier option for players deemed not good enough
to sign professionally, college baseball was nearly nonexistent, even
in the Sun Belt states, as the 1960s began. The University of Miami,
despite its geography and climate, was no different. The Hurricanes
enjoyed some modest success but did not employ a full-time coach.
Fielding a successful baseball team was not a priority. The program
was once disbanded because it was without baseballs, bats, uniforms,
or interest. In the 1940s, the university’s Ibis yearbook wrote, “Baseball,
the sport in which Miami is never successful, was attempted this
year, but failed. There was no coach for the team and spring football
interfered.”
Even the presence of Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx as head coach
did not deliver success. In two seasons, Foxx sported a 20-20
record, going one game over .500 in his first year and one game below in his
second. Whitey Campbell, considered the greatest all-around
athlete in University of Miami history with twelve combined letters in baseball,
basketball, and football, took the reins from Foxx. He posted winning
records each of his four seasons, with one season interrupted when
athletic director Jack Harding served as interim coach in 1959.
Despite compiling a 69-36-3 record, Campbell walked away from the
program without a word after the 1962 season. He switched to coaching
football full-time and ascended to the nfl as special teams coach
with Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram’s 1976 New Orleans Saints staff.
A popular television program and a recommendation from a rival
coach played a role in hiring the next coach. University of Miami
athletic director Jack Harding sat down one evening to watch the
popular What’s My Line? quiz show on television. When the celebrity
panelists could not unlock the subject’s occupation, Harding was
intrigued. The man who stumped them? Ron Fraser, head coach of
the Dutch national baseball team. Harding called Florida State coach
Danny Litweiler, for whom Fraser played and served as an assistant.
Litweiler recommended Fraser, and Harding hired him for a part-time
salary of $2,200 per year.
Early Days at Miami
Considered a second-tier option for players deemed not good enough
to sign professionally, college baseball was nearly nonexistent, even
in the Sun Belt states, as the 1960s began. The University of Miami,
despite its geography and climate, was no different. The Hurricanes
enjoyed some modest success but did not employ a full-time coach.
Fielding a successful baseball team was not a priority. The program
was once disbanded because it was without baseballs, bats, uniforms,
or interest. In the 1940s, the university’s Ibis yearbook wrote, “Baseball,
the sport in which Miami is never successful, was attempted this
year, but failed. There was no coach for the team and spring football
interfered.”
Even the presence of Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx as head coach
did not deliver success. In two seasons, Foxx sported a 20-20
record, going one game over .500 in his first year and one game below in his
second. Whitey Campbell, considered the greatest all-around
athlete in University of Miami history with twelve combined letters in baseball,
basketball, and football, took the reins from Foxx. He posted winning
records each of his four seasons, with one season interrupted when
athletic director Jack Harding served as interim coach in 1959.
Despite compiling a 69-36-3 record, Campbell walked away from the
program without a word after the 1962 season. He switched to coaching
football full-time and ascended to the nfl as special teams coach
with Hall of Fame coach Hank Stram’s 1976 New Orleans Saints staff.
A popular television program and a recommendation from a rival
coach played a role in hiring the next coach. University of Miami
athletic director Jack Harding sat down one evening to watch the
popular What’s My Line? quiz show on television. When the celebrity
panelists could not unlock the subject’s occupation, Harding was
intrigued. The man who stumped them? Ron Fraser, head coach of
the Dutch national baseball team. Harding called Florida State coach
Danny Litweiler, for whom Fraser played and served as an assistant.
Litweiler recommended Fraser, and Harding hired him for a part-time
salary of $2,200 per year.
Cuprins
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Early Days at Miami
2. Progress
3. Omaha
4. Business Decision
5. Roaring Eighties
6. End of an Era
7. International Influence
8. Coaching Wisdom
9. College Baseball Trailblazer
10. Professional Baseball
11. Community and University Impact
12. Player Mentor
13. Personal Life
Appendix
Note on Sources
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
1. Early Days at Miami
2. Progress
3. Omaha
4. Business Decision
5. Roaring Eighties
6. End of an Era
7. International Influence
8. Coaching Wisdom
9. College Baseball Trailblazer
10. Professional Baseball
11. Community and University Impact
12. Player Mentor
13. Personal Life
Appendix
Note on Sources
Bibliography
Recenzii
"Brilliant and Fantastic. . . . This is one of the best books I have read in many years. It is informative and delightful for this Central Illinois baseball fan. I have new respect for Hurricanes baseball."—Tom Knuppel, tomknuppel.com
"Brauer's attention to detail, his anecdotal prose and insights from his interviews make The Wizard of College Baseball a success."—Bob D'Angelo, Sports Bookie
“Ron Fraser was the king of college baseball. The Wizard of College Baseball chronicles the marvel of big crowds and media attention he established at Miami that launched the sport into a growth explosion leading to today’s national enthusiasm.”—Ron Polk, Hall of Fame baseball coach and author of The Baseball Playbook
“Having coached alongside Ron Fraser for eight seasons, I can say this book captures the essence of his brilliance, his entertaining persona, and the adoration felt for him as a coach and mentor. He was to college baseball what Muhammad Ali was to boxing.”—Skip Bertman, five-time national champion and Hall of Fame LSU baseball coach
“This book details the life and times of the P.T. Barnum of college baseball, but the book is so much more than that. It’s an in-depth, well-researched read about one of the most interesting and influential men in the history of the sport. Ron was a little bit like Charlie Finley, a little bit like Bill Veeck, and mostly one of a kind. Ron Fraser was indeed the ‘wizard,’ and this terrific book tells us why he was a wonderful wizard and ahead of his time.”—Roy Firestone, ESPN interviewer
“The Wizard of College Baseball captures the magic of Miami’s three-ring circus with Ringmaster Ron Fraser! He was college baseball’s George Bailey: everything he touched he made better, and the sport grew thanks to the Wizard, who had a Wonderful Life!”—John Routh, Miami Maniac mascot (1983–1993) and executive director of the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame and Museum
Descriere
A biography of University of Miami baseball coach Ron Fraser, who coached the Hurricanes from 1963 to 1992 and was one of college baseball’s greatest promoters and most successful and influential coaches in history, helping to bring the game into national prominence.