The 1975 ASU baseball Sun Devils – a team for the ages
By: Jim McDonald, 1975 baseball alumnus
Fifty years is long enough to forget just about anything. But tonight, 50 years later, we choose to remember the 1975 Arizona State baseball team because it is a team worth remembering – a rare team for the ages.
The Sun Devils that year featured 12 players who later would go on to play in the Major Leagues. In Jerry Maddox, they had the College Baseball Player of the Year. In Floyd Bannister and Greg Cochran – brothers-in-law today – they had one of the greatest pitching duos in NCAA history with Banny pitching on Friday nights and Cocky taking the ball on Saturdays. Together, they combined to go 29-5 with 20 complete games, a sub 2.00 earned run average and too many strikeouts to count. R.J. Harrison kept things steady behind the plate.
Sluggers Maddox, Kenny Landreaux, Ken Phelps, Clay Westlake, Gary Allenson, Garrett Strong and team captain Tommy Sain combined for 71 home runs and a batting average well above .300. Mike Henderson was an important reserve who went on to play a major role for two more amazing Sun Devil teams.
Under Coach Jim Brock (although many were recruited by Bobby Winkles), this ASU band of brothers won 61 games, was ranked No. 1 all season and went to Omaha where they took 3rd Place in the College World Series. At their best, they won 18 straight games (then an ASU record) and the Western Athletic Conference championship. They were a team on and off the field throughout both the season and offseason and were closer than any fraternity on campus. Coach Brock, of course, has been gone for many years, but we are happy to have one of his assistants, Roger Schmuck, here tonight.
"It was a season of a lifetime," says Greg Cochran. "We will never forget because those times were the best you could want from your formative years. We did a lot of growing up together." Ken Phelps echoes his teammate when he explains "We were close then and we are close today, even if we haven't seen one another in many years. I remember those days as if it was yesterday."
Many of these great players have passed on, and Maddox and Sain are back home in California recovering from some health issues. We wish they all could be here tonight, but we are proud to welcome back 6 of these great players – Floyd Bannister, Greg Cochran, Ken Phelps, Clay Westlake, Gary Allenson and R.J. Harrison.
Welcome home, Sun Devil legends. (We also should thank Gary Allenson, "Mugs", for driving more than 2,500 miles from his home in Florida to be here.)
By: Jim McDonald, 1975 baseball alumnus
Fifty years is long enough to forget just about anything. But tonight, 50 years later, we choose to remember the 1975 Arizona State baseball team because it is a team worth remembering – a rare team for the ages.
The Sun Devils that year featured 12 players who later would go on to play in the Major Leagues. In Jerry Maddox, they had the College Baseball Player of the Year. In Floyd Bannister and Greg Cochran – brothers-in-law today – they had one of the greatest pitching duos in NCAA history with Banny pitching on Friday nights and Cocky taking the ball on Saturdays. Together, they combined to go 29-5 with 20 complete games, a sub 2.00 earned run average and too many strikeouts to count. R.J. Harrison kept things steady behind the plate.
Sluggers Maddox, Kenny Landreaux, Ken Phelps, Clay Westlake, Gary Allenson, Garrett Strong and team captain Tommy Sain combined for 71 home runs and a batting average well above .300. Mike Henderson was an important reserve who went on to play a major role for two more amazing Sun Devil teams.
Under Coach Jim Brock (although many were recruited by Bobby Winkles), this ASU band of brothers won 61 games, was ranked No. 1 all season and went to Omaha where they took 3rd Place in the College World Series. At their best, they won 18 straight games (then an ASU record) and the Western Athletic Conference championship. They were a team on and off the field throughout both the season and offseason and were closer than any fraternity on campus. Coach Brock, of course, has been gone for many years, but we are happy to have one of his assistants, Roger Schmuck, here tonight.
"It was a season of a lifetime," says Greg Cochran. "We will never forget because those times were the best you could want from your formative years. We did a lot of growing up together." Ken Phelps echoes his teammate when he explains "We were close then and we are close today, even if we haven't seen one another in many years. I remember those days as if it was yesterday."
Many of these great players have passed on, and Maddox and Sain are back home in California recovering from some health issues. We wish they all could be here tonight, but we are proud to welcome back 6 of these great players – Floyd Bannister, Greg Cochran, Ken Phelps, Clay Westlake, Gary Allenson and R.J. Harrison.
Welcome home, Sun Devil legends. (We also should thank Gary Allenson, "Mugs", for driving more than 2,500 miles from his home in Florida to be here.)