Mizzou Baseball History: The 1964 Tigers

On January 22, 2010, the 1964 Mizzou Baseball team will be inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame.

The Missouri Tigers Roster at the beginning of the 1964 Season:

Ronny Bartlett, 1B-OF, Soph
Dave Benson, RHP, Soph
Ronald Cummings, 1B, Soph
James Estes, OF, Sr
Dave Harvey, 3B, Sr
Wayne Henke, SS/2B, Jr
Orville Hollrah, RHP, Soph
Terry L'Ange, RHP, Soph
Sandy Melnick, OF, Soph
Dennis Musgraves, RHP, Soph
James Nelson, RHP, Sr
Jim Pace, C, Sr
Bob Price, IF, Sr
Robert Robben, IF, Soph
Dan Rudanovich, OF, Soph
Tom Seal, IF, Soph
Jim Sevcik, OF, Sr
John Sevcik, C, Sr
Ronnie Shy, C, Jr
Ron Sieck, RHP, Sr
Ken Sigman, IF/OF, Jr
Johnny Simmons, SS, Jr
Mike Strode, IF, Jr
Jack Stroud, LHP, Jr
John Thomas, RHP, Soph
Keith Weber, RHP, Jr
Gary Woods, 1B/OF, Sr

■ Highlights of the 1964 Season:

• MU began the season with a 3-3 road trip, but the pitching staff was already showing signs of being great, posting a 1.34 ERA

• April 24: Jack Stroud struck out 17 against the Kansas State Wildcats and came just one scratch-hit away from a no-hitter

• May 12: The Tigers push their winning streak to 18 straight with a double-header win over Nebraska, clinching the Big 8 title. The pitching staff's ERA at this point is 0.83, including Keith Weber (0.71), Dennis Musgraves (0.41), Jack Stroud (1.23) and reliever Jim Nelson (0.71). Dave Harvey leads the offense with a .400 batting average.

• May 24: JackStroud sets a new MU season strikeout record, striking out 10 against the Jayhawks for a season total of 79.

• The Tigers won the last 21 straight games of the season

• Mizzou beat St. Louis U in a Fifth Distrcit Playoff series, to advance to the College World Series, the Tigers' 6th appearance at Omaha.

• Mizzou entered the CWS ranked #1 in the national poll. The 1964 CWS included Missouri, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Minnesota, Maine, Southern Cal, Seton Hall, and Mississippi

■ Missouri's games in 1964 College World Series:

• Missouri 7, Arizona State 0

• USC 3, Missouri 2

• Missouri 3, Seton Hall 1

• Missouri 4, Minnesota 1

• Missouri 2, Maine 1

• Championship Game: Minnesota 5, Missouri 1

■ 1964 Final ERA: .085

• Nelson 0.42

• Musgraves 0.55

• Weber 0.61

• Sieck 0.82

• L'Ange 1.50

• Stroud 1.51

■ 1964 Batting Leaders: .267 team Avg, 14 HR

• Jim Sevcik, .341 Avg, 3 HR, 23 RBI

• Estes, .317, 3 HR

• Harvey, .312, 3 HR

• Woods, .300

■ Holding on to a record (KOMU.com)

Jack Stroud hasn't called the Missouri Baseball field home since 1964.

"I think our weight room consisted of two bricks out of the foundation of Brewer Fieldhouse," said Missouri Pitcher (1963-65) Jack Stroud.

Stroud now calls Columbus, Ohio home, but back in 1964 Stroud teamed with Denny Musgraves, Keith Weber and closer Jim Nelson to form the best Missouri pitching staff ever.

Stroud is still proud of his past, "I tell you, it was probably the best pitching staff in college baseball history."
. . .
According to the NCAA record books, the 1964 team only gave up 19 earned runs in 264 innings the entire season. It comes out to an ERA of .65, which is still the best season in NCAA history.

■ Keith Weber's bio at the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame page:

May well be the greatest pitcher in Missouri's long and glorious baseball history. In 1964, he set the MU record for earned run average (0.56), won 11 games and struck out 90 batters as the Tigers went 26-5-1 and advanced to the College World Series. Those 11 wins are still tied for the school record, and the strikeout total stood as the MU record for 26 years. His ERA contributed to a team figure of 0.65 that still stands as the NCAA record, and in this era of the aluminum bat, will probably never be broken. Weber, from Jefferson City, was all-Big Eight, all-District V and all-America in 1964, and signed with the New York Mets. He was also a quarterback in football, but injuries ended his career before he competed on the varsity level. Weber now lives in Kansas City.

■ Honors for the 1964 Tigers

• All-American: Dave Harvey, 3B: Keith Weber, P • All District V: Dave Harvey, 3B: Keith Weber, P
• All Big 8: Dave Harvey, 3B; Jim Estes, OF; John Sevcik, C; Keith Weber, P

■ Drafted players from the 1964 team:

• Dave Harvey-Minnesota Twins, 1964
• Jim Nelson-Minnesota Twins, 1964
• Bob Price-Minnesota Twins, 1964
• Jim Sevcik-Minnesota Twins, 1964
• John Sevcik - Minnesota Twins, 1964
• Dennis Musgraves - New York Mets, 1964
• Keith Weber-New York Mets, 1964
• Mike Strode, Kansas City Athletics, 1965
• Jack Stroud-New York Mets, 1965
• Dan Rudanovich-Boston Red Sox, 1966
• Orville Hollrah-Chicago White Sox, 1966

■ Players from the 1964 team who played in the Major Leagues

• Dennis Musgraves, New York Mets
• John Sevcik, Minnesota Twins