(Columbia Daily Tribune, Friday, August 20, 1954)
Missouri Quarterback club members - the men who carry the torch for the University of Missouri athletic teams throughout the state - gatherred at the Columbia Country Club las night to present a new automobile to John (Hi) Simmons, the coach who piloted the Tiger baseball team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association championship at Omaha last Spring.
The presentation was made by Warren Dalton, president of the Columbia Quarterback Club, which was host to representatives of other clubs throughout the state who assembled here for the ceremony and the dinner which followed. The visiting quarterbackers were guests of the host club at an afternoon of golf prior to the presentation.
Simmons, named Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches' Association earlier this week, was visibly moved by the ceremony.
"A lot of good things have happened to me lately," he said, "and right now I've got a few blood clots in my veins. I intended to tell a few baseball stories here, but darned if I haven't forgotten them.
Speaking later at the dinner, Simmons gave credit to his two slugging outfielders, Bob Musgrave and Jerry Schoonmaker, both of whom hit over .400 for the season.
"Both those boys are playing semi-pro ball up North this Summer, and when they get back, they'll probably want to borrow my car," he quipped.
Referring to his selection as coach of the year, the Tiger mentor said, "I'm sure there are many other coaches who deserved the honor just as much as I did. There are about 350 coaches in the country, and since they only make the award once a year, I'm afraid some of them won't live long enough to get it."
Mahlon Aldridge, who served as toastmaster, introduced out-of-town guests, other sports figures, and members of the press. Other speakers were Don Faurot, university athletic director and football coach, Basket Coach Sparky Stalcup, Charles Proctor, John Staple and Dalton.
Dalton said that about 350 persons, members of the Quarterback clubs and friends of Simmons were contributors to the project, which included trading in Simmons' old car for the new one - a procedure which was carried on behind the back of the coach of champions. About 30 clubs from every part of the state had a part in the project.
Faurot, paying tribute to Simmons, said, "It couldn't happen to a nicer guy" and pointed out that he had gotten the Tiger mentor his first coaching job at Mountain Grove High School before bringing him to the university here.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Team reunion honors real, embellished feats
(Columbia Missourian, September 6, 2004)
In 1954, the stories were already great. At the MU baseball team’s 40-year reunion in 1994, they got a little bit better. Now, after 50 years, some have gained legendary status.
“The older you get, the better you were,” said pitcher Emil Kammer, who really did win eight games for the Tigers’ 1954 national champions. “I think all of us have gotten a lot better, all of us were 5-for-5 every game.”
...
This past weekend, all but one of the team’s surviving members, now mostly in their 70s, gathered in Columbia for the 50-year anniversary of that magical season. From listening to them, though, one might think they were still in college, on a road trip or joking around after practice.
Norm Stewart, a pitcher for the 1954 squad who went on to coach the MU basketball team from 1967-1999, approaches pitcher Bert Beckmann and outfielder Lee Wynn at a Saturday morning breakfast and starts another round of jibes.
“Now I’m going to tell you the truth,” Stewart jokes. “Bert pitched three no-hitters, Lee had 17 consecutive hits, until (hall-of-fame pitcher) Bob Feller got him out on a hard ground ball. Bob Feller, he was a pretty good pitcher, but he wasn’t as good as Beckmann.”
Then, Stewart adds, “I’m their agent.”
“Hey, I can throw 95 (miles per hour),” Beckmann says from across the table. “On two throws, 47 plus 48.”
The table erupts in laughter, as it does so many times when Stewart gets going with his fibbers.
...
Seconds later, Stewart has returned to the table to announce that shortstop Dick Dickinson was the first player to cork a bat, another joke that gets the table giggling.
...
[Coach John "Hi"] Simmons died in 1995, but most of the team lives on. Bob Schoonmaker, Jerry’s brother and later an executive for Southwestern Bell, is one of only two ‘54 Tigers who has died.
Catcher George Gleason worked for IBM for many years. Beckmann was a teacher. Jerry Schoonmaker was a union representative for Ford Motor Company. But the championship has kept them together.
“Nobody’s ever (won a championship) before in the history of the university,” Dickinson said. “So, right there, that says, ‘Hey, if you did it back then and you’ve lived 50 years, you deserve to be honored.’ Because, hell, just being around talking about it is an accomplishment.”
Friday afternoon, the team was presented with national championship rings, a common award for champion teams in present times, but something for which these Tigers had to wait 50 years. The team was also honored at halftime of the MU football game against Arkansas State on Saturday night.
For the players, though, the gifts and honors aren’t what this reunion was about. It was about the friendships and the memories.
“It’s great,” Schoonmaker said. “They’ve got memories that I don’t have, they saw things that I didn’t see, but now I remember them, and they bring back a good memory of events that took place in our times together.”
In 1954, the stories were already great. At the MU baseball team’s 40-year reunion in 1994, they got a little bit better. Now, after 50 years, some have gained legendary status.
“The older you get, the better you were,” said pitcher Emil Kammer, who really did win eight games for the Tigers’ 1954 national champions. “I think all of us have gotten a lot better, all of us were 5-for-5 every game.”
...
This past weekend, all but one of the team’s surviving members, now mostly in their 70s, gathered in Columbia for the 50-year anniversary of that magical season. From listening to them, though, one might think they were still in college, on a road trip or joking around after practice.
Norm Stewart, a pitcher for the 1954 squad who went on to coach the MU basketball team from 1967-1999, approaches pitcher Bert Beckmann and outfielder Lee Wynn at a Saturday morning breakfast and starts another round of jibes.
“Now I’m going to tell you the truth,” Stewart jokes. “Bert pitched three no-hitters, Lee had 17 consecutive hits, until (hall-of-fame pitcher) Bob Feller got him out on a hard ground ball. Bob Feller, he was a pretty good pitcher, but he wasn’t as good as Beckmann.”
Then, Stewart adds, “I’m their agent.”
“Hey, I can throw 95 (miles per hour),” Beckmann says from across the table. “On two throws, 47 plus 48.”
The table erupts in laughter, as it does so many times when Stewart gets going with his fibbers.
...
Seconds later, Stewart has returned to the table to announce that shortstop Dick Dickinson was the first player to cork a bat, another joke that gets the table giggling.
...
[Coach John "Hi"] Simmons died in 1995, but most of the team lives on. Bob Schoonmaker, Jerry’s brother and later an executive for Southwestern Bell, is one of only two ‘54 Tigers who has died.
Catcher George Gleason worked for IBM for many years. Beckmann was a teacher. Jerry Schoonmaker was a union representative for Ford Motor Company. But the championship has kept them together.
“Nobody’s ever (won a championship) before in the history of the university,” Dickinson said. “So, right there, that says, ‘Hey, if you did it back then and you’ve lived 50 years, you deserve to be honored.’ Because, hell, just being around talking about it is an accomplishment.”
Friday afternoon, the team was presented with national championship rings, a common award for champion teams in present times, but something for which these Tigers had to wait 50 years. The team was also honored at halftime of the MU football game against Arkansas State on Saturday night.
For the players, though, the gifts and honors aren’t what this reunion was about. It was about the friendships and the memories.
“It’s great,” Schoonmaker said. “They’ve got memories that I don’t have, they saw things that I didn’t see, but now I remember them, and they bring back a good memory of events that took place in our times together.”
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Current World Series players once played at Simmons Field
Another great reason to follow College Baseball
Simmons Field is a great place to catch future Major League stars. Sometimes they're on the other team . . . and sometimes they show their future star potential at the cost of the Tigers.
Phillies slugger Ryan Howard played for the Southwest Missouri State Bears, and demonstrated his home run hitting potential against the Tigers more than once.
· May 2, 2001 @ Simmons Field: In a 12-11 win for the Tigers, Ryan Howard opened the game with a three-run homer off Ryan Stegall in the first inning.
· May 9, 2001 @ Springfield: MU's Shaun Marcum (soon thereafter to transfer to SMS) surrenders a solo home run to Ryan Howard in a 5-3 tiger loss
The Phillies' Gregg Dobbs, a former Sooner, faced the Tigers several times:
· April 9, 2001 @ Simmons Field: The Tigers lost their third straight game 9-6 to OU on this day, aided by Dobbs, who belted 3 homers in three days. In Game 2 of the series, Dobbs went 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and a homer. The weekend had started badly in the first inning of the Friday night game, as "sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning as leadoff batter Jerome Godsey reached on a throwing error by Propst and came around to score on an RBI single by Sergio Garcia. Sooner left fielder Gregg Dobbs then turned on an Endicott mistake and lifted a towering shot over the wall in right and the next three OU hitters followed with singles to put the Tigers in a hole they couldn’t dig out of."
During that same weekend, Dobbs' teammate, Jason Bartlett (now with the Tampa Bay Rays), contributed to the Sooners' Saturday win with a wind-blown grand slam.
The Rays' J. P. Howell faced Mizzou when he was a Longhorn pitcher.
· May 3rd, 2004 @ Simmons Field : After the Tigers took the first two games of a weekend series from the #1 ranked Longhorns (starting with a defeat over local product Sam Lecure on Friday), they were hoping for a sweep. But the Texas offense racked up 16 runs, which was 15 more than UT starter Howell needed, since he held the Tigers scoreless.
I remember thinking the Tigers had a good shot at a win, since J. P. Howell was reportedly injured. But, "All-American left-hander J.P. Howell, whose start was pushed back two days because of a severe cut on his foot, gave up just one hit in four innings."
The lesson learned: Even when the Tigers lose, you never know what future MLB star you'll see when you come out to the ballpark.
Former college baseball players in the 2008 World Series
Phillies
Joe Blanton, Kentucky
Clay Condrey, McNeese State
J.A. Happ, Northwestern,
Brad Lidge, Notre Dame
Jamie Moyer, St. Joseph's (PA)
Eric Bruntlett, Stanford
Gregg Dobbs, Oklahoma
Ryan Howard, Southwest Missouri State
Chase Utley, UCLA
Pat Burrell, Miami
Geoff Jenkins, Southern California
Tampa Bay
Chad Bradford, Southern Mississippi
Matt Garza, Fresno State
J.P. Howell, Texas
David Price, Vanderbilt
Andy Sonnanstine, Kent State
Dan Wheeler, Central Arizona
Jason Bartlett, Oklahoma
Evan Longoria, Cal State Long Beach
Carlos Pena, Northeastern
Gabe Gross, Auburn
Fernando Perez, Columbia
Ben Zobrist, Dallas Baptist
Simmons Field is a great place to catch future Major League stars. Sometimes they're on the other team . . . and sometimes they show their future star potential at the cost of the Tigers.
Phillies slugger Ryan Howard played for the Southwest Missouri State Bears, and demonstrated his home run hitting potential against the Tigers more than once.
· May 2, 2001 @ Simmons Field: In a 12-11 win for the Tigers, Ryan Howard opened the game with a three-run homer off Ryan Stegall in the first inning.
· May 9, 2001 @ Springfield: MU's Shaun Marcum (soon thereafter to transfer to SMS) surrenders a solo home run to Ryan Howard in a 5-3 tiger loss
The Phillies' Gregg Dobbs, a former Sooner, faced the Tigers several times:
· April 9, 2001 @ Simmons Field: The Tigers lost their third straight game 9-6 to OU on this day, aided by Dobbs, who belted 3 homers in three days. In Game 2 of the series, Dobbs went 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and a homer. The weekend had started badly in the first inning of the Friday night game, as "sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning as leadoff batter Jerome Godsey reached on a throwing error by Propst and came around to score on an RBI single by Sergio Garcia. Sooner left fielder Gregg Dobbs then turned on an Endicott mistake and lifted a towering shot over the wall in right and the next three OU hitters followed with singles to put the Tigers in a hole they couldn’t dig out of."
During that same weekend, Dobbs' teammate, Jason Bartlett (now with the Tampa Bay Rays), contributed to the Sooners' Saturday win with a wind-blown grand slam.
The Rays' J. P. Howell faced Mizzou when he was a Longhorn pitcher.
· May 3rd, 2004 @ Simmons Field : After the Tigers took the first two games of a weekend series from the #1 ranked Longhorns (starting with a defeat over local product Sam Lecure on Friday), they were hoping for a sweep. But the Texas offense racked up 16 runs, which was 15 more than UT starter Howell needed, since he held the Tigers scoreless.
I remember thinking the Tigers had a good shot at a win, since J. P. Howell was reportedly injured. But, "All-American left-hander J.P. Howell, whose start was pushed back two days because of a severe cut on his foot, gave up just one hit in four innings."
The lesson learned: Even when the Tigers lose, you never know what future MLB star you'll see when you come out to the ballpark.
Former college baseball players in the 2008 World Series
Phillies
Joe Blanton, Kentucky
Clay Condrey, McNeese State
J.A. Happ, Northwestern,
Brad Lidge, Notre Dame
Jamie Moyer, St. Joseph's (PA)
Eric Bruntlett, Stanford
Gregg Dobbs, Oklahoma
Ryan Howard, Southwest Missouri State
Chase Utley, UCLA
Pat Burrell, Miami
Geoff Jenkins, Southern California
Tampa Bay
Chad Bradford, Southern Mississippi
Matt Garza, Fresno State
J.P. Howell, Texas
David Price, Vanderbilt
Andy Sonnanstine, Kent State
Dan Wheeler, Central Arizona
Jason Bartlett, Oklahoma
Evan Longoria, Cal State Long Beach
Carlos Pena, Northeastern
Gabe Gross, Auburn
Fernando Perez, Columbia
Ben Zobrist, Dallas Baptist
Monday, October 20, 2008
RSS Feeds
If you look at the left-hand column, you'll see a list of the most recent headlines from the Baseball page at mutigers.com. Clicking on any of those headlines will take you to the relevant mutigers.com story.
This service is possible thanks to mutigers.com's RSS feed, which enables anyone to receive selected MUTigers.com posts and headlines in their e-mail or on their web site or other custom pages.
Did you know you can also set up an RSS feed that will send new posts here on SimmonsField.com straight to your e-mail in-box? A quick and easy way to do that, if you're unfamiliar with RSS feed technology, is to go to rssfwd.com.
Once you register, you simply type in the URL of this site (http://simmonsfield.blogspot.com/), choose your preferences (real-time, daily or weekly) and tell it your e-mail address. From that point on, every new post on SimmonsField.com will be delivered to your e-mail.
Thanks to Allan Herigon for sending me this link so Mizzou Baseball fans can keep up with what's happening.
If you're more familiar with RSS technology, scroll to the bottom of the left-hand column here at SimmonsField.com for RSS Subscription links.
This service is possible thanks to mutigers.com's RSS feed, which enables anyone to receive selected MUTigers.com posts and headlines in their e-mail or on their web site or other custom pages.
Did you know you can also set up an RSS feed that will send new posts here on SimmonsField.com straight to your e-mail in-box? A quick and easy way to do that, if you're unfamiliar with RSS feed technology, is to go to rssfwd.com.
Once you register, you simply type in the URL of this site (http://simmonsfield.blogspot.com/), choose your preferences (real-time, daily or weekly) and tell it your e-mail address. From that point on, every new post on SimmonsField.com will be delivered to your e-mail.
Thanks to Allan Herigon for sending me this link so Mizzou Baseball fans can keep up with what's happening.
If you're more familiar with RSS technology, scroll to the bottom of the left-hand column here at SimmonsField.com for RSS Subscription links.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
2009 NCAA Baseball rule changes
The College Baseball Blog reported on several new changes in the rules for 2009, including:
There's a video discussion of the rules changes on YouTube.
DoubleAZone has more comments and quotes on the requirement for coaches to wear helmets:
Rivals.com has news of even more possible changes:
The biggest change is the fact that they will require base coaches to wear a
helmet next season following the lead of Major League Baseball after the
unfortunate death of a minor league coach in 2007. One of the other rule changes
deal with speeding up the game with less conferences with umpires and on the
mound. The final rule change is to eliminate all the huddling around home plate
by a team after a home run or doing live play where teammates will come out of
the dugout.
There's a video discussion of the rules changes on YouTube.
DoubleAZone has more comments and quotes on the requirement for coaches to wear helmets:
According to Ty Halpin, associate director of playing rules administration at the NCAA, the MLB rule brought the committee's attention to the issue, but it was the reflection of many committee members that sealed the recommendation's passage. Many members remembered close calls where a ball nearly hit them.
"The more we talked about it, the more it made sense," Halpin said. "Coaches aren't always paying attention to the pitched ball; they're often
focusing on the runners."
It remains to be seen if college coaches will take issue with the rule the way many major league coaches, like Larry Bowa have. Bowa, the third-base coach for the Dodgers, initially refused to wear the helmet, telling various media outlets he'd walk to the base wearing shin guards, a chest protector and a facemask to make his point.
Rivals.com has news of even more possible changes:
For the past year, the NCAA has served as an agent of change for college baseball. Some coaches have agreed with the NCAA's new policies, while others have scoffed at the changes.There also changes underway in requirements for the metal bats, according to College Baeball Blog:
The NCAA may not be finished making changes.
. . .
"There has been a measure reviewed by many bodies at the NCAA to eliminate
distant travel in some of our postseason championship events."
. . .
Though a more regionalized postseason format irks some coaches, another part of the
proposed legislation seems sure to draw their ire. The NCAA says the new plan opens the door for teams from the same conference to be in the same regional.
For example, Texas and Texas A&M or Ole Miss and Mississippi State could be in the same regional in the future.
"I'm about as concerned with teams from the same conference being in the same regional as I am actually getting the teams to the regional site," Poppe said.
. . .
The uniform start date and condensed schedule remains a heated topic among coaches. Some coaches believe the condensed schedule promotes parity; others still view the change as detrimental to a student-athlete's developmental process on and off the field.
Though some coaches say that a week should be added to the schedule, don't look for any changes to be made before the 2009 season.
. . .
The NCAA is pondering the idea of decreasing the number of regular-season games from 56 to 52.
The NCAA Baseball Research Panel, a group charged with maintaining the protocol for testing baseball bats in the college game, has recommended changes to the means for measuring performance in those tests.
The panel recommended replacing the “ball exit-speed ratio” with a “ball-bat coefficient of restitution” or BBCOR, because the latter eliminates discrepancies with
different length bats and is a more direct measure of bat performance. At its meeting in July, the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee, which oversees and determines the actual performance level of bats, approved the new protocol and established the performance standard based on data collected from available wooden bats.The committee and the research panel found that for a given bat length, batted-ball speed is a near-perfect correlation with BBCOR – that is, a bat’s BBCOR will predict the speed with which the ball will leave the bat.
Because wood and non-wood bats with the same BBCOR produce essentially the same batted-ball speeds, it is relatively easy to relate a non-wood bat’s performance
to that of a similarly sized wood bat.
. . .
To allow manufacturers sufficient time to adjust, the NCAA will enforce this standard beginning January 1, 2011, and will allow only BBCOR-certified bats in the 2011 season and beyond.
There will be no opportunity for “grandfathering” old bats.
Halpin said the change does mean that existing bats will need to be tested again, and that by 2011, bats will be required to be designated with a BBCOR certification mark to be considered legal.
Max Scherzer and Evan Frey to play in Arizona Fall League
Mizzou alumni Max Scherzer and Evan Frey will be playing for the same team again this fall: the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League.
The Arizona Fall League is considered an "elite" off-season league, a "finishing school" of sorts for Major League organizations' top prospects. The roll call of current MLB stars that have played in the Arizona Fall League over the years is impressive, including Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols. The roster size is 30 players per team.
Each Major League organization is required to provide six players subject to the following requirements:
Each of the six Arizona fall League teams is made up of a combination of players assigned by various MLB organizations.Max Scherzer played in the AFL last season, dominating the league as a closer.
Phoenix Desert Dogs 2008 Roster
The Arizona Fall League is considered an "elite" off-season league, a "finishing school" of sorts for Major League organizations' top prospects. The roll call of current MLB stars that have played in the Arizona Fall League over the years is impressive, including Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols. The roster size is 30 players per team.
Each Major League organization is required to provide six players subject to the following requirements:
All Triple-A and Double-A players are eligible, provided the players are on at least a Double-A level roster no later than Aug. 1.
One player below the Double-A level is allowed per Major League team.
One foreign player is allowed, as long as the player does not reside in a country that participates in winter ball, as part of the Caribbean Confederation or the Australian winter league.
No players with more than one year of credited Major League service as of August 31 are eligible, except a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.
To be eligible, players on Minor League disabled lists must be activated at least 45 days before the conclusion of their respective seasons.
Each of the six Arizona fall League teams is made up of a combination of players assigned by various MLB organizations.Max Scherzer played in the AFL last season, dominating the league as a closer.
Phoenix Desert Dogs 2008 Roster
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
You Make the Call: Archives
At the previous location of SimmonsField.com, a regular feature was the "You Make the Call" polls.
For our archives, here are a few results from those polls:
2008 MVPs:
Player: Aaron Senne
Pitcher: Aaron Crow
Freshman: Andrew Thigpen
2007 MVPs:
Player: Evan Frey
Pitcher: Aaron Crow
Freshman: Trevor Coleman
2006 MVPs:
Player: Zane Taylor
Pitcher: Nathan Culp
Freshman: Rick Zagone
2005 MVPs:
Player: James Boone
Pitcher: Max Scherzer
2004 MVPs:
Player: Cody Ehlers
Pitcher: Garrett Broshuis
Freshman: Nathan Culp
2003 MVPs:
MVP: Jayce Tingler
Freshman: Zane Taylor
2002 MVP:
Co-MVPs: Lee Laskowski & Jayce Tingler
Which newcomer will have the biggest impact on the Tigers during his career?
2005: Evan Frey, Derek Chambers
2004: Max Scherzer, Hunter Mense, Cosme Caballero
2003: Ian Kinsler
2002: Abel Newton
For our archives, here are a few results from those polls:
2008 MVPs:
Player: Aaron Senne
Pitcher: Aaron Crow
Freshman: Andrew Thigpen
2007 MVPs:
Player: Evan Frey
Pitcher: Aaron Crow
Freshman: Trevor Coleman
2006 MVPs:
Player: Zane Taylor
Pitcher: Nathan Culp
Freshman: Rick Zagone
2005 MVPs:
Player: James Boone
Pitcher: Max Scherzer
2004 MVPs:
Player: Cody Ehlers
Pitcher: Garrett Broshuis
Freshman: Nathan Culp
2003 MVPs:
MVP: Jayce Tingler
Freshman: Zane Taylor
2002 MVP:
Co-MVPs: Lee Laskowski & Jayce Tingler
Which newcomer will have the biggest impact on the Tigers during his career?
2005: Evan Frey, Derek Chambers
2004: Max Scherzer, Hunter Mense, Cosme Caballero
2003: Ian Kinsler
2002: Abel Newton
Tiger Bullpen
Dear Tiger Baseball Supporter:
At Mizzou, we are committed to providing the best resources for our student-athletes. We realize this can not be accomplished without the support of our fans and alumni.
We have great commitment from the University and Athletics Department, but we need support from our fans and alumni to further enhance our program. the purpose of the Tiger bullpen is to raise funds tos upport Mizzou Baseball and we invite you to join.
As a Tiger bullpen member, you will receive a newsletter that will keep you up-to-date with the Tigers. Members will aslo be invited to special events throughout the year.
We thank you for considering this opportunity to join the Tiger bullpen and become part of the team.
Thanks for your support. Go Tigers!
Head coach Tim Jamieson
For details on joining the Tiger Bulpen Club, contact Luke Cassis, Director of Operations at 573-884-8929 (cassisl@missouri.edu) or go to the mutigers.com Tiger Bullpen page.
At Mizzou, we are committed to providing the best resources for our student-athletes. We realize this can not be accomplished without the support of our fans and alumni.
We have great commitment from the University and Athletics Department, but we need support from our fans and alumni to further enhance our program. the purpose of the Tiger bullpen is to raise funds tos upport Mizzou Baseball and we invite you to join.
As a Tiger bullpen member, you will receive a newsletter that will keep you up-to-date with the Tigers. Members will aslo be invited to special events throughout the year.
We thank you for considering this opportunity to join the Tiger bullpen and become part of the team.
Thanks for your support. Go Tigers!
Head coach Tim Jamieson
For details on joining the Tiger Bulpen Club, contact Luke Cassis, Director of Operations at 573-884-8929 (cassisl@missouri.edu) or go to the mutigers.com Tiger Bullpen page.
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