. . . three young men woke wondering which would be chosen for the ultimate honor of his life. The morning routine was pretty typical, but tension hung in the air. After all, the stakes were high on the biggest day of 20 young men's lives.
Soon, coach John 'Hi' Simmons resolved the situation by naming 19-year-old sophomore lefthander Ed Cook to take the mound and pitch for the Missouri Tigers in the national championship game. The night before, Simmons had held a team meeting and refused to name the next day's pitcher. It was a psychological ploy so the players could have a worry-free night, he said. ''We had another meeting the day of the game and he told me then I was going to start,'' Cook said. ''All of the guys rallied around me. It was the confidence factor - no one said 'Oh my God, Cook's pitching.' That wasn't the case at all.''
(Columbia Missourian, March 13, 1994)
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