June 15, 2007

By Jim Sumner
TheACC.com

A few years ago the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles team was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. That team won the NFL championship, defeating Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers 17-13 in the title game. One of the standouts of that team was running back Billy Ray Barnes, a former star at Wake Forest, who was the 1956 ACC Player of the Year. A sportswriter approached Barnes and said, "I assume this was your biggest thrill in sports." Barnes looked at him. "Not even close."

What could be more exciting than winning an NFL title? In 1955 Barnes keyed Wake Forest to the College World Series championship. "Winning a championship for your friends and your school can't be beat," says Barnes. "That will always be number one."

Wake's title didn't come out of nowhere. The Deacons had a solid program. They made the 1949 College World Series, where they finished second to Texas. Wake was led by fifth-year coach Taylor Sanford, a graduate of Richmond where he captained the football, baseball, and basketball teams and set school records in the shot put and discus.

But his personality generated even more respect than his playing career. Barnes says "He had a calmness, a piece of mind. He never panicked and he knew what he was doing. He always seemed to make the right move."

Outfielder Tommy Cole adds "He wasn't one of the guys but he was very approachable. You could talk to him about anything. He never got on you, never rode you hard. He had the respect of the guys."

Sanford put together a team that could score runs. Wake led the ACC that year in batting average, runs per game, slugging percentage, doubles per game, and triples per game. Like most good teams, Wake had a standout catcher, All-America Linwood Holt, a junior from Graham, North Carolina. Cole describes Holt as someone "who could do anything you needed a catcher to do. He had a great mind for the game."

Holt was joined in the infield by Bob Waggoner at first, Jack Bryant at second, Harold Moore at shortstop, and Barnes at third base. Cole moved from right field a few times when Barnes missed a stretch of games; George Miller took over in right. Speedy Luther McKeel patrolled center field, while Frank McRae was in left. At 6'3", 240 pounds, McRae provided an intimidating presence. According to Cole, "he was solid. Not an ounce of flab. When he hit it, he hit it. He had a home run at South Carolina that's probably still going up."

Wake's leading pitcher was skinny Lowell "Lefty" Davis, a junior from Illinois. Like Barnes, Davis was better known for another sport; he was an All-ACC basketball player. Jack McGinley, John Stokoe, Buck Fichter, Ralph Adams, and Bill Walsh rounded out the staff.

North Carolina State battled Wake for the ACC title. The rivals entered the season's final weekend tied for first at 10-3. State lost to North Carolina, while Wake edged Virginia 4-2 to take the title.

There was no ACC Tournament in those days and only the league champion advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Wake was joined in District 3 by Southern Conference champion West Virginia, Southeastern Conference champion Alabama, and independent entrant Rollins. The format was a pair of best-of-three series, with the winners matched for the district title. Wake opened with West Virginia and played the entire series in Morgantown.

Surprisingly, McGinley got the nod in game one. "I still haven't figured out why," McGinley says. "Maybe it was a hunch, maybe Coach Sanford thought I was more rested."

Sanford's instincts proved right. McGinley defeated West Virginia ace Jim Heise for a 5-1 win. The Deacs jumped to a 1-0 lead in the second when Barnes singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Waggoner. They added four unearned runs for a comfortable win.

Wake cruised in the second game, at least for awhile. The Deacs scored five runs in the first and two in the second to stake Davis to an early 7-0 lead. He took a three-hitter and a 7-1 lead into the top of the ninth.

"We were already planning the trip back," says Barnes. "Just a little business to take care of first." Davis got the first out. Then West Virginia's star centerfielder Vic Rabbits -- yes, his nickname was "Jack"-- tripled. He scored on a single but Davis got the second out.

What transpired next almost defies description. West Virginia got a single, then another, then another. It was 7-3, with the bases loaded. The tiring Davis walked in the fourth run on four pitches. Another four-pitch walk and it was 7-5. Sanford replaced Davis with Fitcher, who walked in another run. Rabbits was back up again and he cleared the bases with a triple to center field. Wake went quietly in the bottom of the 9th, losing 9-7.

Barnes still can't believe it. "It was frustrating, it was embarrassing. Everything they hit found a hole. How could we not get one out?"

A less resilient team would not have been able to recover. Barnes says, "We were just a bunch of country boys who loved to play. Our attitude was just play the game and see where it took us."

Sanford's calm demeanor helped. Then there was Harold Moore, whose nickname "Cocky" gives some idea of his disposition. Cole explained, "Moore told us we were going to Omaha on the first day of practice. Half of us didn't even know where Omaha was. But he wouldn't let us stay down after the West Virginia loss. He was a one-man cheerleading squad."

Wake jumped on top early in the deciding game. An RBI double by Barnes keyed a three-run Wake second, while another Barnes double made it 4-2 in the fourth. Fichter got the start but was knocked out early. He was replaced by Stokoe, the first in a series of clutch relief appearances that would define Wake's June. West Virginia tied it in the bottom of the fourth and took a 5-4 lead in the fifth. Wake tied it in the sixth. It stayed that way until the ninth, when McKeel doubled in the go-ahead run. McKeel then preserved the win with a full-sprint running catch at the 390-foot mark that robbed Rabbits of a lead-off triple.

Meanwhile, Rollins defeated Alabama in three games. Both Wake and Rollins wanted to host the District 3 finals. Wake lost a coin toss and got back on the bus. Rollins was coached by Joe Justice, whose younger brother was former UNC football great Charlie "Choo-Choo" Justice. Rollins had finished second in the 1954 College World Series and the school is still the smallest to ever make it to Omaha. Barnes says, "They were a very, very confident bunch. They seemed to look down on us."

It didn't take Wake long to take them down a peg. McGinley shut them out in the first game, 4-0. Wake got single runs in the third and seventh and Cole hit a two-run homer in the ninth. The Deacons won the second game 6-2 behind Davis. Moore had nine assists from shortstop and a pair of key double plays quelled Rollins rallies.

Wake's improving defense was a key to its postseason run. Cole says, "We were stone-hands at the beginning of the season but we got better and better. Eventually we were winning games with our defense."

There was some controversy about the trip to Omaha. Davis was in summer school and officials were reluctant to let him go west. It was decided he could fly out for the Saturday game and return immediately afterwards. Then there was the weather. It was cold and damp, with cancellations and delays the order of the day early in the tournament.

Wake's opener against Colgate was played in 60-degree weather and was interrupted for 78 minutes by a hail storm. In between, McGinley and Colgate's Larry Bossidy were engaged in a classic pitcher's duel. Wake got the game's only run in the eighth when Waggoner walked, advanced to second on a sacrifice by McGinley, and scored on McKeel's single.

(Bossidy, incidentally, recovered from the disappointment of losing a three-hitter at the College World Series well enough to become vice-chairman of General Electric, chairman of Honeywell International, and a best-selling author of business books. )

Davis' sole CWS appearance was next, a 10-0 win over Colorado State, aided by five Rams errors. The win was more eventful than the score suggests. Cole was picked off at second and injured his knee trying to get back. He was out for the series. Miller took his place.

That wasn't all. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday but rain pushed it back a day. The players and coaches were all for playing on Sunday. School officials? Neither Sanford nor athletic director Pat Preston notified school president Harold Tribble of the change or asked for clarification of school policy. Wake was a Baptist school and still located in Wake Forest, North Carolina, in those days and Tribble, a man not known for delegating authority, was furious, telling the press, "If I had known about this Sunday game, I would never have given permission for it to be played." (This probably explains why Sanford and Preston didn't tell him.)

Back on the diamond, reality seemed to set in. The Deacons managed only three hits against Western Michigan and were shellacked 9-0. Minus Davis and Cole, it seemed like that season-ending second loss couldn't be far behind. But Wake refused to buy the conventional wisdom. "By this point, we felt like we could walk on water," remembers McGinley. "We were just so confident."

Again, McGinley came to the rescue. Wake had a rematch against Western Michigan, the last undefeated team left. With Davis unavailable, Wake was running out of pitchers. McGinley says, "I really needed more rest but at this point the pitching staff was just worn out. Coach gave me the ball and said, `It's your turn.' I couldn't argue."

Wake jumped on top early with a seven-run third. Barnes was the key, with a bases-loaded triple, followed by a steal of home. Bryant doubled in two more in the seventh and Wake took a 10-1 lead into the eighth. McGinley allowed only three hits but walked 10. The high pitch count caught up with him in the eighth. A single and two walks loaded the bases for pinch-hitter Fred Messner, who homered. Adams came in in relief but was ineffective. Walsh finally stopped the bleeding and Wake held on 10-7.

Wake Forest, Western Michigan and Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) were the last three teams left, each with one loss. Because Western Michigan had been the last team to lose, they received a bye into the title game

Oklahoma A&M was the pre-tournament favorite, an experienced team with an explosive offense. Stokoe was matched against Bobby Garret in another pitchers' duel. Wake could only muster three hits but bunched them effectively. Barnes singled in a run in the third. Three innings later Barnes reached second on a throwing error, took third on a single by Bryant, and scored on a fielder's choice.

The two runs were one more than Stokoe needed. The lefthander from Delmark, New York was in complete control, throwing a four-hit shutout.

Next, Wake met Western Michigan for the title. Led by McRae, who went 5-5, Wake scored a run in the second and a pair in the third. Walsh couldn't hold the lead. The Broncos chased him and reliever Fichter with three runs in the third and three more in the fourth. Sanford turned to McGinley. "He told me to go to the bullpen and get loose. I responded that I didn't think I had much left but followed that with `yes sir.' I got ready."

McGinley was surviving on guile and guts. "After every inning the trainer would come over and rub my arm with a liniment we called the Atomic Bomb. It burned like you couldn't believe. The pain was agonizing. I knew I didn't have a lot of pitches left. I wanted them to hit the ball on the first pitch and let our defense make the plays."

It may have been a desperate strategy but it worked. Western Michigan hit the ball hard but the Wake defense held. The Broncos couldn't add to the lead. McRae singled in a run in the fifth to make it 6-4. Then Bryant doubled in two and it was tied.

McGinley and Western Michigan reliever Mike Schwartzkopf put up goose eggs in the sixth and seventh. McKeel led off the Wake eighth with a walk and advanced to third on a pair of passed balls. He scored on Holt's single.

McGinley made it hold up. "I didn't have time to think about the significance of it all. I was too busy trying to survive... one pitch at a time."

Barnes remembers the final out, a ground ball to third. "I think I held the ball too long for Jack," he laughs. "He screamed `throw the ball.'"

Barnes threw it, out three, final score Wake Forest 7, Western Michigan 6.

Wake returned home to a crowded Raleigh-Durham airport as the first team from North Carolina's Big Four to win an NCAA title in any team sport. They remain the only ACC team to capture the College World Series, a distinction that surprises the team as much as other observers.

McGinley spent decades as a principal in and around Fayetteville, North Carolina. "You can talk about our improving defense or our clutch hitting but nothing was more important than our ability to overcome adversity. I've been around a lot of leaders and I've never seen anyone do a better job of understanding and using his personnel than Coach Sanford. He didn't micromanage and he never over-coached. He trusted us, let us play, and we responded. We had a unique blend of personalities but we liked each other and we enjoyed playing together. We came together when it counted and accomplished something very special."

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Jim Sumner's articles on southern sports history have appeared in the ACC Handbook, the ACC Area Sports Journal, Blue Devil Weekly, Inside Carolina, the Wolfpacker, Baseball America, Basketball America, and other publications. His latest book, Tales From the Duke Blue Devils Hardwood, was published in 2005. In his bimonthly column "Looking Back... by Jim Sumner", he will examine the rich history of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

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