1955 NCAA I
baseball tournament
Season1955
Teams25
Finals site
ChampionsWake Forest (1st title)
Runner-upWestern Michigan (2nd CWS Appearance)
Winning coachTaylor Sanford (1st title)
MOPTom Borland (Oklahoma A&M)

The 1955 NCAA baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1955 NCAA baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, a double-elimination tournament in its ninth year. Eight regional districts sent representatives to the College World Series with preliminary rounds within each district serving to determine each representative. These events would later become known as regionals. Each district had its own format for selecting teams, resulting in 25 teams participating in the tournament at the conclusion of their regular season, and in some cases, after a conference tournament.[1] The College World Series was held in Omaha, NE from June 10 to June 16. The ninth tournament's champion was Wake Forest, coached by Taylor Sanford. The Most Outstanding Player was Tom Borland of Oklahoma A&M.[2]

Tournament

District 1

Games played at Springfield, Massachusetts.

Semi-Finals Finals
      
Springfield 4
Boston College 3
Springfield 17
Massachusetts 6
Massachusetts 1
Holy Cross 0

District 2

Games played in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Semi-Finals Finals
      
Colgate 7
Penn State 4
Colgate 7
Ithaca 6
Ithaca 5
Lafayette 0

District 3

District 3 consisted of two separate 3-game series. The first series was played between Wake Forest and Rollins, with the winner moving on to play West Virginia in a three-game series. The winner of that series moved on to the College World Series.

Games played at Morgantown, West Virginia.

Semifinal Final
Wake Forest 5 7 6
Rollins 0 2 West Virginia 1 9 5
Wake Forest 4 6

District 4

District 4 consisted of two separate 3-game series. The first series was played between Alma and Western Michigan, with the winner moving on to play Ohio State in a three-game series. The winner of that series moved on to the College World Series.

Games played at Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Semifinal Final
Western Michigan 1 5 7
Alma 9 0 4 Ohio State 010 8 5
Western Michigan 8 3 15

District 5

Games played in Norman, Oklahoma.

Finals
    
Oklahoma A&M 0 6 6
Oklahoma 3 3 2

District 6

Games played at Tucson, Arizona.

Finals
    
Texas A&M 2 5 1
Arizona 6 0 2

District 7

Games played at Greeley, Colorado.

Finals
    
Wyoming 8 13 5
Colorado State College 17 7 12

District 8

District 8 consisted of two tiers of play. The first tier was a four-team double-elimination tournament with the winner moving on to play Southern California in a three-game series. The winner of that series moved onto the College World Series.

Games played at Fresno, California.

First RoundSemi-FinalsFinals
Fresno State6
Willamette3
Fresno St.1
San Jose State3
San Jose State9
Pepperdine2
San Jose State41
Fresno State95
Lower round 1Lower final
Fresno State8
Willamette11Pepperdine7
Pepperdine14

Games played at Los Angeles, California.

Finals
    
Fresno State 2 2 -
Southern California 11 15 -

College World Series

Participants

SchoolConferenceRecord (conference)Head coachCWS appearancesCWS best finishCWS record
ArizonaBorder41–6 (6–0)Frank Sancet1
(last: 1954)
6th
(1954)
1–2
ColgateIndependent16–6–1Red O'Hora0
(last: none)
none0–0
Colorado State College[lower-alpha 1]RMC24–2 (10–0)Pete Butler2
(last: 1953)
7th
(1953)
0–4
Oklahoma A&MMVC24–1 (8–0)Toby Greene1
(last: 1954)
4th
(1954)
2–2
SpringfieldIndependent14–5Archie Allen1
(last: 1951)
5th
(1951)
1–2
Southern CaliforniaCIBA30–8 (14–2)Rod Dedeaux3
(last: 1951)
1st
(1948)
5–5
Wake ForestACC24–6 (11–3)Taylor Sanford1
(last: 1949)
2nd
(1949)
2–2
Western MichiganMAC22–5 (9–0)Charlie Maher1
(last: 1952)
3rd
(1952)
2–2

Bracket and Results

Upper round 1Upper round 2Upper finalSemifinalsPreliminary finalFinal
Oklahoma A&M5
Springfield1
Oklahoma A&M4
Western Michigan5
Western Michigan4
Arizona1
Western Michigan9
Wake Forest0
Colorado State College2
Western Michigan7
Southern California1
Colorado State College0Wake Forest10
Wake Forest10
Wake Forest1
Colgate0Western Michigan6
Wake Forest2Wake Forest7
Lower round 1Lower round 2Oklahoma A&M0
Colorado State College0
Springfield0Arizona20
Arizona4
Arizona6
Oklahoma A&M512
Oklahoma A&M4
Southern California4Colgate2
Colgate6

Game results

DateGameWinnerScoreLoserNotes
June 10Game 1Oklahoma A&M5–1Springfield
Game 2Western Michigan4–1Arizona
Game 3Colorado State College2–1Southern California
Game 4Wake Forest1–0Colgate
June 12Game 5Arizona6–0SpringfieldSpringfield eliminated
Game 6Colgate6–4Southern CaliforniaSouthern California eliminated
Game 7Western Michigan5–4Oklahoma A&M
Game 8Wake Forest10–0Colorado State College
June 13Game 9Arizona20–0Colorado State CollegeColorado State College eliminated
Game 10Oklahoma A&M4–2ColgateColgate eliminated
Game 11Western Michigan9–0Wake Forest
June 14Game 12Oklahoma A&M5–4 (12 innings)ArizonaArizona eliminated
Game 13Wake Forest10–7Western Michigan
June 15Game 14Wake Forest2–0Oklahoma A&MOklahoma A&M eliminated
June 16FinalWake Forest7–6Western MichiganWake Forest wins CWS

Tournament Notes

  • In 1996, coach Rod Dedeaux of USC was named to the College World Series All-Time Team (1947–95) by the Oklahoma World-Herald as part of the 50th CWS celebration.
  • In 1996, Tom Borland of Oklahoma A&M, now known as Oklahoma State, was named to the 1940s-50s All-Decade Team by a panel of 60 voters representing CWS head coaches, media, and chairs of the Division I Baseball Committee.
  • Freed Messner of Western Michigan hit the only pinch-hit grand slam home run in CWS history in the top of the 8th of Game 13 in a 10–7 loss to Wake Forest. It was also Messner's only hit of the CWS (1-12).
  • Two-hitters were pitched by: Lawrence Bossidy of Colgate in a 1–0 loss to Wake Forest; Carl Thomas of Arizona in a 6–0 defeat of Springfield; Ken Kinnamon and Don Anderson of Oklahoma A&M in a 5–4 loss to Western Michigan; and Sam Frankel and Lawrence Bossidy of Colgate in a 4–2 loss to Oklahoma A&M.
  • Wake Forest's championship was the last time that a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference won the CWS until the University of Virginia in 2015.
  • 21,843 fans watched the CWS (10 sessions).
  • The championship game was umpired by Walter Doyle, Walter Harbour, George Hametz, and John Hergert.
  • The following records were set or tied:
    • Most Stolen Bases, Team, CWS - 17, Oklahoma A&M, 5 games
    • Most Shutouts, All Teams, CWS - 6, Arizona (2), Wake Forest (3), Western Michigan, tied
    • Most Doubles, Individual, Single Game - 3, Jack Bryant, 2B, Wake Forest, tied (6 others)
    • Most Sacrifice Bunts, Individual, Single Game - 3, Leland Davis, SS, Western Michigan, tied
    • Most Stolen Bases, Team, Single Game - 7, Wake Forest, tied (4 others)
    • Fewest Assists, Team, Single Game - 3, Oklahoma A&M, tied (6 others)
    • Most Errors, Team, Single Game - 9, Colorado State College, tied
    • Most Shutouts, Team, CWS - 3, Wake Forest, 6 games

Notes

  1. Colorado State College is currently known as the University of Northern Colorado. Not to be confused with Colorado State University, then known as Colorado A&M.

References

  1. "NCAA Men's College World Series Records" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. p. 196. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  2. "1955 College World Series". Omaha.com. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
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