Heilman pitches a gem in Notre Dame's 3,000th game
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Sports Writer
In 1866, two students from Marshalltown, Iowa — Sturgis and Adrian "Cap" Anson — introduced the game of baseball to the students at Notre Dame. For the next 20 years, the sport was played between teams of students on campus. Finally, during the 1891-92 school year, Notre Dame decided to make baseball a varsity sport. 108 years later, the Irish baseball team played its 3,000th baseball game as All-American junior Aaron Heilman pitched a one-hit shutout to lead the Notre Dame past Villanova, 4-0.
"I guess it was only fitting that in the 3,000th game in the history of Notre Dame baseball one of the greatest of them all was able to pitch a gem for us," current head coach Paul Mainieri said. "He was very close to pitching a no-hitter. Had I positioned our center-fielder correctly, he probably would have caught the one bloop single in his back pocket."
Indeed Heilman, ranked as one of the top two college pitchers in America right now, is truly one of the greatest athletes to step on the diamond for the Irish. However in the preceding century, many other great players have donned a cap with the "ND" logo.
A century of greatness
Perhaps one of the most recognizable names in Notre Dame baseball history was none other than its originator, Cap Anson. Anson was one of the original players in the old National Association, the old major league. He went on to become the predominant figure in pre-20th century baseball, finishing a 27-year career as player-manager of the Chicago White Stockings (now known as the Cubs) with a .329 average. Anson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, in 1939.
Many other players from the pre-World War II era of Irish baseball went on to major league careers, including Fred "Cy" Williams, who played for the Irish from 1910-1912 and went on to become a four-time National League batting champion.
It was during the 1950's that two of the most significant players wore an Irish uniform.
Yaz and the '57 Irish
Ironically, the most famous Irish player this century never actually took the field in a game.
Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer Carl Yasztramski — one of the greatest American athletes during the 1960's and '70's — attended Notre Dame during the 1957-58 academic year and practiced with the baseball team. At this time, however, NCAA rules prevented freshmen from actually playing in games.
"We played against the freshmen in intersquad games back then," said former outfielder and current executive director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association Chuck Lennon, "I remember chasing a line shot of his, it was rising at about 340 feet. I was running through the goalposts in old Cartier Field."
Another member of the 1957 team gained his fame on the field for the Irish. In leading the 1957 team to a third-place finish in the College World Series — Notre Dame's highest finish ever — Jim Morris batted an incredible .714 to set a record for highest batting average in a College World Series that still stands today.
"It was just one of those times when everything was going good," says Morris, who is now the religious school director at his local parish. "In fact, two of the outs I made were line drives."
Ron Reed pitched for the Irish in 1965, preceding a major league career in which he would win 146 games in 19 years. Reed also played in the NBA. Kevin Hardy was Notre Dame's first three-sport athlete in the second half of the century, playing baseball in 1964 and '65 while also playing basketball and football.
Moving to more recent players, in 1989 outfielder Dan Peltier was a Baseball America first-team All-American. Peltier, who was also a two-time GTE Academic All-American, went on to play for the Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.
Currently, there is only one Notre Dame alum playing in the major leagues. Craig Counsell played shortstop for the Irish from 1989 through 1992, setting a school record for career doubles and serving as captain as a senior.
World Series Hero
Counsell was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 11th round of the 1992 draft, and eventually made the major leagues as a second baseman in 1997. Later that season, the Rockies traded him to the Florida Marlins, who eventually made it to the World Series.
In the seventh game of the Series against the Cleveland Indians, Counsell forced the game into a tie with a sacrifice fly in the ninth. An inning later, Counsell scored the winning win of the series after advancing home on a hit by shortstop Edgar Renteria.
Counsell, who currently is in spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks competing for a spot as a backup infielder, is a member of the only father-son combination to both serve as team captains at Notre Dame. His father, John, served as captain while playing right field for the Irish in 1964.
"I feel so fortunate to have a son who played the same sport, attended the same school, and was the type of player to end up in a leadership position," said John Counsell, who now resides in Fort Myers, Fla.
The tie that binds
While the Unites States experienced the Great Depression, two World Wars, and the presidency of Richard Nixon during the period between 1915 and 1975, for 49 seasons in the 62-year stretch Clarence "Jake" Kline was involved in the Notre Dame baseball program.
Kline played on the varsity squad from 1915-1917, serving as a captain in his senior season. He hit .300 each season and once hit three home runs in a game, still tied for the Irish single-game record. After fighting in the war and pursuing a professional baseball career, Kline returned to Notre Dame in 1931.
He would never leave.
After serving as freshman coach from 1931 through 1933, Kline was named varsity coach in 1934. He maintained the position until his retirement after the 1975 season at the age of 81. Kline remained involved in the program until his death in 1989 at the age of 94.
During his tenure as coach, he led many successful teams. The 1949 squad finished 20-8, earning the Irish their first ever appearance in the NCAA Championships. The Irish would advance to the NCAA Championships seven more times under Kline, including the famous '57 team that finished third in the College World Series.
"We didn't have that good of a record going in," said Morris, "We barely got into the NCAA tournament at all, and then when we did we played very well."
By the later years of his career, Kline had become somewhat of a legend. He was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 1968. Kline seemed to know everybody in baseball, and his mind was as strong as ever.
"There was a little bit of a generational gap because at the time he was our coach he was in his late 70's. It was an interesting time in history with the end of the war," said Dick Nussbaum, who played outfield for the Irish from 1971-74, "The one thing that we had in common was our love of the game. Despite the fact that he'd been around as long as he had, he still had a great knowledge of the game."
Changing venues
For the majority of the first 85 years that Notre Dame fielded a varsity team, home games were held at Cartier Field, which is located in an area that now consists of the quad between Notre Dame Stadium and the Hesburgh Library. These fields can be seen during the scenes on the football practice fields in the movie Knute Rockne: All-American.
In 1977, the team moved to a new facility that would be known as Jake Kline Field, in honor of the famous coach. This field is located in the area where Rolfs Recreation Center now stands. Between 1988 and 1993 Notre Dame also played some home games at Coveleski Stadium in South Bend, where the local minor league games usually take place.
The Irish moved into their current facility in 1994, Frank Eck Stadium, which features one of the finest press boxes in the nation and a very large clubhouse.
No matter where the Irish have played their home games, they have always been involved in the community.
Giving back to Notre Dame
Many former players have gone on to important roles at Notre Dame and within the Notre Dame community. Lennon, of course, has built up one of the most successful alumni programs of any university in the country.
Dick Rosenthal played first base in 1952 and '53 before serving as the predecessor to Mike Wadsworth as Notre Dame's athletic director. Current associate athletic director Tom Kelly coached the team from 1976 to 1980.
Joe Kernan, who caught for the Irish from 1967-68, served two terms as mayor of South Bend before taking his current post as Indiana lieutenant governor.
Dick Nussbaum, whose son Matt is a tri-captain on the current team, now works as a general counsel to Kernan.
"When we played we all were students first and athletes second simply because the baseball program was not as big a deal then as it is now," the elder Nussbaum said. "We were almost all walk-ons. I think it helped all of us because when we got to the world we were able to compete. We learned discipline, hard work, and competition while playing baseball."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, March 28, 2000
