Ronald George Fraser (June 25, 1933 – January 20, 2013) was an American baseball coach best known for his tenure at the University of Miami from 1963 to 1992. Nicknamed the "Wizard of College Baseball", he led the Miami Hurricanes baseball program to over 1,200 victories—his teams set an NCAA baseball record with playoff appearances in 20 consecutive seasons and won College World Series championships in 1982 and 1985.[1]
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 25, 1933 Nutley, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | January 20, 2013 (aged 79) Weston, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Florida State University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1963–1992 | Miami Hurricanes |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 1,271–438–9 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 College World Series (1982, 1985) | |
| College Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
Early years
editBorn and raised in Nutley, New Jersey, Fraser was a three-sport letterman at Nutley High School where he graduated in 1953.[2] He then attended Murray State College in Kentucky from 1953 to 1954.[2] Later, he played baseball at Florida State University from 1954 to 1956 as a relief pitcher for the Florida State Seminoles baseball team. At Florida State, he joined Theta Chi. He graduated in 1960.[2]
Fraser served in the United States Army for two years, during 1957 and 1958.[2] He was stationed in Germany and the Netherlands. He coached the Germany national baseball team at the 1958 European Baseball Championship,[3] and he managed the Netherlands national baseball team from 1960 until 1963.[4]
Miami Hurricanes baseball
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (April 2024) |
In 1963, Fraser took a head coaching job with the University of Miami,[4] a school which did not offer its baseball players a scholarship. Even though the school did not begin to offer scholarships until 1973, Fraser built a program. Some of the people Fraser brought to visit the school to bring publicity to the program were Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Stan Musial, as well as announcer Joe Garagiola.
In 1973, Miami started a record streak of consecutive postseason appearances in college baseball; the streak continued for 20 seasons under Fraser, and ultimately lasted 44 seasons, finally ending in 2017. Also in 1973, Mark Light Stadium was built in large part to efforts by Fraser to build a privately-funded stadium. In 1974, Miami was College World Series runner-up to the University of Southern California (USC), a perennial college baseball powerhouse.
The 1980s were a time of great change in Miami athletics.[according to whom?] The Miami Hurricanes football team won championships in 1983, 1987 and 1989. While the success of Miami football seemed to eclipse much of the success of the baseball program, Miami won its first two College World Series in 1982 and 1985.
While opponents' fans often criticized Hurricane football fans for not selling out the Orange Bowl. Mark Light Stadium was almost always a full house for Hurricane baseball games and Fraser's Hurricanes drew 1.27 million fans in the 1980s, the best in college baseball.
Fraser was inducted to the Hurricanes' sports hall of fame in 1983,[5] and the Ron Fraser Building, which houses the baseball offices at Mark Light Stadium, was named after him in 1986.[6] Fraser retired as coach of Miami baseball at the end of the 1992 season.[7]
Later years
editFraser coached the United States national baseball team at the 1992 Summer Olympics, which marked the first time that baseball was an official medal sport.[8][9] The team, per Olympic rules at the time, was restricted to amateur players only.[8] Fraser's 20-player squad of college baseball players included future major leaguers such as Jason Giambi, Nomar Garciaparra, and Jason Varitek.[10][11] The team had a 5–2 record in pool play, then fell to Cuba in the semifinals, followed by a loss to Japan in the bronze-medal match.[8]
Fraser was inducted to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.[1] He died on January 20, 2013, at his home in Weston, Florida, of complications from Alzheimer's disease.[12]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami (Independent) (1963–1992) | |||||||||
| 1963 | Miami | 18-9 | |||||||
| 1964 | Miami | 20-9-1 | |||||||
| 1965 | Miami | 23-12-1 | |||||||
| 1966 | Miami | 19-18-1 | |||||||
| 1967 | Miami | 23-15-1 | |||||||
| 1968 | Miami | 27-11-1 | |||||||
| 1969 | Miami | 31-11 | |||||||
| 1970 | Miami | 28-15-1 | |||||||
| 1971 | Miami | 35-11 | NCAA District | ||||||
| 1972 | Miami | 32-17 | |||||||
| 1973 | Miami | 42-17 | NCAA District | ||||||
| 1974 | Miami | 51-11 | College World Series Runner-up | ||||||
| 1975 | Miami | 45-14 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1976 | Miami | 41-15 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1977 | Miami | 44-13 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1978 | Miami | 50-12 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1979 | Miami | 55-11 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1980 | Miami | 59-12 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1981 | Miami | 61-10 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1982 | Miami | 55-17-1 | College World Series champions | ||||||
| 1983 | Miami | 61-21 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1984 | Miami | 48-28 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1985 | Miami | 64-16 | College World Series champions | ||||||
| 1986 | Miami | 50-17 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1987 | Miami | 35-24-1 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1988 | Miami | 52-14-1 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1989 | Miami | 49-18 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1990 | Miami | 52-13 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1991 | Miami | 46-17 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1992 | Miami | 55-10 | College World Series | ||||||
| Miami: | 1,271–438–9 | ||||||||
| Total: | 1,271–438–9 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b "Ron Fraser - University of Miami / 1962-92". MLB.com. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Veleber, Don (July 29, 1969). "Nutley's Fraser Is Mr. Success". Herald News. Passaic, New Jersey. p. 23. Retrieved April 14, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "FSU's Ron Fraser To Pilot Dutch Nine". The Tennessean. Nashville, Tennessee. AP. March 26, 1960. p. 12. Retrieved April 14, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Pezdirtz, Rick (January 16, 1963). "The Dutch Lose A Coach And It's U-M's Gain". The Miami News. p. 3C. Retrieved April 14, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ron Fraser: Baseball Coach". umsportshalloffame.com. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Rosenblatt, Richard (February 19, 1986). "Ron Fraser Baseball Building: It's about time". The Miami News. p. 2B. Retrieved April 14, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Mell, Randall (June 7, 1992). "Fraser leaves Omaha rain for new reign in Spain". Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 5C. Retrieved April 14, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Preston, Mike (August 6, 1992). "Dismayed U.S. Beaten at Its Own Game". Los Angeles Times. p. C7. Retrieved August 8, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fraser makes final cuts on U.S. baseball team". South Bend Tribune. South Bend, Indiana. AP. July 11, 1992. p. C3. Retrieved August 8, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Stinson, Thomas (July 11, 1992). "Garciaparra safe, Varitek out as U.S. makes final cuts". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. D4. Retrieved August 8, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Varitek headed to the Olympics". Orlando Sentinel. July 15, 1992. p. C-1. Retrieved August 8, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Degnan, Susan Miller (January 21, 2013). "Miami Hurricanes legendary baseball coach Ron Fraser dies". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on January 18, 2014.