1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team

College baseball team

1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball

Mid-American Conference champions
District IV champions

College World Series, T-5th

Conference| Mid-American Conference
Record| 19–8 (11–0 MAC)
Head coach|

* Charlie Maher (23rd season)

Assistant coach| Bill Chambers (1st season)
Home stadium| Hyames Field

Seasons

<- 1960

1962 ->

1961 Mid-American Conference baseball standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  | PCT |  |  | W |  | L |  | T |  | PCT
No. 5 Western Michigan ‍†‍‍y | 11 | - | 0 | - | 0 |  | 1.000 |  |  | 19 | - | 8 | - | 0 |  | .704
Kent State ‍‍‍ | 9 | - | 2 | - | 0 |  | .818 |  |  | 12 | - | 7 | - | 0 |  | .632
Ohio ‍‍‍ | 7 | - | 3 | - | 0 |  | .700 |  |  | 13 | - | 6 | - | 0 |  | .684
Miami (OH) ‍‍‍ | 3 | - | 6 | - | 0 |  | .333 |  |  | 5 | - | 11 | - | 1 |  | .324
Bowling Green ‍‍‍ | 2 | - | 7 | - | 0 |  | .222 |  |  | 6 | - | 12 | - | 1 |  | .342
Marshall ‍‍‍ | 2 | - | 8 | - | 0 |  | .200 |  |  | 8 | - | 12 | - | 1 |  | .405
Toledo ‍‍‍ | 1 | - | 9 | - | 0 |  | .100 |  |  | 2 | - | 16 | - | 0 |  | .111
† - Conference champion
y - Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1961[1]
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team represented Western Michigan College in the 1961 NCAA University Division baseball season. The Broncos played their home games at Hyames Field. The team was coached by Charlie Maher in his 23rd year at Western Michigan.

The Broncos won the District IV playoff to advanced to the College World Series, where they were defeated by the Syracuse Orangemen.

## Roster

[edit]

1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team

Players | Coaches
| # | Pos. | Name | B/T | Height | Weight | Year | Home town

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| C | Jerry Austry | /  |

| So | Chicago, Illinois
|  | Pat Bidelman | /  |

|  |
|  | Les Cochran | /  |

|  |
|  | Gene Cooley | /  |

|  |
|  | John Cruse | /  |

|  |
| C | Charles Dodge | /  |

|  |
|  | Bill Donahue | /  |

|  |
|  | Al Erickson | /  |

|  |
| OF | Mike Gatza | /  |

| So |
|  | Bob Hamet | /  |

|  |
| INF | Bill Ihne | /  |

|  |
|  | Ray Larned | /  |

|  |
| P | Ken Larsen | /  |

|  |
| INF | Fred Michalski | /  |

| So |
| LHP | Bill Ortlieb | /L  |

| Jr |
|  | Ken Palmateer | /  |

|  |
| INF | Frank Quilici | /  |

| Sr |
| LHP | Lee Salo | /L  | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |

|  |
|  | Ken Scodeller | /  |

|  |
|  | Gary Seamon | /  |

|  |
|  | Paul Tagliola | /  |

|  |
|  | Roger Theder | /  |

| So |
|  | Bill Tomb | /  |

|  |
| LHP | Gary Wallman | /L  |

| Sr |

Head coach

Charlie Maher

Assistant coach(es)

Bill Chambers

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Current redshirt

## Schedule

[edit]

1961 Western Michigan Broncos baseball game log

Regular season

April (7–3)

| # | Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Overall record | MAC record

|
|
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|
|
|

1 | April 1 | vs Duke | Seminole Field • Tallahassee, Florida | 3–10 | 0–1 | –
2 | April 2 | vs Florida | Seminole Field • Tallahassee, Florida | 6–7 | 0–2 | –
3 | April 4 | at Florida State | Seminole Field • Tallahassee, Florida | 10–3 | 1–2 | –
4 | April 4 | at Florida State | Seminole Field • Tallahassee, Florida | 6–7 | 1–3 | –
5 | April 7 | at Toledo | Unknown • Toledo, Ohio | 14–2 | 2–3 | 1–0
6 | April 8 | at Toledo | Unknown • Toledo, Ohio | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–0
7 | April 14 | Miami (OH) | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 15–0 | 4–3 | 3–0
8 | April 15 | Miami (OH) | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 11–8 | 5–3 | 4–0
9 | April 21 | Kent State | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 4–1 | 6–3 | 5–0
10 | April 29 | at Notre Dame | Cartier Field • Notre Dame, Indiana | 7–4 | 7–3 | 5–0

May (8–3)

| # | Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Overall record | MAC record

|
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|
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|
|

11 | May 2 | Ohio State | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 10–6 | 8–3 | 5–0
12 | May 2 | Ohio State | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 2–3 | 8–4 | 5–0
13 | May 5 | Ohio | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 4–1 | 9–4 | 6–0
14 | May 6 | Ohio | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 2–1 | 10–4 | 7–0
15 | May 12 | at Marshall | Unknown • Huntington, West Virginia | 13–4 | 11–4 | 8–0
16 | May 13 | at Marshall | Unknown • Huntington, West Virginia | 12–3 | 12–4 | 9–0
17 | May 15 | Wisconsin | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 8–10 | 12–5 | 9–0
18 | May 16 | Wisconsin | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 1–3 | 12–6 | 9–0
19 | May 19 | at Bowling Green | Unknown • Bowling Green, Ohio | 14–3 | 13–6 | 10–0
20 | May 20 | at Bowling Green | Unknown • Bowling Green, Ohio | 9–1 | 14–6 | 11–0
21 | May 23 | Michigan | Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan | 7–5 | 15–6 | 11–0

Postseason

District IV Playoff (3–0)

| # | Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Overall record | MAC record

|
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22 | May 29 | vs Detroit | Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan | 3–1 | 16–6 | 11–0
23 | May 31 | vs Cincinnati | Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan | 8–1 | 17–6 | 11–0
24 | June 3 | at Michigan | Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan | 4–3 | 18–6 | 11–0

College World Series (1–2)

| # | Date | Opponent | Site/stadium | Score | Overall record | MAC record

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|

25 | June 10 | vs Boston College | Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska | 2–3 | 18–7 | 11–0
26 | June 11 | vs Texas | Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska | 8–2 | 19–7 | 11–0
27 | June 12 | vs Syracuse | Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska | 0–6 | 19–8 | 11–0

## Awards and honors

[edit]

Charles Dodge

* First Team All-MAC

Mike Gatza

* Second Team All-MAC

Bill Ihne

* First Team All-MAC

Ken Larsen

* Second Team All-MAC

Bill Ortlieb

* First Team All-MAC

Frank Quilici

* First Team All-MAC[2]
* First Team All-American[3]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1961". Boyds World. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
2. ^ "Mid-American Conference Award Winners". www.wmubroncos.com. Western Michigan University. Retrieved November 25, 2020.
3. ^ "All-Americans and All-Region Honoreess". www.wmubroncos.com. Western Michigan University. Retrieved November 25, 2020.

* v
* t
* e

Western Michigan Broncos baseball

Venues|

* Hyames Field (1939–present)

People|

* Notable players

Seasons|

* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National Championships in bold; College World Series appearances in italics
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[No.]: Number