ASU First Met the Big Leagues 81 Years Ago
As ASU prepares for the 2010 NCAA Baseball Regionals, it is hard to imagine the days when the school was known as Tempe State Teachers College and the baseball program was still scheduling games against local high schools. They have come a long way.
The school’s first baseball program began in 1907 when the college was known as Tempe Normal School. They compiled a 7-2 record for coach Fred Ayer who was also the school’s athletic director and the team’s pitching star. Their opponents were Mesa High (3-0); Phoenix Indian School (1-1); and the University of Arizona (3-1).
And so it went for a couple of decades. On March 19, 1929 the Bulldogs (they didn’t become the Sun Devils until 1946) finally got an opportunity to strut their stuff against a first class opponent—one from the major leagues! The Detroit Tigers were the first big league club to set up spring training camp in Arizona.
Following two weeks of workouts in Phoenix, Tigers Manager Bucky Harris took his troops to the coast for a series of games against PCL teams and the Chicago Cubs. Among those making the trip was catcher Ray Hayworth who would become the grandfather of future Arizona Congressman J.D. Hayworth.
The “B” team, known as the Tiger Cubs was left behind to continue training in Phoenix by playing games against local teams. One of those games came against Tempe State Teachers College. The park was filled to near-capacity with a special admission price of 25 cents.
A caravan of students made the trek from Tempe to Phoenix Riverside Park located at Central Ave. and the Salt River. The Bulldogs were no match for the Tigers as the major leaguers won 14-1. Tiger’s right-hander Lil Stoner pitched a 3-hitter. In a nine year big league career Stoner won at least 10 games three times. In 1929 he finished 3-3 in 25 games for Detroit.
There was one Bulldogs’ player who made an impression. Catcher Lattie Coor threw out three would-be base stealers at second. Coor had been a standout baseball player at Phoenix Union High School. His son, Lattie Jr., would later become president of Arizona State University.
This was the first game in what would be a long line of spring exhibitions that the school would play against major league teams over the years.
The Bulldogs finished their 1929 baseball season with a 5-6 record.
In 1959 Bobby Winkles became the head baseball coach at ASU and ushered in an era of success that has produced five National Championships. The Sun Devils continue to be one of the premier baseball programs in the country.
ASU’s Record vs. the Major Leagues (6-22)
Angels, 4-4
Cubs, 0-1
Tigers, 0-1
Pilots/Brewers, 2-5
A’s, 0-4
Mariners, 0-7
Rodney Johnson has been researching spring training baseball for Play Ball: The Cactus League Experience for more than two years. He is the President of the Arizona Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), an official scorer for Arizona Diamondbacks games and covers Arizona baseball for www.examiner.com. Catch his blog here for insights into Arizona’s rich baseball history.
