June 16, 1970: Florida State ends Mike Schmidt and Ohio University’s College World Series hopes

The spring of 1970 was a season of turmoil on college campuses across the United States. Student protests of the expansion of the Vietnam War into Cambodia escalated after four students in Ohio were killed on May 4 during a demonstration at Kent State University.1 A mid-May nationwide survey reported student strikes at 278 colleges, with 14 schools officially closed.2

On Friday, May 15, after two nights of confrontations between police and students in Athens, Ohio, Ohio University’s campus was closed.3

The Ohio University Bobcats baseball team, which had moved up to 15th in the national rankings,4 was in Bowling Green, Ohio, for a weekend series against the Bowling Green State University Falcons when the school closed. The Bobcats clinched the Mid-American Conference championship with wins in both games of Saturday’s doubleheader, improving their conference record to 11-1 and securing an automatic bid to District 4 of the NCAA’s postseason tournament.5

“I remember coming home after clinching the MAC title in 1970 and finding [Athens] under martial law,” recalled Mike Schmidt, Ohio’s All-American shortstop. “All the lights were off; jeeps were everywhere and [the members of the baseball team] were escorted to our dorms. We had an hour to pack everything and leave.”6

Due to the school’s closing, there was some question as to whether the Bobcats would participate in the District 4 playoffs.7 Ohio University’s administration decided to keep their spring sports squads together off-campus, enabling those teams to compete in postseason play.8

The Bobcats, coached by Bob Wren, entered the postseason with a .335 team batting average. Six regulars hit over .300, led by first baseman Mike Hannah’s .457 average. Schmidt’s nine home runs during the regular season led the team.9 His 10th homer in District play tied the school’s single-season record,10 and he finished the year with a .333 batting average.11

In the opening game of District play, Ohio left fielder Tom Smith’s 10th-inning, two-run homer beat Big Ten champion Minnesota, 6-4.12 Two subsequent wins over Southern Illinois sent the Bobcats (31-4) to Omaha with the school’s first-ever College World Series berth, one of eight teams qualifying for a chance at a national championship.13

The Florida State Seminoles were 37-3-1 and ranked first in the country before a pair of losses at Florida dropped them out of the top spot.14 Florida State, an independent coached by Jack Stallings, was ranked third nationally when it received an at-large bid to the District 3 tournament. The pitching staff, led by right-hander Gene Ammann (12-0, 0.65 ERA), was the strength of the team. Leading the offense were second baseman Dick Nichols (.371 batting average), shortstop Greg Gromek (.341), third baseman Ron Cash (.331), and right fielder Johnny Grubb (.300).15

The Seminoles earned their ticket to Omaha with wins over East Carolina (2-0), Maryland (10-1), and Mississippi State (5-4). They stole an NCAA-record eight bases against Mississippi State but had to survive a ninth-inning rally that ended with a bases-loaded popup.16 “I think the biggest difference was our pitching,” said Stallings. “Everybody appeared to have a good hurler opening day, but then the other clubs started struggling. We still had several good ones left, however.”17

Ohio University, seeded fourth, defeated top-ranked University of Southern California, 4-1, in the first round at Omaha. Bobcat catcher Malcolm Smoot’s bases-loaded two-run single in the eighth broke open a tight game as starting pitcher Ed Robbins improved his record to 14-0.18 Ohio lost to second-ranked Texas, 7-2, in the next round, but defeated Iowa State, 9-6, to qualify for the semifinal round.

There, they were matched with the Seminoles. Florida State had started the tournament with shutout wins against Arizona (4-0) and Dartmouth (6-0). Despite a third-round 5-1 loss to Texas, the Seminoles made the final four of the double-elimination tournament. Ohio, USC, and Florida State all had one loss, with Texas the only undefeated team remaining.

Florida State had made four previous trips to Omaha, most recently in 1965, but never finished higher than fourth.19

Stallings decided to start right-hander Tom Henson against the Bobcats in a gametime decision. Ammann, who would have been pitching on three days’ rest after his two-hit shutout of Arizona, was still “a little stiff.” Henson, who had yet to pitch in the College World Series, was 3-0 for the season, with a 0.41 ERA, but a shoulder injury had limited him to only two innings over the last seven weeks.20

Robbins, who allowed only two hits in the win over USC, got the call for Ohio. He held the Seminoles to one hit and one walk over the first seven innings.21 But the Bobcats also failed to score, leaving runners at third base in both the third and fourth innings.

Ohio center fielder Gary Shade led off the third with an infield hit and took second on shortstop Gromek’s wild throw. He stole third, but after a popout and a walk, left fielder Joe Carbone grounded into a double play to end the threat.22

Schmidt started the Bobcats’ fourth inning with a walk, moved to second on a groundout, and took third on a poor throw after a fly out to left. Center fielder Grubb saved a run from scoring with a diving catch of Smoot’s drive to the gap in left-center.23

The game was still scoreless when Florida State first baseman Doug Kasimier started the eighth inning with a single up the middle. Right fielder Tom Porter walked. With two strikes, Henson’s sacrifice moved up both runners.

Another Florida State bunt led to the decisive runs. Nichols, the Seminoles’ leadoff batter, dropped it down the first-base line. Kasimier beat first baseman Hannah’s throw to the plate, which was wide and got past the catcher, Smoot. Porter scored on the throwing error. Nichols was credited with a single and an RBI; Florida State had broken through for a 2-0 lead.24

The Bobcats tried to rally in the bottom of the eighth. Schmidt singled with one out. Right fielder Terry Raszka singled, putting runners at first and second. Stallings called on left-hander Mac Scarce to relieve Henson. Hannah’s bouncer to third forced Schmidt. Scarce struck out Smoot, ending the Bobcats’ last scoring threat. Scarce struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to secure the Seminoles’ 2-0 victory.25

“Their big play was Henson’s ability to move both runners on that two-strike bunt,” said Ohio coach Wren. “It changed the game.”26

Henson allowed five hits and four walks, with only one strikeout, but pitched 7⅓ scoreless innings. “He gave a great performance,” said Seminoles coach Stallings. “As hot and muggy as it was and as big as he is – the heat affecting him more than a smaller man – he just hung in there and kept battling. Then [Scarce] got in there and did his usual job for us.”27

Robbins gave up only three hits and one earned run over nine innings of work, striking out two and walking two. He took his only loss of the year as the Bobcats, who stranded nine runners, were shut out for the first time in 39 games.28

“Both pitchers pitched a magnificent game,” said Wren. “We had our chances to score, but we couldn’t get the good base hit. Ed Robbins pitched a great game; we just didn’t get him any runs.”29

Postscript

Texas lost to USC when the Trojans came back from a six-run deficit to win, 8-7, in 14 innings.30 The Seminoles eliminated the Longhorns the next day, 11-2. Ammann’s streak of 41⅓ scoreless innings was broken in the fifth on a wind-blown homer but he went the distance for his second World Series win.31

Left-hander Pat Osburn (12-2), who pitched a four-hit shutout against Dartmouth in the second round, started against USC in the championship game. Florida State took the lead, 1-0, in the fifth inning, but Osburn twisted his knee hitting the bag at first on the scoring play and had to leave the game. Scarce entered the game in the seventh inning after USC tied the score, 1-1. He pitched 7⅓ innings of relief, his longest stretch of the season. After developing a blister on his pitching hand, he walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the 15th inning and was relieved. He took the loss when that runner scored on a bases-loaded infield single, giving USC the championship, 2-1.32

Schmidt and second-team All-American Hannah returned for Ohio’s next season.33 The Bobcats won their fourth straight MAC title but were eliminated by Southern Illinois in District play.34 Southern Illinois lost to USC in the College World Series championship game as the Trojans won the second of five consecutive national titles.

Philadelphia drafted Schmidt in the second round of the 1971 June amateur draft. He played his entire 18-year, Hall of Fame career with the Phillies. In the eighth round of the 1971 draft, Philadelphia picked Florida State’s Scarce, who pitched for the Phillies from 1972 to 1974. During his time with Philadelphia, Scarce roomed with Schmidt.35

Author’s Note

With the campus closed, Ohio University’s June graduation ceremonies were canceled. Almost 4,000 graduates received their diplomas by mail.36 A week after the Bobcats’ College World Series loss to Florida State, the campus was reopened for the school’s summer quarter.37 In August the author traveled to Athens to attended Ohio University’s freshman orientation.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Kurt Blumenau and edited by Len Levin.

Sources and Photo Credits

The box score for the June 16, 1970, game between Florida State and Ohio University can be found at Nolefan.org: https://www.nolefan.org/ref/ba1970_06_16_sid.pdf

The author also accessed Baseball-Reference.com for information on the 1970 District and College World Series games, players, teams, and other data:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/1970_College_World_Series

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/1970_CWS_District_Tournaments

Photos from Ohio University Archives are used by permission.

Notes

1 David Easterly, “Kent State Quiet as Stains Fade,” Dayton (Ohio) Daily News, May 5, 1970: 1.

2 “Troops Called to OU,” Tallahassee Democrat, May 15, 1970: 1.

3 David Herd, “Violence Closes Ohio University,” Dayton Daily News, May 15, 1970: 1.

4 “Ohio Jumps to 15th in National Ranking,” Athens (Ohio) Post, May 7, 1970: 5.

5 “OU Wins MAC Baseball,” Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, May 17, 1970: 62. In 1970 six schools were in the MAC; Ohio University, Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, Miami University (Oxford, Ohio), the University of Toledo, and Western Michigan University. The Bobcats concluded MAC play the following weekend, winning three games at Toledo to finish the regular season with a conference record of 14-1 and an overall record of 28-4.

6 “Schmidt Honored with Special Day; Gets Set to Assist with Third Century Campaign,” Ohio University Today, Summer 1990 issue: 4.

7 “OU Probably Will Compete in MAC Spring Finals,” Dayton Daily News, May 17, 1970: 76. Winners of eight districts would qualify for the NCAA’s Division 1 World Series, a double-elimination tournament held in Omaha. Automatic bids extended to the Big Ten champion (Minnesota) and the MAC champion (Ohio), plus two at-large bids (Notre Dame and Southern Illinois) made up the four-team District 4 field that met in Columbus, Ohio, for the right to advance to Omaha.

8 “Bobcats Get NCAA Berth,” Dayton Daily News, May 20, 1970: 40.

9 George Strode, “Ohio U’s Aim – Hold That Gopher,” Dayton Daily News, June 2, 1970: 11. Bob Wren was Ohio University’s head baseball coach from 1949 to 1972, compiling a 464-160-4 record. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1978. See ABCA’s web site, accessed October 6, 2022, to view Wren’s bio: https://www.abcahalloffame.org/inductees/1978_wren_robert?view=bio.

10 “SIU Splits Two Friday Contests,” Carbondale (Illinois) Southern Illinoisan, June 7, 1970: 11.

11 Steve Ferenchick and Henry Kirn, “Mike Schmidt,” SABR Baseball Biography Project (accessed October 20, 2022).

12 George Strode, “Kiser Grad’s Homer Wins for OU,” Dayton Daily News, June 5, 1970: 33.

13 “Ohio Moves to Finals,” Dayton Daily News, June 7, 1970: 74.

14 “Seminoles Seek to Bounce Back,” Tallahassee Democrat, May 15, 1970: 14.

15 Jim Chitwood, “Tribe Nine Opens Bid at District Tourney,” Tallahassee Democrat, May 28, 1970: 9. Greg Gromek and his brother Carl, a Florida State pitcher, were sons of former major-league pitcher Steve Gromek. Jack Stallings was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame in 1988. His teams went 1,257-799-10 during coaching stops at Wake Forest (1960-68), Florida State (1969-74), and Georgia Southern (1976-99). See ABCA’s website, accessed October 6, 2022, to view Stallings’ bio: https://www.abcahalloffame.org/inductees/1988_stallings_jack?view=bio.

16 Jim Chitwood, “Seminole Nine ‘Steals’ Its Way to Omaha Series,” Tallahassee Democrat, June 1, 1970: 13.

17 “FSU Nine Has Big Tests Ahead,” Tallahassee Democrat, June 5, 1970: 12.

18 “Trojans Upset in NCAA; Ohio U. Wins Opener, 4-1,” Los Angeles Times, June 13, 1970: 43.

19 Ohio University never made it past District play in 10 tries prior to 1970. Through 2022, the Bobcats have not played in another College World Series. Florida State has played in 22 College World Series through 2022, but has never won a national championship.

20 Larry Amison, “Two to Go for Going Seminoles,” Tallahassee Democrat, June 17, 1970: 23.

21 “8th a Bad Inning for OU’s Bobcats,” Dayton Daily News, June 17, 1970: 28.

22 Amison, “Two to Go for Going Seminoles.” Carbone became the head coach of Ohio University’s baseball team in 1989. He compiled a 689-611-2 record during 24 seasons at Ohio, and was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame in 2019. See ABCA’s website, accessed October 19, 2022, to view Carbone’s bio: https://www.abcahalloffame.org/inductees/2019_carbone_joe?view=bio.

23 Amison, “Two to Go for Going Seminoles.”

24 “8th a Bad Inning for OU’s Bobcats.”

25 “8th a Bad Inning for OU’s Bobcats.”

26 Amison, “Two to Go for Going Seminoles.”

27 Amison, “Two to Go for Going Seminoles.”

28 “8th a Bad Inning for OU’s Bobcats.”

29 Amison, “Two to Go for Going Seminoles.”

30 Amison, “Two to Go for Going Seminoles.”

31 Larry Amison, “Seminoles Rope Longhorns 11-2,” Tallahassee Democrat, June 18, 1970: 23. Ammann was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1970 College World Series.

32 Larry Amison, “Seminoles Go and Go and …,” Tallahassee Democrat, June 19, 1970: 12.

33 American Baseball Coaches Association website, accessed October 17, 2022: https://www.abca.org/ABCA/Awards/All-Americans/NCAA_Division_I/1970.aspx. Ed Robbins, a senior, was also a second-team All-American in 1970. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 21st round of the June 1970 amateur draft and pitched three seasons at the Class A level in the Pirates’ organization. Hannah was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fourth round of the 1972 January Draft-Secondary Phase, and played four seasons for Cleveland’s minor-league affiliates, including parts of two at Triple A for Oklahoma City.

34 Schmidt was a first team All-American in 1970 (.333 batting average with 10 home runs) and a second team All-American in 1971 (.331 with 10 home runs). See American Baseball Coaches Association website, accessed October 17, 2022, for the list of the 1971 All-Americans: https://www.abca.org/ABCA/Awards/All-Americans/NCAA_Division_I/1971.aspx

35 Rory Costello, “Mac Scarce,” SABR Baseball Biography Project (accessed October 20, 2022).

36 “OU Riot Workshop Urges Major Changes,” Dayton Daily News, June 13, 1970: 11.

37 Rudy Maxa, “University Opens for Summer,” Athens Post, June 26, 1970: 1.