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NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Jun 30, 2010 8:35:54 AM

OMAHA, Nebraska – When Texas and Washington State squared off in the title game of the 1950 Men's College World Series, the players had no idea they were starting a tradition that would last six decades.

The surviving players on those two teams, eight from the Longhorns and two from the Cougars, were honored in a pregame ceremony Monday night at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium.

The first time any of them stepped on the field,  the facility was called Omaha Municipal Stadium, and it was the first time the city of Omaha hosted the event. The players from Washington State didn't even know where Omaha was. Now, the city is the ultimate destination for college baseball players.

When the surviving members of the team were announced, the South Carolina and UCLA teams, as well as the 23,181 in attendance, gave them a standing ovation.

"I appreciate that we were asked to come back," said Irving Waghalter, who played second base for the 1950 NCAA champion Texas team. "It is unbelievable the reception we've received. We all feel that way."

He attended the event with his wife Edie, to whom he has been married for 49 years. The couple also owned a beauty supply business in Shreveport, Louisiana, where they currently live.

Waghalter's Longhorns defeated Washington State, 3-0, in the 1950 CWS final. It was the second straight national title for the Longhorns, who also took the 1949 championship in Wichita, Kansas.

Bob McGuire, the Cougars' centerfielder and captain, said it was remarkable his team was able to stay in the game since Texas drew double-digit walks through five innings.

He also remembered that the entire CWS was plagued by soggy weather.

"It was really muddy in the outfield," McGuire said. "They didn't have very good drainage in the outfield in those days. I just remember standing in mud. It seemed like it rained almost every day."

Many of the Texas and Washington State alumni were invited back to Omaha to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the CWS 10 years ago.

"I like to stretch it out by saying we had around 5,000 people at the championship game, but it was more like 2,000 (actually 2,384)," said Waghalter, who will turn 81 in August. "Now there are 24,000 people here at every game. That is a big difference. We give all the glory and credit to Omaha for making the College World Series what it is."

McGuire, who lives in Bothell, Washington, said teams played only around 30 games in a season during his era. In 1950, Washington State was 27-4.

This season, national champion South Carolina took the diamond for 79 games and UCLA for 77.

To advance to the CWS these days, teams have to win a four-team, double-elimination regional and a best-of-three super regional. It wasn't quite that way in 1950.

Washington State played in the Pacific Coast Conference, which later became the Pac-8 and then the Pac-10. The Cougars won the North Division all four years of McGuire's eligibility but lost to California in 1947 and USC in 1948 and '49.

"We finally were able to beat Stanford my senior year and qualify for the College World Series," said the 83-year-old McGuire, who is retired after being a high school and college baseball coach.

Monday's reunion event also drew some youth to the park in 13-year-old Thomas Burrows. His grandfather Eddie Burrows played on the 1950 Texas team. Eddie's son Bryan was a third baseman on the Longhorns' 1983 NCAA championship squad.

The youngest Burrows was able to go on the field during the ceremony honoring his grandfather and other players.

"It was pretty cool to be able to do that," Burrows said. "This is my first time being in Omaha. I watch the College World Series all the time on television."

Burrows plays second base and pitches on his youth baseball team. Of course, he has dreams of keeping up the family tradition of collecting another NCAA championship.

"I would be willing to play for whoever would take me, but playing at Texas would be great," Burrows said.

If he is able to make it to Omaha in the future, it will be at TD Ameritrade Park, which will take over as the new home of the CWS in 2011.