The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Baseball History
2/7/2005 | Baseball
Feb. 7, 2005
Ole Miss Baseball History in PDF Format
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Having fielded teams since the late 19th century, the University of Mississippi boasts a long and distinguished baseball history. While the Rebels have games recorded as early as 1893, what is commonly referred to as the "modern era" is considered to have started in 1947.
Through the years, Ole Miss has had a total of 20 coaches on record, six during the modern era, with Mike Bianco being the latest when he was named the Rebels' field skipper in June 2000.
Ole Miss has won six Southeastern Conference championships and has made 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament. Four times, the Rebels have advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
1B/LHP Stephen Head became the third two-time All-American in school history in 2004 and was a member of the 2003 USA National Team that won the silver medal at the Pan American Games.  | |
Through the years, Ole Miss has produced 12 All-American performers, with 1B/LHP Stephen Head earning All-America honors the past two seasons.
In 2003, Head became Ole Miss' first-ever National Freshman of the Year when he was selected as one of four National Freshmen of the Year by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. Last year, Head became Ole Miss' first-ever finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, amateur baseball's most prestigious award.
The Rebels have also had twenty-seven former players go on to play in the Major Leagues.
THE EARLY YEARS
The earliest game on record is a 6-3 loss to Mississippi A&M in Starkville during 1893. While the Rebels lost that first game, they did see their fair share of successes during the program's early years.
The University of Mississippi has been fielding collegiate baseball teams since the late 19th-century. | |
Coach Ashford produced the first winning season in 1902, posting a 9-8 on-the-field ledger. Ole Miss would end up finishing the year 10-7 due to a win being forfeited by Alabama.
J.W. McCall's 1910 squad posted an 11-3 record, and in 1914, Baseball Hall of Famer Casey Stengel coached Ole Miss in the spring. Stengel helped the team to a 13-9 finish.
After playing for the University of Mississippi, brothers "Hub" Walker (left) and "Gee" Walker went on to enjoy baseball careers in the Major Leagues. Both broke into the American League with the Detroit Tigers in 1931. They also played for Detroit in 1935 when the Tigers won the World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals. | |
In 1923, Pete Shields became the program's head coach and spent nine successful seasons at Ole Miss. His first team ended the season with a 15-game win streak to finish with an 18-3-1 mark. Shields would suffer just one sub-.500 year, a 2-8-1 ledger in 1928, as he compiled a 114-59-2 mark with the Rebels.
C.M. "Tad" Smith followed Shields as the head coach in 1932. Smith would coach the Rebels for a total of 16 seasons from 1932-1942 and from 1946-1950 as he led Ole Miss into the program's modern era.
In 1940, Sisler Johnson recorded the first no-hitter in school history during an 8-0 win over Mississippi College.
Goat Hale coached the 1943 team, going 2-10. Ole Miss didn't field teams in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II, and when the Rebels returned to the field in 1946, Smith was back as the head coach.
He would coach Ole Miss for the next five seasons to finish with a record of 107-143-4.
Charlie Conerly highlighted Smith's final seasons by becoming the first .400-hitter on record in school history, with a .451 average in 1948.
SWAYZE PUTS REBELS IN NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Tom Swayze compiled a 361-202-2 record in 21 seasons with the Rebels from 1951-1971. | |
Swayze's squads would suffer only three losing seasons and recorded 11 consecutive winning campaigns from 1954-1964.
The 1956 season would be the Rebels' breakout season under Swayze. Ole Miss would finish the regular season 18-5 overall and 13-3 in the SEC to tie Florida for the regular-season title. While the Gators would defeat the Rebels in a SEC playoff series, two games to none, Ole Miss still received a bid to the NCAA District III Playoffs.
Ole Miss would go 3-1 at the NCAA District III Playoffs, defeating Duke twice out of the loser's bracket to earn the school's first-ever trip to the College World Series.
In their first trip to Omaha, Ole Miss went 2-2 to finish third -- the Rebels' best-ever showing in the World Series.
The 1956 campaign also saw the first no-hitter of the modern era when Cecil Burford blanked Vanderbilt 7-0. Also, second baseman Bernie Schreiber became the first Rebel to garner All-America honors.
Ole Miss would claim its first of four conference crowns under Swayze in 1959, capturing the SEC Western Division title and defeating Georgia Tech two games to one in the SEC Championship Series.
The Rebels repeated as SEC champs in 1960, rolling to a 22-3 record, which was highlighted by a school-record 17-game winning streak.
Ole Miss would again win SEC titles in 1964 and 1969. The Rebels also played for the conference title in 1967, losing to Auburn in the SEC Championship series.
Following the Rebels' conference titles in 1964 and 1969, Ole Miss earned a berth in the NCAA District III Playoffs and advanced to the College World Series in both years.
Swayze would conclude his tenure with a 25-8 record in 1970 and a 16-21 mark in 1971.
During his 21 seasons with the Rebels, Swayze would be honored as the SEC's Coach of the Year four times, winning the award in 1959, 1960, 1964 and 1969.
In addition to Schreiber, Ole Miss would also have four All-Americas under Swayze: third baseman Jake Gibbs in 1960 and 1961, shortstop Donnie Kessinger in 1964, shortstop Jimmy Yawn in 1966 and third baseman Whitey Adams in 1970.
GIBBS LEADS REBELS BACK TO OMAHA
Following a Major League career with the New York Yankees from 1962-1971, former two-time All-America Jake Gibbs returned to Oxford to lead the Ole Miss baseball program in 1972.
He quickly reversed the Rebels' fortunes following a 16-21 ledger in 1971. In his first year, Gibbs guided Ole Miss to a 28-16 record, winning the fifth SEC championship in school history and leading the Rebels to their fourth visit to the College World Series.
Gibbs would also lead Ole Miss to its sixth SEC championship in 1977, when the Rebels hosted and won the inaugural SEC Tournament at old Swayze Field.
The 1977 team would also qualify for the NCAA Southern Regional, going 1-2 to finish the year with a 39-19 record for a then-school record for wins in a season.
Gibbs would coach the Rebels through 1990 season and leave as the school's all-time winningest coach, compiling a 485-389-8 record.
REBELS GET NEW HOME
On February 19, 1989, Ole Miss opened its current home facility, Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field, with a doubleheader sweep of Cumberland University. A crowd of 1,016 braved the bitter cold that day to be part of an historic day in the school's baseball history.
Ole Miss officially dedicated its new home later on April 22, 1989 as a sellout crowd of 2,967 watched the Rebels down Kentucky 4-3.
OLE MISS RETURNS TO THE POSTSEASON
Former Ole Miss All-American Don Kessinger guided the Rebels to a school-record 40 wins in 1995. | |
Kessinger would spend six years as the Ole Miss skipper, leading the Rebels to four 30-win seasons. His 1995 team produced a school record for wins, going 40-22 and earning the school's first NCAA Regional bid since 1977.
Led by All-America performers David Dellucci and Jamey Price, Ole Miss finished on the verge of its first World Series appearance since 1972, placing second at the NCAA Atlantic I Regional behind host-Florida State.
Following the 1996 season, Kessinger resigned his head coaching position to take an administrative post within the athletic department. He finished with a six-year record of 185-153.
Pat Harrison, the head coach at Pepperdine University, was hired to replace Kessinger. Harrison would coach the Rebels from 1997-2000, recording three 30-win seasons and leading Ole Miss to an appearance in the 1999 NCAA Regionals at College Station, Texas. The 1999 squad went 34-28 and set a school record for SEC wins with 17.
Harrison would resign following the 2000 season with a 116-107 record at Ole Miss.
A NEW ERA BEGINS
Head coach Mike Bianco has guided the Rebels to three NCAA Regional appearances in four years at Ole Miss. | |
A former player and assistant coach under the legendary Skip Bertman at LSU, Bianco came to Ole Miss after three successful years as the head coach at McNeese State.
His first season with the Rebels proved to be one of the most exciting in school history. Picked to finish sixth in the SEC Western Division, Ole Miss tied for second in the SEC West with a 17-13 record. The Rebels capped the season as the No. 2 seed at the NCAA New Orleans Regionals, and finished the year with a 39-23-1 record, one win shy of the school record for wins.
Ole Miss also spent 11 weeks ranked in one of the four major college baseball polls, climbing to as high as No. 9 in the April 30 Collegiate Baseball Top 30. It was the Rebels' first top 10 national ranking since finishing the 1972 season ranked No. 8.
Ole Miss went 37-19 in Bianco's second year with the Rebels. The Rebels also achieved their highest national ranking since 1969. After winning 2-of-3 at No. 2 Alabama, April 19-21, Ole Miss was ranked No. 6 in the April 22 Baseball America Top 25.
The Rebels made their second NCAA Regional appearance under Bianco in 2003, earning the No. 2 seed at the NCAA Houston Regional. Ole Miss finished the year with a 35-27 record.
Last season, marked a season of firsts for Ole Miss. The Rebels went 39-21, including 18-12 in the SEC to set a school record for SEC wins in a season. Ole Miss also made its third NCAA Regional appearance under Bianco, as the Rebels played host to its first-ever NCAA Regional.
Ole Miss would spent eight straight weeks ranked in the top 10 of the country during the 2004 season, receiving a ranking as high as No. 4 in the March 29 Collegiate Baseball poll.
Sophomore 1B/LHP Stephen Head would earn SEC Co-Player of the Year honors and earned All-America distinction for the second straight season. He was also a finalist for the 2004 Golden Spikes Award.
With the success on the field, the Rebels set new home attendance records in 2004. Ole Miss drew a school-record 121,457 in 35 home dates to rank eighth nationally in total attendance. A record crowd of 9,260 watched Ole Miss defeat No. 6 Tennessee 4-3 on April 17.
The Rebels would also set a school three-game series attendance record when a total of 23,831 watched the LSU series on the final weekend of the regular season.
All total, 12 of the top 15 crowds at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field have come during Bianco's tenure with the Rebels. Including nine of the 12 crowds of over 5,000 in the stadium's history.
Entering the 2005 season, Bianco has compiled a 150-90-1 record, with the 150 wins being the most in any four-year period in school history.
