Ron Fraser
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Ron Fraser (born in Nutley, New Jersey) was the college baseball coach at the University of Miami from 1963 to 1992.
Nicknamed the "Wizard of College Baseball," he was one of the most successful coaches in NCAA baseball history, and was also responsible for bringing college baseball to a new level of public awareness. The Miami Hurricanes baseball team went from being on the brink of being "contracted" to being the toast of college baseball under Fraser's tenure.
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[edit] Early years as player and coach
Born and raised in Nutley, New Jersey, Fraser was a three-sport letterman at Nutley High School where he graduated in 1953. After graduation, he played baseball for Florida State University from 1954 to 1956 as a relief pitcher. In 1963, Fraser took a head coaching job with the University of Miami, a school which did not offer its baseball players a scholarship. Even though the school did not begin to offer scholarships until 1973, Fraser built a respectable program through hard work and endless promotions. Some of the people Fraser brought in to bring publicity to the program were Major League Baseball Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Stan Musial, as well as legendary announcer Joe Garagiola. In 1974, Miami was runner-up to the University of Southern California, a perennial college baseball powerhouse. The previous year, Miami started a record streak of consecutive postseason appearances in college baseball, a record which as of the 2005 season is still being added to. Also in 1973, the Mark Light Stadium was built in large part to efforts by Fraser to build a privately funded stadium.
[edit] The 1980s
The 1980s were a time of great change in Miami athletics. The Miami Hurricanes football team, considered the team of the decade by many pundits, won championships in 1983, 1987 and 1989. While the success of Miami football seemed to eclipse much of the success of the baseball program, '80s Miami baseball was in many ways, the golden era of Fraser's Miami Hurricanes. Miami won their first two college world series in 1982 and 1985. While opponents' fans often criticized Hurricane football fans for not selling out the Orange Bowl. Mark Light Stadium was almost always a full house for Hurricane baseball games and Fraser's Hurricanes drew 1.27 million fans in the '80s, the best in college baseball. In 1992, Fraser retired as coach of Miami Baseball, and for a short time was head of the U.S. Amateur National Baseball Team. He can still often be found at University of Miami baseball games and the building that houses the baseball offices is named after him, the Ron Fraser Building.
[edit] Fraser's impact on college sports
Fraser's impact on college baseball, University of Miami athletics, and college athletics in general is hard to overestimate. In the mid 1970s when Hurricane football was on the verge of being eliminated, Fraser's resurrection of Miami baseball was a useful model. The University knew that with the right football coach in place, Miami could do the same thing in football that it did in baseball. Without that model, Miami might have just dropped football unceremoniously. Fraser was also instrumental in lobbying ESPN to broadcast college baseball games, something which is now part of their rotation of spring sports. Fraser also helped get the momentum going to reinstate Miami's dormant basketball program which has seen sporadic success. Ron Fraser's special gift for promotion has served as a model for many college Olympic sports programs around the country which have traditionally had difficulty attracting spectators.
[edit] Statistics and trivia
- Career record of 1271-438-9 (.742%)
- 20 straight NCAA postseason appearances
- 12 College World Series appearances
- 2 National Championships (1982, 1985)
- Fraser helped create the Miami Maniac one of the most recognisable mascots in college baseball. In a nationally televised contest on ESPN in 1986, the Maniac was married with some of the guests in attendance including McGruff the Crime Dog, the McDonalds Hamburglar, Bud Man and of course Sebastian the Ibis as best man.
- Some of Ron Fraser's other memorable promotions included:
- A Night with Ron Fraser- which was a $5,000 plate dinner served on the infield which included a 10 course meal including caviar, king crab, and pheasant under glass complete with a harp playing on the pitcher's mound and tableside violinists.
- Tax Night- Go to the game on April 15th, have your taxes done by professional tax specialists.
- Bathing Suit Day- Wear a bathing suit, get in free.
- Miami players were the first to wear green gloves on St. Patrick's Day
- Ron Fraser is both a member of the both Florida State University and University of Miami Athletic Halls of Fame.
- Ron Fraser was an inaugural member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
