Wichita State Baseball Comes Back

There were no bats or balls on the campus of Wichita State University in the spring of 1977. Five years later, the resurrected varsity baseball program was in the final game of the College World Series, fulfilling the seemingly impossible promise made by Gene Stephenson when he began recruiting players to a place that didn't even have a practice field. Stephenson would lead the Shockers for over three decades, but those first five years with the team set him on the course that put him among the winningest coaches in college baseball history..

John E. Brown is a freelance writer and author who has penned almost 5, 000 pieces throughout his career. Brown has ghostwritten six biographies and corporate histories. He has also worked in marketing, advertising, television and radio. Brown and his wife divide their time between Wichita and the Kansas Flint Hills. Joe Carter made himself a baseball player. A raw athletic talent, he overcame his weaknesses until he became a consensus All-American and the College Player of the Year in 1981. A five-time all-star, he led Toronto to its second consecutive World Series championship with a historic walk-off home run in 1993. Coach Gene Stephenson was the first NCAA head coach in the 154-year history of collegiate baseball to win 1, 800 Division I games. His teams have made seven College World Series appearances, four NCAA College World Series championship finals and, in 1989, won the College World Series Championship.