The first Oregon sporting event was not football, basketball or track and field. It was baseball.
“The first intercollegiate sporting event played on the University of Oregon campus was a baseball game back in 1877, one year after the UO was established,” said former University of Oregon President Dave Frohnmayer in 2007 after an announcement to reinstate baseball was made.
The reinstatement ended a 26 year absence. Oregon was the only Pac-10 school without a team before its reinstatement. Even after the program’s reinstatement, the Ducks had to wait over a year to play baseball.
“I am obviously excited about the opportunity to return a piece of the proud tradition of intercollegiate athletics back to the university,” former director of athletics Pat Kilkenny said in 2007.
The Ducks won their home opener that season against the College World Series defending champions Fresno State by a score of 1-0.
In the past, the baseball team played at Howe Field, the current home of the Oregon softball team, until the program was cut due to financial considerations following the 1980-81 season.
Now at PK Park, the Oregon baseball team walks by the murals of honored players and coaches, constantly urging members of the team to make history. Joe Gordon is one player of those players the current Oregon baseball team walks by every game and practice.
Gordon helped end Washington’s superiority with consecutive Northern Division championships in 1934-35. The Portland native played 11 Major League Baseball seasons that resulted in a Hall of Fame induction.
Debuting in 1938, Gordon played for the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, winning five World Series between the two teams. The nine-time All-Star and American League MVP in 1942 managed three different ball clubs after he retired in 1950.
Earl Averill Jr. is another who is remembered in the Oregon Hall of Fame. He was Oregon’s first baseball All-American and posted at least a .300 batting average in each of his three seasons (1951-53).
As a sophomore, Averill Jr. hit .439 — the highest average in the division of the Pacific Coast Conference. Averill Jr. went on to play 11 seasons professionally for five different teams.
The two-time All-American Larry Hanson is the only player in Oregon history to win the Pac-8 Conference batting title, hitting .454 in 1967. In his final two seasons he was awarded All-Coast, Pac-8 All-Conference, NCAA All-District 8 and All-American honors.
The names of players and coaches don’t stop there. George Shaw, Dave Roberts, Don Kirsch, Mel Krause and Terry Maddox are some of the baseball greats Oregon has seen and still honor.
With the program on the rise, the heroes of the past will likely be joined by the players of today.
Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @abant3