Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Thursday plans to honor the 1971 baseball team throughout the 2021 season to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the program’s College World Series appearance.
When weather permits, UTRGV will paint a commemorative logo behind home plate that will be at UTRGV Baseball Stadium throughout the season. UTRGV will begin flying a flag in honor of the 1971 team as well.
Additionally, UTRGV Athletics is planning a series of stories to go on GoUTRGV.com throughout the season, remembering the season through the eyes of the players on the team.
UTRGV Athletics intends to welcome the team back to campus to celebrate in-person during the 2022 season.
The 1971 team finished the season with 44 victories, an all-time record for any Texas college or university at the time. The team finished fourth at the College World Series with a 2-2 record and were selected as the top-ranked team in the country at season’s end.
Legacy institution Pan American College opened the College World Series with a 5-4 los to Southern Illinois before bouncing back with an 8-2 victory over Seton Hall and a 1-0 win over Harvard. That setup a semifinals rematch against Southern Illinois, which Pan American lost 8-6.
To get to the College World Series, Pan American had to get past a Texas team that had knocked them out of the 1968 and 1970 NCAA District VI Championship Series in Austin. This time, playing in San Antonio, Hall of Famers Lupe Salinas and Gary Doyle pitched back-to-back shutouts to secure 1-0 and 4-0 victories and send their team to Omaha. It was the first time Texas had been shutout in consecutive games in 62 years.
For his efforts, head coach Al Ogletree was named Coach of the Year by The Sporting News and South Plains Professional Scouts Association. Ogletree went on to wear the number 44 on his uniform for the rest of his career to commemorate the team by recognizing the number of wins they had.
The recognitions flowed for the student-athletes as well, as James Tyrone earned All-American honors from the NCAA, AABC, The Sporting News and TOPS. Mike Duffey was also named an All-American by The Sporting News. Tyrone, Doyle, Salinas and Reggie Tredaway were also All-District VI honorees.
The team was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
In total, the baseball program has reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times, including 10 trips following the College World Series appearance.
 Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Thursday plans to honor the 1971 baseball team throughout the 2021 season to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the program’s College World Series appearance.){kind=link}