A quartet of talented lefties from the 1958 USC Trojans. Left to right - Bruce Gardner (Edmonton, Regina, 1958-59) Jim Barudoni (Williston 1958) Pat Gillick (Vulcan, Granum, Edmonton 1956-58), Bob Blakeslee (Williston, 1958-59), all of whom played in Western Canada leagues. (USC photos courtesy Murray Cockburn)
Ace starter Bill Thom (Williston 1958) (above left) and reliever Jim Conroy (Williston 1958) (above right) were among the USC 1958 right-handers. They too suited up in Western Canada. Thom was named the MVP of the College World Series as he pitched the Trojans to the '58 title.
Trojans' first sacker Ken Guffey (Edmonton, Williston 1956-58) (left).
Rod Dedeaux was named coach of the year by the American Association of College Baseball Coaches. Dedeaux directed the Southern California Trojans to victory in the 1958 College World Series.
USC scored a remarkable triumph after being upset in the opening round. It was Dedeaux' first national championship.
Also see, USC, 1958 (which includes photos of both the 1958 Varsity and Frosh teams).
USC & the 1958 College World Series :
USC 0 Holy Cross 3 : Holy Cross Crusaders upset tournament favorite Southern California 3-0 in the opening round of the College World Series. Hal Deitz held the Trojans to seven hits. Holy Cross had nine hits to hand Bill Thom his first defeat in eight decisions this season. Thom had 12 strikeouts in the eight frames he worked. Jim Barudoni finished for the Trojans. Ken Komodzinski paced the Crusaders with a homer, triple and single.
USC 4 Arizona 0 : Lefty Bruce Gardner tossed a six-hit shutout as Southern California downed Arizona 4-0 to advance in the College World Series. It was Gardner's 12th win of the season against a single defeat.
USC 12 Northern Colorado 1 : Little lefty Bob Blakeslee fired a two-hitter as Southern California trounced Colorado State College 12-1 in the third round of the College World Series. The 21-year-old, 155-pound Blakeslee allowed a run in the 4th inning without giving up a hit. A walk, two errors and a fielder's choicey resulted in the line marker against him. Mike Castanon had three hits, including a triple and drove in four. He also had two stolen bases. Mike Blewett had a pair of triples.
USC 6 Holy Cross 2 : The Trojans whipped Holy Cross 6-2 to eliminate the Crusaders from the College World Series. Southern Cal jumped on Hal Deitz for a run in the first on Ken Guffey's triple and added four more in the second on six singles. Bruce Gardner picked up the win in relief of starter Jim Barudoni.
USC 7 Missouri 0 : Bill Thom pitched a three-hit shutout and knocked in three runs with a double as Southern California downed Missouri 7-0 to force a sudden-death final match with Missouri for the College World Series championship. The Trojans scored all their runs in the 9th inning as Ron Fairly, USC's leading slugger with a dozen doubles and eight homers, singled to open the inning. John Werhas reached on a bunt single and Fred Scott walked to load the bases. John O'Donoghue walked Don Biasotti to force in the first run. Bill Heath singled in Werhas and Thom doubled to clear the bases. USC added a pair off reliever Bob Cooper. The Trojans received a break when Missouri ace Ernie Nevers (another of the Western Canada players) was declared ineligible for the series.
USC 8 Missouri 7 (12 innings) : Mike Blewett's two out safety in the 12th inning drove in Rex Johnston with the winning run as Southern California edged Missouri 8-7 to captured the College World Series title. The Trojans had come from behind with seven runs in the 4th inning to take a 7-4 lead. Missouri rebounded with three in the top of the 8th frame to tie. Bill Thom was the winner with 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Starter Bruce Gardner was driven from the mound in Missouri's four-run second inning. Bob Blakeslee pitched into the 8th.
1958 Western Canada Snapshots Page One >>>