Celebrate the 8s: 1978
May 17, 2018 | Baseball, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
Unfinished business.
That was the motivation for the 1978 USC baseball team, which won the national title and posted the best record in school history (54-9), a mark that still stands four decades later.
In 1977, the talented squad came up just short of a trip to the College World Series in Omaha, losing two one-run games to Cal State Los Angeles in the West Regional.
"The year before stuck in the craw of all the juniors of that time," according to Spiro Psaltis, a freshman walk-on on the 1978 team. "Traditionally, most of them would have gone on to professional baseball, but almost to a man, every guy came back. These seniors were the catalyst of our team and they all said, 'We have a job to do.'"
The 1978 squad started relatively slowly, going 7-4 in its first 11 games, but caught fire and finished with the best record in college baseball that year.
The team was powered by a dominant pitching staff, which Psaltis admits he was lucky to be a part of.
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Four Trojan pitchers — Bill Bordley, Rod Boxberger, Brian Hayes and Ernie Mauritson — earned at least 11 wins, making NCAA history. On the year, the USC pitching staff averaged a 2.63 ERA.
Anthony Muñoz (pictured, right), who's better known for playing football at USC and being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a 14-year NFL career, also pitched for the '78 squad.
"[USC head coach Rod] Dedeaux was very happy to have a celebrity like Anthony Muñoz with us," Psaltis explained. "USC has a history of football players that also played baseball: quarterback Rodney Peete, running back Anthony Davis. Jack Del Rio was a catcher. Rod loved to have athletes, if they were good enough."
Psaltis barely cracked the rotation, but coming from a family of Trojans, he was just happy to be a part of the team and learn from some of the best.
Psaltis' father, Tony, played basketball at USC from 1952-56, helping the Trojans reach the Final Four in 1954 before becoming an assistant coach. His mother also attended USC, as did his two younger siblings, and now, his niece and nephew.
"Walking on is such an honor because it ended up being arguably the greatest college baseball team of all time," Psaltis said. "Winning championships in '68 and then concurrently in '70, '71, '72, '73 and '74 and just missing prior to me coming in, you would wonder why they'd even take any walk-ons. But I walked on to a machine."
The machine barreled its way to the Pac-8 conference title, then went 3-0 at the NCAA West Regional to earn a trip to Omaha.
The Trojans beat Miami, Michigan, Arizona State and UNC to set up a rematch will Arizona State for the championship.
"They got us a couple of times early in the season, but we knew we were going to see them again," said Psaltis of the Sun Devils. "It turned into a rivalry just like UCLA. It was war. Back in the day they allowed a little more chatterboxing, and it got ruthless."
But the Trojans dispatched of the Devils easily in the title game, going up 10-0 before eventually winning by a 10-3 margin. USC's 11th national title would be the last of Dedeaux's tenure as head coach.
The 1978 team, along with the four other USC baseball teams to win championships in years ending in 8 (1948, 1958, 1968, 1998) will be honored at next month's College World Series in Omaha.
That was the motivation for the 1978 USC baseball team, which won the national title and posted the best record in school history (54-9), a mark that still stands four decades later.
In 1977, the talented squad came up just short of a trip to the College World Series in Omaha, losing two one-run games to Cal State Los Angeles in the West Regional.
"The year before stuck in the craw of all the juniors of that time," according to Spiro Psaltis, a freshman walk-on on the 1978 team. "Traditionally, most of them would have gone on to professional baseball, but almost to a man, every guy came back. These seniors were the catalyst of our team and they all said, 'We have a job to do.'"
The 1978 squad started relatively slowly, going 7-4 in its first 11 games, but caught fire and finished with the best record in college baseball that year.
The team was powered by a dominant pitching staff, which Psaltis admits he was lucky to be a part of.
Â
Anthony Muñoz (pictured, right), who's better known for playing football at USC and being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame after a 14-year NFL career, also pitched for the '78 squad.
"[USC head coach Rod] Dedeaux was very happy to have a celebrity like Anthony Muñoz with us," Psaltis explained. "USC has a history of football players that also played baseball: quarterback Rodney Peete, running back Anthony Davis. Jack Del Rio was a catcher. Rod loved to have athletes, if they were good enough."
Psaltis barely cracked the rotation, but coming from a family of Trojans, he was just happy to be a part of the team and learn from some of the best.
Psaltis' father, Tony, played basketball at USC from 1952-56, helping the Trojans reach the Final Four in 1954 before becoming an assistant coach. His mother also attended USC, as did his two younger siblings, and now, his niece and nephew.
"Walking on is such an honor because it ended up being arguably the greatest college baseball team of all time," Psaltis said. "Winning championships in '68 and then concurrently in '70, '71, '72, '73 and '74 and just missing prior to me coming in, you would wonder why they'd even take any walk-ons. But I walked on to a machine."
The machine barreled its way to the Pac-8 conference title, then went 3-0 at the NCAA West Regional to earn a trip to Omaha.
The Trojans beat Miami, Michigan, Arizona State and UNC to set up a rematch will Arizona State for the championship.
"They got us a couple of times early in the season, but we knew we were going to see them again," said Psaltis of the Sun Devils. "It turned into a rivalry just like UCLA. It was war. Back in the day they allowed a little more chatterboxing, and it got ruthless."
But the Trojans dispatched of the Devils easily in the title game, going up 10-0 before eventually winning by a 10-3 margin. USC's 11th national title would be the last of Dedeaux's tenure as head coach.
The 1978 team, along with the four other USC baseball teams to win championships in years ending in 8 (1948, 1958, 1968, 1998) will be honored at next month's College World Series in Omaha.
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