When asked about his Broncs’ team in 1971, former head coach Al Ogletree always responds, “I had all the young men that no one else wanted, but we had a good year.”
A ‘good year’ could be the understatement of the century as the Broncs played the roles of underdogs during the District VI regional tournament. The Broncs, however, pulled off one of the greatest upsets in program history by shutting out the University of Texas twice. It was the first time the Longhorns were shutout in consecutive games in 62 years as Pan American was crowned District VI Champions.
“Lupe Salinas pitched a 1-0 shutout then Gary Doyle pitched the second with a 4-0 victory that sent us to the College World Series in Omaha,” Ogletree said.
At the College World Series, the Broncs fell to Southern Illinois University, 5-4, in the first round.
“It was a close game, which would have been even closer, but we had a base runner miss third and that run would have made it a tie ball game. Salinas pitched well enough to win, but sometimes those are the breaks,” Ogletree stated.
The opening game loss sparked an even more determined Pan Am team heading into their second game match-up. The Broncs faced Seton Hall, and with the strong pitching of Doyle, the Broncs won 8-2. As game three approached, Ogletree decided on Andre Rabouin to take the mound, and he hurled a complete-game shutout against Harvard, 1-0.
“It was the first time he had ever pitched a nine-inning game, and he was given a standing ovation from his team when he got on the bus to go back to the hotel.”
The final game of the CWS was a rematch between the Broncs and the Southern Illinois team that handed the team their earlier loss.
“We didn’t understand why we were facing this team again. It didn’t really make sense because there were teams we hadn’t faced yet. The guys played with a lot of heart, but we lost it in the final inning.”
The Broncs saw their season come to an end after leading the game until the final inning, when they fell behind 8-6 and lost.
Although the season had come to a close, there was much to celebrate. The 1971 Broncs finished the season with 44 victories, an all-time record for any Texas college or university at the time. The Broncs 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.
Ogletree was named College Coach of the Year by both
The Sporting News and the South Plains Professional Scouts Association.
With a team full of talented, hard-working athletes, most of their success could be attributed to the coaching methods that Ogletree brought to the field everyday. The strategy paid off as the Broncs led the nation in fielding.
“I made sure the team was fundamentally-sound. We were skilled because we worked on the basics everyday in practice. I also made sure we covered everything that might happen in a game. We examined every game situation, and how we were going to tackle it,” Ogletree said.
In those first seasons at the helm of the program, Ogletree instilled in his players the tradition of hard work and a winning attitude that continued with him through his 29 years at Pan American.
“I continued to wear the uniform number 44. Those 44 victories gave me a 100-32 record in those first three seasons at Pan American University.”
During that memorable season, James Tyrone was named All-American for the second consecutive season by the NCAA, AACBC and Topps. He hit .349 with 55 stolen bases. Tyrone and teammate Mike Duffey were selected as honorable mention All-Americans by
The Sporting News.
After shattering all of their attendance records that season, Pan American University went to work on the building of a new stadium to be ready for competition in 1974. The new stadium had the seating capacity for 4,200 Broncs fans, and they needed it. The Broncs made the NCAA Tournament in each of the next five seasons and hosted the Midwest Regional in 1976.
In total, the Broncs have reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times, including 10 trips following the College World Series appearance. The Broncs have also had 12 winning seasons since 1971.
Even with all the success that followed, however, the 1971 campaign currently ranks as the greatest season in program history.
