Speaker 1 00:00:11 Hello, welcome to the roundhouse podcast. This is Paul Saul and Trop of Wichita state university, strategic communications. We appreciate you listening. We are going to talk more shocker baseball today. We're celebrating the 1982 shocker baseball team first team to go to the college world series ended up runner up in that tournament. We have Dave Lucas who was a important part of that team. Dave played shortstop for the shockers in 1982 in 1983. He hit 3 27 15 doubles in 1982. For that college world series team 1983, hit 2 86 was a first team, all Missouri valley conference player and helped the shockers get back to NCAA regional play. Dave is from Fullerton, California, uh, transferred to Wichita state from Santa Ana junior college for that 1982 season had some big moments in the college world series. Uh, he hit a two run single off Texas picture of Calvin.
Speaker 1 00:01:05 Shiralee part of a six run third inning, uh, in an elimination game. The shockers went on to win that game eight to four knocked the Longhorns out and that sent the shockers into the championship round against Miami Lucas went to for five in that game, drove in three runs. So Dave let's start there because I think Texas and Calvin's for all these kinds of only central part of the lore of, of that team, uh, had a rough outing against Texas too early in the season, and then came back and eliminated the Longhorns in Omaha. What do you remember about facing Texas facing that pitching staff to start the season and then seeing the Longhorns again in Omaha?
Speaker 2 00:01:42 Well, Texas, you know, they kind of had a, they kind of the three-headed monster on their pitching staff. If I recall they had a Roger Clemens, Calvin Geraldo and another pitcher named Mike cable. Um, the, you know, those three guys were kind of like our top three guys. They were very tough. Anytime they're on the mound, Texas, I know expected to win. Um, of course that year we started off the year pretty slow and it was a rough go the first 10 games and we went out west and I went to Texas and you know, it wasn't a very good star, but, um, you know, playing out of Texas was very tough with our pitching staff
Speaker 1 00:02:19 And there was a D was that helpful? You'd seen them before then you saw them in Omaha. Did that help at all or had, you know, there've been a lot of time that passed. Was it not much of a factor?
Speaker 2 00:02:28 You know, it was so early in the season when we played them and we went down to Austin and played and we came out of of course, Wichita and out of the cold and didn't really have a chance to practice much outside, uh, went from an instant in indoor facility and then went there and, you know, we got kind of whooped and it was kind of an eye opening deal the first 10 games that year. So, and then facing them later on, which was basically maybe 80 games later. Um, we knew at that time we could definitely play with anybody in the country.
Speaker 1 00:02:59 So you grew up in California, grew up pretty close to the Cal state Fullerton campus, if I'm understanding that correctly, uh, describe the recruiting process. What was that like back in the eighties and, and how you chose to attend Wichita state?
Speaker 2 00:03:12 Well, um, Cal state Fullerton and had a very good shortstop at that time, our member. Uh, so they really weren't even in the, in the market of looking for a shortstop. And I, you know, I, because of my size, I wasn't the biggest guy ever on any team, you know, going back from little league to Wichita state and, uh, you know, someone with the junior college route initially in Southern California, there's some very good junior colleges. It's kind of the hotbed of athletics and sports and decided to go that route to junior college instead of going and maybe sitting on a bench at a four year school initially. Um, and, uh, so that's kind of where that was. And, and, uh, I know I'll get Greta, which was the coach of the time. We had talked later in the season and, you know, come to find out, we ended up going head to head in the world series, um, later that year. So it was kind of ironic.
Speaker 1 00:04:05 Yeah. The shocker is defeated. Uh, Fullerton, I believe that was the college world series opener for Wichita state. Let me, let me make sure I've got that correct here. I know they defeated them. Yeah, yeah. Uh, seven to nothing in the first college world series game of the 1982 college world series. Tell us about choosing baseball as your sport. When did you develop the, the love and, and when did that become clear to you that that was going to be your path?
Speaker 2 00:04:32 Oh, you know, at an early age, you know, when you were 7, 8, 9 years old, starting out playing, you know, the time playing, you know, baseball, football, basketball, and, you know, because of my size, like, like I said, you know, going to Wichita state, I was probably, you know, five foot, six, maybe 155 pounds soaking wet. And, you know, I just knew that I wasn't going to be a, you know, maybe a point guard on some basketball team in high school and, you know, football, wasn't it, you know, I just knew I had very, very good early success when I was in high school and did very well and started at a young age. And, you know, it made all league as a, as a sophomore and then all orange county. And yeah, I just knew that baseball was where I needed to focus my attention on.
Speaker 1 00:05:18 Uh, we all know the stories about the early days of shocker baseball after Jeanne Stevenson revived the program in 1978. And this is all, all just a central part of the, you know, the, the birth of shocker baseball, the players dressing in the cars wasn't much seating at the ballpark and it was constant, you know, agitating. When are we going to get a stadium built? The AED would talk about building a stadium, uh, practicing off-campus at grade schools. And why YMCA, what are your memories about playing for the shockers in those days?
Speaker 2 00:05:50 Well, being from Southern California, of course it was a big change, but, um, you know, I just, we had an AstroTurf infield. I was an infielder, I thought mentally in my mind, I'm like it thinking, man, I am never going to make an air, you know, no bad hops. It was, I don't know. I mean, there, there was challenges, you know, uh, but you know, when you looked at our ball team and some of the talent and the guys that were around and, you know, we just had a very good nucleus of a players and we knew the great talent was there. When you looked at guys from position by position, um, you know, on paper, we thought, man, how are we going to lose? And yeah, the early days were rough and, and you look at the complex and the facilities now, it's, it's pretty amazing. What's happened over and it's hard to believe it's been 40 years, but over 40 years, it's, it's. It's awesome.
Speaker 1 00:06:44 So you come to what date it's a new baseball program started in 1978 by Jeanne Stevenson. Uh, it's in a part of the country where outside of Oklahoma, Oklahoma state college baseball, isn't really that prominent. How did the coaching staff go about convincing that team that you could do? Big things that you could get to Omaha that you could compete with the Arizona states with the Fullerton's and so forth?
Speaker 2 00:07:09 Well, like I said, starting out that year, we, you know, we start out four and six or something like that, or first-hand games, but really didn't know, you know, like I said, when you looked at our team, uh, you know, position by position, you went to first to second to short nail field. And, you know, we kind of had a three-headed monster ourselves on our pitching staff with, you know, Brian and Donnie and Eric Schoenberg. And we ran those guys out on the man. Sometimes you thought, ha ha, we'll never lose a game, you know, and with our hitting and our power and, and the home run hitters and stolen bases. And, you know, we just knew we had the nucleus of a team that can go far. We didn't know how far of course, but, um, you know, I think Jane and Brent and, you know, the, the coaching staff just believed and we just kept grinding and working and trying to get better every game.
Speaker 1 00:08:00 So gene Stevenson would have not been tremendously older than a lot of the guys on his team. I think he would have been in his early thirties at that point. What was he like in those days? What was it like playing for Jean?
Speaker 2 00:08:12 Um, I have nothing but good memories myself. It was a, like I said, it was awesome. Um, you know, I was, like I said, from Southern California came out here. I liked the opportunity to be getting away from that area of the country. Um, you know, we went down and, you know, I was playing for the gold panners the previous summer in Fairbank's. She came down to the NBC tournament in Wichita and yeah, it just, it just felt right. You know, and, uh, they were looking for a shortstop. I think JT had played short the previous year, really. He was a second base and wanting to get back to second base. Um, so it just kind of all worked out and fell into place and, you know, hindsight looking at stuff, I was probably the lucky luckiest guy ever fallen into what I fell into and the way that team turned out.
Speaker 1 00:09:01 Yeah. You mentioned the gold panners and that seems to be a critical part of this story. You were on that team with some other shockers. I believe Phil Stevenson, Jim Thomas, you mentioned, I think Don Henkel was on that team. And the version that I was relayed to me was that they kept telling Jean the coaches, you need to take a look at this guy. You came down to play in the NBC world series in Wichita, and that kind of wrapped it up. They got a chance to see you in, in, in person and decided you were just the perfect fit for what that team needed. How did it play out from your perspective?
Speaker 2 00:09:35 Well, um, you know, initially when I went up to Fairbanks that summer, I was actually going to go to USC, um, in Southern California is where, you know, mentally, I thought I was going. And so I'm up in Fairbanks, Alaska plan with the ball team and the guys from Wichita. And I don't know if I got a call, a letter or something, but supposedly what they told me, one of my classes, I didn't have enough credits to get into USC, allegedly. So here I am up in the planet and Alaska league that summer. And here we have these three guys from Wichita state and Jimmy Thomas, of course, he kind of wanted to get back to second base. And so here I am up there with, I don't want to say a place without a home, but, um, that's kind of what happened. And there, I think the story goes, they were calling Jane and saying, Hey, we've got this guy.
Speaker 2 00:10:22 That's, you know, he's not very big. You know, he has no power. He, he can't run, he can't hit he's, you know, just all these negatives about me, but God, the guy can just play, you know, type of thing. And so we finally got back to Wichita and the NBC tournament and we got to meet and he watched me play and it just, it worked out and, and, and like I said, that's why I think I was the luckiest guy ever being on the team with those three guys and fell into the NBC tournament and got to see the facilities and the campus, even though it was fairly new, you know, you said going back to 78, called my folks and said, Hey, you know, I'm going to school in Wichita, Wichita state. And so after the tournament, I flew home and grabbed a car, I got my shelf and, and came back east. And it just, like I said, I think, uh, I was blessed and fortunate and it just, uh, kind of a match made in heaven. So to speak.
Speaker 1 00:11:19 Had you ever been to Wichita before the NBC world series,
Speaker 2 00:11:23 Uh, Paul, between you and I don't even know if I've ever heard of Wichita before that
Speaker 1 00:11:28 That would not be, not be unusual.
Speaker 2 00:11:31 I just remember, I think, you know, going back years ago to tell my folks I was going to Wichita state, and I think the comment from one of them was, you know, kind of where's that, you know, um, that type of thing. And because I, I, I did all of a sudden have some other opportunities, you know, more on the west coast. And I don't know, like, should I, when I came out to Wichita, it just felt right. And, and the guys I played with that summer, and, um, like I said, it just, it just kind of worked out. I think
Speaker 1 00:11:57 When I started looking through the rosters of the gold panners in that day, uh, and anybody who's familiar with the NBC knows the kind of talent that was Alaska teams had, boy, the teammates you had just major, you know, several major leaguers on that team. What was it like playing in me, playing baseball in Alaska in the summer, those those years?
Speaker 2 00:12:16 Well, like I said, I was home that one day. I just recall, uh, I got a phone call from Ben Hines, which was the coach in Fairbanks at the time. And he was a coach at Arizona state at the time also. And I just remember getting a call one day saying, Hey, they have coach Hines, we need a shortstop. Then you come up. I needed to fly up tomorrow. And, uh, you know, so 24 hours later, I was on a plane headed to fair banks. And, um, you know, looking at the 81 team, I played up there in 82, um, those two years and looking at the roster there, there's big leaguers on both teams. And I said, one of those things, I was just fortunate and blessed and right place at the right time and, and was able to stay, you know, competitive enough and strong enough. And I don't want to say kind of wanted, but at least kind of needed. It seemed like at the time. And, um, just, just happy to be where I was at the time.
Speaker 1 00:13:14 So you're joining a program that had a lot of success. They'd gone to the NCAA tournament, uh, in 80 and 81. What was it like joining that group? They had lost, uh, they lost several of their outfielders and a couple of their top pitchers from the 81 team, but the infield was all the infielders were back. What was it like kind of fitting in and stepping into an important role right away with that group?
Speaker 2 00:13:39 Well, you know, like I said, I was kinda told that, you know, it's kind of slide into that spot as long as I could do my job and, you know, get to the shortstop position, you know, J T or Jim Thomas would move back to second and Jim spring, I think the year before that second, I think he was going to probably bounce back to third base. And it just kind of, we kind of did some shuffling in there and of course Phil was at first and, you know, really three of the four guys were back and I'm the one that just kind of plugged in. And two of the other guys just kind of moved, moved around the infield. And, you know, when you think about that team with Charlie behind the play, Charlie O'Brien and JT at second Mia shorten, and let's say, Lauren heads at center, do you always think about a ball team? You know, you're up the middle of the core being pretty solid. And I think that team, we were pretty, had a pretty solid middle of the you middle, middle of the field type.
Speaker 1 00:14:31 Definitely that team is also well-known for, uh, just some outrageous offensive numbers. You had big names such as Russ Mormon, Charlie O'Brien. You mentioned Phil Stevenson, um, you know, one of the greatest offensive seasons in college baseball history, Lauren Hibs score on all kinds of runs, Jim Thomas. It wasn't like hitting in that, hitting that lineup. Was it ju I think they just put constant pressure on the opposing pitcher
Speaker 2 00:14:56 Up and down that line up Paul, it was, uh, it, you know, like you said, I had somebody telling me one time, they looked up our stats from 1982 and it was almost like Nintendo type numbers. It was almost unreal. And, you know, you got three guys hitting over 20 home runs and three of them over a hundred RBI's and you know, are stolen bases. And he, as a team and or maybe our team defense and our pitching staff, the stats, and it was, it was really a, a team that was, I won't say unreal, but it was, it was the, probably the funnest, well, of course the funniest time ever as a, as a student athlete to play, um, you know, and I pretty much hit ninth the whole season, just because of the way our lineup was. But for me to hit night, I had over 60 RBI's and it was because the guys are 6, 7, 8 hole hitters getting on base. And I was one of those players that, you know, good things happen when you put the ball in play. And I was fortunate, fortunate enough to put the ball in play Quad-A quite a bit, so
Speaker 1 00:15:58 I'm not sure unreal is, is, is a totally bad description. Yeah. So you arrive in August and you had played with some shockers in the summer, so that probably helped the adjustment. Was there anybody on the team that really took a lead role in showing you this is how we do things. This is how you navigate this, this new world of Wichita state baseball.
Speaker 2 00:16:19 Oh, I, I think so. And I think just the way I am as a person, I try to be fairly easy to get along with. I'm not, you know, rah, rah guy, I just tried to quietly go out and do my job and try to play. Yeah. I tried to play the game the right way. And like I said, on defense, try to make the routine play and offense, try to put the ball in play. And, um, you know, as far as taking anybody, taking me under their wing, um, I don't really recall. I, you know, my first semester I lived in the dorms, uh, you know, I kinda, after the first semester moved out of the dorms and moved in with, uh, Charlie O'Brien and Eric Somberg in an apartment, you know, basically the second part of that school year. Um, so I guess, you know, probably between Charlie and Eric and, you know, it kind of took me under their wing and, you know, the three of us live together that basically during the bowl of season,
Speaker 1 00:17:11 You mentioned Jim Thomas moving from shortstop to second base and, uh, JT had a great career as a shocker later, one of the assistant coaches, how do you go about developing that, uh, the chemistry between the shortstop and the second baseman that is so important?
Speaker 2 00:17:25 Well, we covered a lot of ground between me and him and it was communication. And like I said, we, we played, you know, the previous summer together in fair banks and, you know, so we, we, you know, we weren't totally unknown to each other and that helped. And I think he was very thankful or appreciative that I was, uh, coming on board there, Wichita state, and a lot, I think, allowed him to get back to his more comfortable position I think, or from what he says. And, uh, you know, we just, we just clicked. We just, uh, you know, practice a lot and turn a double plays and getting used to each other and, you know, being repetitious and getting redundant. And, you know, I don't want to say practice makes perfect, but we did, we didn't take our, you know, our double plays seriously and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 00:18:12 So that 1982 team started out with challenging, challenging series a at Arizona state later went to Texas started four and six, as you mentioned, and then was just gangbusters from there on out when 69 and eight finish up the season at 73 and 14. And obviously in the college world series. W why was it the kind of team that could rebound from that difficult start and play so well?
Speaker 2 00:18:36 Oh, you know, we kind of took our knocks that firsthand games, and we just came back and, and, uh, just start taking one game at a time and put the first 10 games behind us. And, you know, when you think about 69 and eight, you almost think that's not even maybe possible. And, um, you know, I've got two boys myself and, you know, they, they kind of wonder the same thing and, you know, people started asking, you know, what kind of schedule did you play? And, you know, who are you climbing to get to that point? And, you know, one thing about gene, he, wasn't afraid to play anybody and, you know, traveled and went from west coast to east coast and played. And so it was just, you know, that start, we just had to put the first 10 games behind
Speaker 1 00:19:22 When you watch the college world series now and what it's become with a lot of television coverage and is a pretty big event, uh, during the summer, what was it like, uh, in 1982, going to Omaha to play,
Speaker 2 00:19:37 Uh, you know, cause surreal that we made it, you know, we went to even went to new Orleans and had to play in a regional first. And, you know, it was swept that regional, I don't want to say fairly easily Willy, but we won three in a row there. And I think we only gave up one run and got to Rosenblatt and Omaha and, you know, we're one of eight teams and, you know, we were, I don't know, we were ranked number one in the country at the time, but pretty, pretty highly ranked team. And I mean, we went there expected to kind of be expecting to win. You know, our team was, you know, we're going there to win the thing and unfortunately lost in the championship game. And, um, but it was, it was, uh, it was awesome. Paul, it was like, say glad to be on that team.
Speaker 1 00:20:21 When you look at what the college world series is become and what Wichita state baseball has become, is it a, a good feeling to say I was kinda there at the, at the beginning, I helped build the foundation for some of these, some of these advancements in college baseball.
Speaker 2 00:20:37 Well, it's funny because, you know, I live in Southeast Kansas now and, and, uh, anybody that hears it, you know, somebody who played for Wichita state, basically in the eighties and nineties, you know, just, uh, you know, a great program, how'd you play there? Were you that good? You know, did you, you know, did you ever get a chance to play, um, you know, the reputation, you know, with the gene had and built up from the 77 78 and on, um, you know, it, um, and what's happened recently hard to tell, you know, maybe it's hard to describe how good of recruiter gene was and type of program he built and facilities. And yeah, I look at the place now, Paul, and how would a steam nap athlete not want to go to Wichita state when, when you look at the complex and, and, and what's their, um, facility-wise indoor and outdoor it's it's, it's unbelievable.
Speaker 1 00:21:37 Definitely. They've done a lot of, a lot of work. And I guess obviously it all started with gene. Let me go back and repeat that maybe are not familiar with, uh, the 82 teams. Some of the things you, you mentioned, or we hit upon, you talked about the regional and just, uh, incredible pitching performance, the shockers defeated Jackson state, and then the host team, new Orleans twice gave up one run in those three games, uh, to advance to Omaha for the first time where they defeated Cal state Fullerton lost to Miami, then bounced back and beat Oklahoma state, beat Texas before losing to, uh, Miami, Florida in the, in the championship game. Uh, I'll wrap up by testing, testing your memory, uh, games or moments. What, what stands out from that season? Is there anything that you really look back on and as a, as a fond memory from that time?
Speaker 2 00:22:28 Huh? Well, think about what you just said. You know, we, we beat Fullerton, we beat Oklahoma state and we beat Texas in the, in the world series. Obviously Miami must've had our, our number. We lost to them twice, you know, unfortunately, but, um, I dunno, like I said, just very fortunate and blessed to be a, you know, a kid from Southern California that, that had options and chose the right, uh, program. And, and one of the coaches I think believed in me and some of the players and, um, you know, even had a chance, I got drafted by the expos after the 83 season and played a little bit of minor league ball and, you know, just very, very blessed and very fortunate to be where I was at that time.
Speaker 1 00:23:11 So you said you're still in, or you're in Southeast Kansas. Now give us the update. What are you doing?
Speaker 2 00:23:17 Uh, I mean the, and the, and the grain agricultural business, I'm a seed salesman for a company that I worked for and been doing that for quite a while. I've been in sales for 30 years, but since 2009 been working for this company and love what I do. Uh, you know, where we're at down here, there's a lot of, uh, farm ground and agriculture and, you know, pasture and cows. And, you know, it's kind of weird a kid from Southern California doing what I'm doing now, but, uh, I love it and like it, and then one trader for the world.
Speaker 1 00:23:47 All right, very good. Dave Lucas shortstop for the 1982 shockers college world series team. He is one of many people from that team that will be back for the first pitch banquet. And that's coming up January 29th and the, uh, Aetna multipurpose facility and Koch arena. Dave, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Hey,
Speaker 2 00:24:05 Thanks for having me on have a good day.
Speaker 3 00:24:21 Thank you for listening to the roundhouse podcast, courtesy of Wichita state university, strategic communications. We appreciate your time. We encourage you to rate review, subscribe, wherever you get your podcasts, such as on iTunes or Google play. You can find more roundhouse
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Speaker 4 00:24:43 And let him pass it up court. And then it gets picked up along three by PENGOS. No good. One second. It's over. It is over and what your task has beaten. The number one team in the nation to go to the sweet 16, go crazy. What Utah.
