 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1933-06-25)June 25, 1933 Nutley, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | January 20, 2013(2013-01-20) (aged 79) Weston, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Florida State University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1963–1992 | Miami Hurricanes |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 1,271–438–9 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2College World Series (1982,1985) | |
| College Baseball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
Baseball player Baseball career | |
| Member of the Netherlands | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1985 |
Ronald George Fraser (June 25, 1933 – January 20, 2013) was an Americancollege baseballcoach best known for his tenure at theUniversity of Miami from 1963 to 1992. Nicknamed the "Wizard of College Baseball", he led theMiami Hurricanes baseball program to over 1,200 victories—his teams set anNCAA baseball record with playoff appearances in 20 consecutive seasons and wonCollege World Series championships in 1982 and 1985.[1]
Fraser managed theUnited States national baseball team on several occasions, including to its first ever world title at the1973 Amateur World Series in Nicaragua and at the1992 Summer Olympics. He also managedthe Netherlands to two European championships in the 1960s.[2]
Born and raised inNutley, New Jersey, Fraser was a three-sport letterman atNutley High School where he graduated in 1953.[3] He then attendedMurray State College in Kentucky from 1953 to 1954.[3] Later, he played baseball atFlorida State University from 1954 to 1956 as arelief pitcher for theFlorida State Seminoles baseball team. At Florida State, he joinedTheta Chi. He graduated in 1960.[3]
Fraser served in theUnited States Army for two years, during 1957 and 1958.[3] He was stationed in Germany and the Netherlands.
During his time in Europe with the US Army, Fraser coached theWest Germany national baseball team at the1958 European Baseball Championship.[4] He later went on to manage theNetherlands national baseball team from 1960 until 1963.[5]
Fraser was hired as manager of the Dutch national team in 1960, replacingHenk Keulemans, becoming the team's second ever coach and first American coach. He led the team to two European championships, in1960 and1962. On one occasion, Fraser broke his leg while attempting to demonstrate a proper slide. Fraser left the Netherlands team in 1962 to take a coaching job with the University of Miami.[6]
In 1972 and 1973, he returned to coach the Netherlands between college seasons, taking part in the 1972Haarlem Baseball Week and winning another European title in1973 in Haarlem. Fraser returned to the Netherlands a third time in 1980 when he participated in Haarlem Baseball Week with his Miami Hurricanes collegiate team, winning the tournament.[6]
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In 1963, Fraser took a head coaching job with theUniversity of Miami,[5] a school which did not offer its baseball players a scholarship. Even though the school did not begin to offer scholarships until 1973, Fraser built a program. Some of the people Fraser brought to visit the school to bring publicity to the program wereMajor League Baseball (MLB) Hall of FamersTed Williams andStan Musial, as well as announcerJoe Garagiola.
In 1973, Miami started a record streak of consecutive postseason appearances in college baseball; the streak continued for 20 seasons under Fraser, and ultimately lasted 44 seasons, finally ending in 2017. Also in 1973,Mark Light Stadium was built in large part to efforts by Fraser to build a privately funded stadium. In 1974, Miami wasCollege World Series runner-up to theUniversity of Southern California (USC), a perennial college baseball powerhouse.
The 1980s were a time of great change in Miami athletics.[according to whom?] TheMiami Hurricanes football team won championships in 1983, 1987 and 1989. While the success of Miami football seemed to eclipse much of the success of the baseball program, Miami won its first two College World Series in 1982 and 1985.
While opponents' fans often criticized Hurricane football fans for not selling out theOrange Bowl. Mark Light Stadium was almost always a full house for Hurricane baseball games and Fraser's Hurricanes drew 1.27 million fans in the 1980s, the best in college baseball.
Fraser was inducted to the Hurricanes' sports hall of fame in 1983,[7] and the Ron Fraser Building, which houses the baseball offices at Mark Light Stadium, was named after him in 1986.[8] Fraser retired as coach of Miami baseball at the end of the 1992 season.[9]
Fraser coached theUnited States national baseball team at the1992 Summer Olympics, which marked the first time that baseball was an official medal sport.[10][11] The team, per Olympic rules at the time, was restricted to amateur players only.[10] Fraser's 20-player squad of college baseball players included future major leaguers such asJason Giambi,Nomar Garciaparra, andJason Varitek.[12][13] The team had a 5–2 record in pool play, then fell toCuba in the semifinals, followed by a loss toJapan in the bronze-medal match.[10]
Fraser was inducted to theCollege Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.[1] He died on January 20, 2013, at his home inWeston, Florida, of complications fromAlzheimer's disease.[14]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami(Independent)(1963–1992) | |||||||||
| 1963 | Miami | 18–9 | |||||||
| 1964 | Miami | 20–9–1 | |||||||
| 1965 | Miami | 23–12–1 | |||||||
| 1966 | Miami | 19–18–1 | |||||||
| 1967 | Miami | 23–15–1 | |||||||
| 1968 | Miami | 27–11–1 | |||||||
| 1969 | Miami | 31–11 | |||||||
| 1970 | Miami | 28–15–1 | |||||||
| 1971 | Miami | 35–11 | NCAA District | ||||||
| 1972 | Miami | 32–17 | |||||||
| 1973 | Miami | 42–17 | NCAA District | ||||||
| 1974 | Miami | 51–11 | College World Series Runner-up | ||||||
| 1975 | Miami | 45–14 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1976 | Miami | 41–15 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1977 | Miami | 44–13 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1978 | Miami | 50–12 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1979 | Miami | 55–11 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1980 | Miami | 59–12 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1981 | Miami | 61–10 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1982 | Miami | 55–17–1 | College World Series champions | ||||||
| 1983 | Miami | 61–21 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1984 | Miami | 48–28 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1985 | Miami | 64–16 | College World Series champions | ||||||
| 1986 | Miami | 50–17 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1987 | Miami | 35–24–1 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1988 | Miami | 52–14–1 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1989 | Miami | 49–18 | College World Series | ||||||
| 1990 | Miami | 52–13 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1991 | Miami | 46–17 | NCAA Regional | ||||||
| 1992 | Miami | 55–10 | College World Series | ||||||
| Miami: | 1,271–438–9 | ||||||||
| Total: | 1,271–438–9 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| Governing bodies | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National teams | |||||
| Competitions | |||||
| Hosted events | |||||
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