Bill Wilhelm Era
Fall, 1957 - From the advice of North Carolina Head Coach Walter Rabb, Frank Howard hired a 27-year old assistant from China Grove, NC named Bill Wilhelm.
1958 Season - Bill Wilhelm coached his first game and defeated Michigan State 7-5 in seven innings at Clemson. On May 19 Clemson defeated North Carolina 4-1 at Gastonia, NC in a playoff game to determine the ACC Champion. Both teams had 11-3 records after the regular season, forcing the one-game playoff. In June, the Tigers won the NCAA District III Playoffs to advance to the College World Series. The Tigers lost their opening game of the NCAA Tournament to Florida 8-6. Therefore, the Tigers had to win five games in a row to advance to the College World Series in Omaha, NE, a destination never made before by Clemson at the time. So Clemson promptly defeated George Washington and Florida State to stay alive. The only problem was that Clemson had to defeat Florida twice on June 9 to advance. In the first game, the Tigers won a thriller 15-14 when first-year second-baseman Bailey Hendley singled home Larry Wilson in the bottom of the ninth. Later in the day, Clemson won 3-1 to advance to the College World Series. Harold Stowe, who went on to pitch with the Yankees, pitched a four-hitter to earn his 13th victory of the season. The two victories in one day still stands today as the only time that Clemson won twice in one day to advance to the College World Series. In Omaha, Clemson defeated Arizona 4-1 on June 14, but lost to Holy Cross 17-4 on June 15 and Western Michigan 5-3 on June 16.
1959 Season - After the 1959 regular season, Clemson, Wake Forest, and North Carolina were tied for first place, forcing a playoff among the three. Clemson beat Wake Forest 4-2 at Thomasville, NC on May 16 and downed North Carolina 9-7 in Gastonia, NC to claim the ACC crown. June 4–6, 1959 - Clemson raced through the NCAA District III Playoffs at Gastonia, NC, downing Georgia Tech 9-6 and Florida State twice (24-2, 5-0) to advance to Omaha. At the College World Series, the Tigers lost to Arizona 3-2 on June 13 in 12 innings in their first game in Omaha. They bounced back and defeated Colorado State 7-1 the next day, but were eliminated by Penn State 7-0 on June 15.
April 10, 1965 - May 17, 1966 - Rusty Adkins had a 41-game hitting streak. Adkins hit .438 during the streak that still stands as the longest in ACC history.
1966 Season - George Sutton sets the record for the fastest to 10 home runs by hitting 10 home runs in 18 games. His 10th homer came against Wake Forest on April 23, 1966.
1967 Season - The Tigers won the ACC title (11-2). Clemson was ranked #7 in the final Collegiate Baseball poll. Clemson participated in the NCAA District III Playoffs at Gastonia, NC. After losing the first contest against Florida State, Clemson rebounded with three straight victories. But Auburn ended Clemson’s season by defeating the Tigers 6-5 in the championship game in 13 innings.
June 6, 1968 - Left-hander John Curtis became Clemson’s first first-round Major League draft selection. Curtis was the #10 overall pick in the secondary phase by the Boston Red Sox.
Read more about this topic: Clemson Tigers Baseball, History
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