1955 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team

The 1955 Western Michigan Broncos team represented Western Michigan College in the 1955 NCAA baseball season. The Broncos played their home games at Hyames Field. The team was coached by Charlie Maher in his 17th season at Western Michigan.

1955 Western Michigan Broncos baseball
MAC Champions District IV Champions
College World Series, Runner-Up
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
CB	No. 2
1955 record	25–7 (9–0 MAC)
Head coach	Charlie Maher (17th season)
Assistant coach	Don Boven
Home stadium	Hyames Field

1955 Mid-American Conference baseball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Western Michigan  ‍†‍‍^y	9	–	0		1.000			25	–	7		.781
Bowling Green  ‍‍‍	7	–	3		.700			8	–	5		.615
Western Reserve  ‍‍‍	5	–	5		.500			5	–	5		.500
Miami (OH)  ‍‍‍	4	–	4		.500			7	–	10		.412
Ohio  ‍‍‍	4	–	4		.500			11	–	10		.524
Kent State  ‍‍‍	4	–	6		.400			9	–	10		.474
Toledo  ‍‍‍	3	–	9		.250			4	–	13		.235
Marshall  ‍‍‍	1	–	6		.143			2	–	11		.154
† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1955[1];

The Broncos lost the College World Series, defeated by the Wake Forest in the championship game.

Roster

1955 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name Bats/Throws Height Weight Year Home town INF Tom Czyz / — — 38 INF Leland David / — — RHP Roger Eggers /R — — OF Dick Erickson / — — Sr RHP Don Finnefrock /R — — INF Gene Frechette / — — LHP Gary Graham /L — — Jr OF Lowell Johnson / — — Sr INF Nobert Krings / — — Sr OF Bill Lajoie / — — Sr 45 INF Wayne LaNeave / — — 42 C Freed Messner / — — OF Al Nagel / — — OF Jerry O'Connell / — — RHP Roger Schwarzkoff /R — — So INF Jack Smith / — — Jr RHP Jim Smith /R — — RHP Gerry Sposito /R — —	Head coach Charlie Maher Assistant coach(es) Don Boven Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Legend
	Western Michigan win
	Western Michigan loss
	Western Michigan tie

1955 Western Michigan Broncos Baseball Game Log
Regular Season (17–3) Opponent Score Overall Record MAC Record Ohio State 16–4 1–0 0–0 Ohio State 6–7 1–1 0–0 Ohio State 3–1 2–1 0–0 Marshall 10–1 3–1 1–0 Iowa 1–0 4–1 1–0 Ohio 6–5 5–1 1–0 Michigan 7–5 6–1 1–0 Kent State 4–3 7–1 2–0 Kent State 9–7 8–1 3–0 Miami (OH) 8–7 9–1 4–0 Miami (OH) 15–3 10–1 5–0 Michigan State 1–14 10–2 5–0 Toledo 16–3 11–2 6–0 Toledo 26–0 12–2 7–0 Western Reserve 7–3 13–2 8–0 Western Reserve 7–1 14–2 9–0 Glenview Navy Base 17–6 15–2 9–0 Notre Dame 0–2 15–3 9–0 Wisconsin 6–4 16–3 9–0 Wisconsin 8–5 17–3 9–0 Notre Dame 15–10 18–3 9–0
Postseason (7–4)
District IV Playoff (4–2) Opponent Site/Stadium Score Overall Record MAC Record Alma Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 8–9 18–4 9–0 Alma Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 3–0 19–4 9–0 Alma Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 15–4 20–4 9–0 Ohio State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 1–0 21–4 9–0 Ohio State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 5–8 21–5 9–0 Ohio State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 7–4 22–5 9–0
1955 College World Series (3–2) Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Overall Record MAC Record June 10 vs Arizona Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 4–1 23–5 9–0 June 12 vs Oklahoma A&M Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 5–4 24–5 9–0 June 13 vs Wake Forest Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 9–0 25–5 9–0 June 14 vs Wake Forest Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 7–10 25–6 9–0 June 16 vs Wake Forest Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 6–7 25–7 9–0

Schedule Source:[2]

Awards and honors

Bill Lajoie

• ABAC First Team All-American[3]

References

1. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1955". Boyds World. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
2. "1956 Brown and Gold, WMU Yearbook" (PDF). www.library.wmich.edu. Western Michigan University. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
3. "NCAA Baseball Award Winners" (PDF). www.ncaa.org. NCAA. Retrieved May 28, 2019.