1963 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team

The 1963 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team represented Western Michigan University in the 1963 NCAA University Division baseball season. The Broncos played their home games at Hyames Field. The team was coached by Charlie Maher in his 25th year at Western Michigan.

1963 Western Michigan Broncos baseball
Mid-American Conference champions District IV champions
College World Series, T-7th
Conference	Mid-American Conference
CB	No. 8
1963 record	24–6 (12–0 MAC)
Head coach	Charlie Maher (25th season)
Assistant coach	Bill Chambers (3rd season)
Home stadium	Hyames Field

1963 Mid-American Conference baseball standings
	Conf									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
No. 8 Western Michigan  ‍†‍‍^y	12	–	0	–	0		1.000			24	–	6	–	0		.800
Ohio  ‍‍‍	9	–	3	–	0		.750			17	–	8	–	0		.680
Bowling Green  ‍‍‍	7	–	5	–	0		.583			17	–	11	–	1		.603
Kent State  ‍‍‍	5	–	6	–	0		.455			8	–	16	–	0		.333
Miami (OH)  ‍‍‍	4	–	8	–	0		.333			10	–	13	–	0		.435
Toledo  ‍‍‍	3	–	9	–	0		.250			10	–	14	–	0		.417
Marshall  ‍‍‍	2	–	10	–	0		.167			8	–	17	–	0		.320
† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament As of June 30, 1963[1]; Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The Broncos won the District IV playoff to advanced to the College World Series, where they were defeated by the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Roster

1963 Western Michigan Broncos baseball team
Players	Coaches
# Pos. Name Bats/Throws Height Weight Year Home town Dave Anderson / — — C Jerry Austry /R — — Sr Chicago, Illinois RHP Dave Bitante /R — — Jr Cleveland, Ohio RHP Mike Boedy /R — — Jr Grand Rapids, Michigan LHP Bruce Buys /L — — Jr Coldwater, Michigan RHP Curt Cleaver / — — Jr Gary, Indiana OF Fred Decker /R — — OF Al Drews / — — Jr OF Mike Gatza / — — Al Gibbs / — — Bob Gilling / — — Bill Guerrant / — — Bill Kelly / — — Bob Kowalski / — — OF Dave Kwiatkowski / 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Tom Martin / — — Dan Mehling / — — INF Fred Michalski / — — INF Danny Predovic R/ — — INF Dave Reeves / — — Kalamazoo, Michigan LHP Lee Salo /L 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr Livonia, Michigan INF John Sluka / — — So Grand Haven, Michigan C Roger Theder / — — Watertown, Wisconsin Terry Voogd / — — Bill Vroegop / — — LHP Gary Wallman /L — — Jr South Bend, Indiana	Head coach Charlie Maher Assistant coach(es) Bill Chambers Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Current redshirt

Schedule

1963 Western Michigan Broncos Baseball Game Log
Regular Season
April (11–1) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Overall Record MAC Record 1 April 5  Kent State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 22–1 1–0 1–0 2 April 6  Ken State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 6–0 2–0 2–0 3 April 12  Ohio State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 6–2 3–0 2–0 4 April 13  Ohio State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 3–9 3–1 2–0 5 April 13  Ohio State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 5–4 4–1 2–0 6 April 15  at Ball State Unknown • Muncie, Indiana 13–6 5–1 2–0 7 April 16  at Ball State Unknown • Muncie, Indiana 3–2 6–1 2–0 8 April 17  at Ball State Unknown • Muncie, Indiana 17–3 7–1 2–0 9 April 19  Ohio Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 6–1 8–1 3–0 10 April 20  Ohio Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 10–5 9–1 4–0 11 April   at Marshall Unknown • Huntington, West Virginia 16–1 10–1 5–0 12 April   at Marshall Unknown • Huntington, West Virginia 11–0 11–1 6–0
May (10–2) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Overall Record MAC Record 13 May 3  at Bowling Green Unknown • Bowling Green, Ohio 13–6 12–1 7–0 14 May 4  at Bowling Green Unknown • Bowling Green, Ohio 11–0 13–1 8–0 15 May 7  at Michigan State Old College Field • East Lansing, Michigan 9–5 14–1 8–0 16 May   at Toledo Unknown • Toledo, Ohio 12–4 15–1 9–0 17 May   at Toledo Unknown • Toledo, Ohio 4–0 16–1 10–0 18 May 17  Miami (OH) Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 3–1 17–1 11–0 19 May 18  Miami (OH) Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 3–2 18–1 12–0 20 May   Michigan Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 0–3 18–2 12–0 21 May 21  Michigan State Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 13–3 19–2 12–0 22 May 22  at Michigan Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan 5–7 19–3 12–0 23 May 24  at Notre Dame Cartier Field • Notre Dame, Indiana 5–2 20–3 12–0 24 May 25  Notre Dame Hyames Field • Kalamazoo, Michigan 5–4 21–3 12–0
Postseason
District IV Playoff (3–1) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Overall Record MAC Record 25 May 30 vs Notre Dame Illinois Field • Champaign, Illinois 2–1 22–3 12–0 26 May 31 at Illinois Illinois Field • Champaign, Illinois 1–0 23–3 12–0 27 June 1 at Illinois Illinois Field • Champaign, Illinois 0–8 23–4 12–0 28 June 1 at Illinois Illinois Field • Champaign, Illinois 7–0 24–4 12–0
College World Series (0–2) # Date Opponent Site/Stadium Score Overall Record MAC Record 29 June 10 vs Florida State Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 2–5 24–5 12–0 30 June 11 vs Penn State Omaha Municipal Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska 0–3 24–6 12–0

Awards and honors

Fred Decker

• First Team All-MAC

Al Drews

• Second Team All-MAC
• Second Team All-American

Dave Kwaitkowski

• First Team All-MAC

Fred Michalski

• Second Team All-American[2]

Dan Predovic

• First Team All-MAC

Lee Salo

• First Team All-MAC

John Sluka

• Second Team All-MAC[3]

References

1. "College Baseball Conference Standings -- 1963". Boyds World. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
2. "All-Americans and All-Region Honoreess". www.wmubroncos.com. Western Michigan University. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
3. "Mid-American Conference Award Winners". www.wmubroncos.com. Western Michigan University. Retrieved November 26, 2020.