Class Note 1970
Issue
November-December 2024
Late fall may seem like an odd time of year for a column about our classmates who played varsity baseball, but this coming spring marks not only our 55th reunion but also the 55th anniversary of our class’ baseball team competing in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Bruce Saylor recalls, “Our 1970 team was the only team in Dartmouth history [to compete in that series]. It was a tremendous accomplishment, especially after starting the year with a 3-8 record. Once we got rolling, we couldn’t be stopped, compiling a streak of 21 consecutive wins, culminating in a thrilling 7-6 victory over Iowa State in the first round.”
Although the ’70 baseball team was undefeated in 1967, only four seniors remained on the 1970 team our senior year.
Bud Dagirmanjian writes, “Little Dartmouth from the cold Northeast (and our truncated 30-game schedule) competed against the biggest schools in the country and their year-round 80-game seasons. When Bruce Saylor hit his two-out, ninth-inning homer that resulted in our first game against Iowa State, the implications felt huge. It showed we belonged on college’s biggest stage and resulted in our being ranked fifth in the country. We were eventually eliminated by USC, who pitched Brent Storm against us. Storm was later a pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Our infield defense was anchored by the smooth, steady hands of Bob Mlakar at shortstop. Bruce Saylorwas our best hitter. One of my first memories of being there was watching USC go through its infield drills. If someone had told me it was Kubek and Richardson turning double plays, I wouldn’t have argued. That’s how polished they were, and that’s what an 80-game schedule can do. We eventually lost to Florida State and USC, the finalists that year.”
Bob Mlakarwrites, “I wish I could remember words of our professors as well as I remember Saylor’s home run or even a tag out at second base. May and June 1970, after the Kent State shootings, were a time that brought us all together. I will forever remember Bob Wren, the legendary coach of Ohio University, jumping the fence behind home plate and shaking my hand, saying, ‘Bob, I played with your dad at East High (a Cleveland inner city high school) in 1938! Great to see you here.’ To all of our ’70 classmates, memories live on.”
—Stuart Zuckerman, P.O. Box 85, Bridgehampton, NY 11932; (917) 559-0063; stuartz@gmail.com
Bruce Saylor recalls, “Our 1970 team was the only team in Dartmouth history [to compete in that series]. It was a tremendous accomplishment, especially after starting the year with a 3-8 record. Once we got rolling, we couldn’t be stopped, compiling a streak of 21 consecutive wins, culminating in a thrilling 7-6 victory over Iowa State in the first round.”
Although the ’70 baseball team was undefeated in 1967, only four seniors remained on the 1970 team our senior year.
Bud Dagirmanjian writes, “Little Dartmouth from the cold Northeast (and our truncated 30-game schedule) competed against the biggest schools in the country and their year-round 80-game seasons. When Bruce Saylor hit his two-out, ninth-inning homer that resulted in our first game against Iowa State, the implications felt huge. It showed we belonged on college’s biggest stage and resulted in our being ranked fifth in the country. We were eventually eliminated by USC, who pitched Brent Storm against us. Storm was later a pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Our infield defense was anchored by the smooth, steady hands of Bob Mlakar at shortstop. Bruce Saylorwas our best hitter. One of my first memories of being there was watching USC go through its infield drills. If someone had told me it was Kubek and Richardson turning double plays, I wouldn’t have argued. That’s how polished they were, and that’s what an 80-game schedule can do. We eventually lost to Florida State and USC, the finalists that year.”
Bob Mlakarwrites, “I wish I could remember words of our professors as well as I remember Saylor’s home run or even a tag out at second base. May and June 1970, after the Kent State shootings, were a time that brought us all together. I will forever remember Bob Wren, the legendary coach of Ohio University, jumping the fence behind home plate and shaking my hand, saying, ‘Bob, I played with your dad at East High (a Cleveland inner city high school) in 1938! Great to see you here.’ To all of our ’70 classmates, memories live on.”
—Stuart Zuckerman, P.O. Box 85, Bridgehampton, NY 11932; (917) 559-0063; stuartz@gmail.com