June 28, 1947: The 1st College World Series

The 1947 Cal Golden Bears, National Champions

June 28, 1947: The 1st NCAA Baseball Tournament Final, the 1st College World Series, is played at Hyames Field, on the campus of Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is an East vs. West matchup, as the University of California, having already won the day before, 17-4, defeat Yale University again, 8-7.

The Cal team featured Jackie Jensen, who would also play for them in the 1949 Rose Bowl. He went on to win the World Series with the New York Yankees in 1952, 1953 and 1956; win the American League Most Valuable Player award with the Boston Red Sox in 1958; make 3 All-Star Games; appear on the TV series Home Run Derby at the start of the 1960 season; and retire due to a fear of flying, after just 199 career home runs.

He remains the only player ever to play in the World Series, the College World Series, and the Rose Bowl. Chuck Essegian is the only other player to play in both the major-league World Series (in his case, with the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers) and the Rose Bowl (1952, with Stanford).

Yale returned to the CWS in 1948, losing to another West Coast team, the University of Southern California (USC). Both times, Yale's 1st baseman was George H.W. Bush, who didn't play in Major League Baseball, but went into politics, eventually being elected the 41st President of the United States in 1988.

After its 1st 2 seasons, in Kalamazoo, the tournament was moved to Lawrence Stadium in Wichita, Kansas for 1949. Since 1950, it has been held in Omaha, Nebraska, first at what became known as Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium, and then, from 2011 onward, at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

In 2008, with the rise of women's college softball, the names of the tournaments have been the Men's College World Series and the Women's College World Series. Both tournaments start with 64 teams, in 8 regions, and the 8 regional winners play in the CWS, in 2 4-team double-elimination tournaments, with the winners of each bracket playing a best-2-out-of-3 championship series.

Given the regional ability to play more games in better weather, it is not surprising that the most successful teams have been in the Sun Belt. USC have won 12 National Championships, Louisiana State University (LSU) 6, the University of Texas 6, Arizona State 5; and 4 each have been won by Arizona, the University of Miami, and California State University at Fullerton. Among Winter States, the University of Minnesota and Oregon State University have done the best, winning 3 each.

The Women's College World Series, though not yet under that name, was 1st played in 1969. As with the men, the Sun Belt dominates: The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have won 12 titles, while Arizona have won 8, Oklahoma 6, and no other school has won more than 2.

(UPDATE: In 2023, the LSU men and the Oklahoma women each won a 7th title. The Oklahoma women won an 8th in 2024.)

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June 28, 1947 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 5-2 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Randy Gumpert went the distance for the win. George McQuinn and Tommy Henrich hit home runs. Joe DiMaggio went 1-for-2 with 2 walks. Rookie Yogi Berra went 2-for-4.

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 14-6 at the Polo Grounds.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Boston Braves, 5-4 at Braves Field in Boston. Earl Torgeson doubled Tommy Holmes home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning. For the Dodgers, Johnny "Spider" Jorgenson and Fred "Dixie" Walker hit home runs. They were among the players phased out after this Pennant-winning season, because they couldn't get along with Jackie Robinson, who went 1-for-3 with 2 walks.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Senators, 8-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. Denny Galehouse pitched a 4-hit shutout. Ted Williams went 2-for-3 with 2 walks and an RBI.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the Chicago White Sox, 3-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-3 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-2 and 6-5 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

* And the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 8-7 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Stan Musial went 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs.