OMAHA, Neb. — Curt Heinfeld and some of his 1966 Ohio State teammates were sitting in the right-field stands chatting as TD Ameritrade Park filled with fans Friday afternoon, and they all agreed on one thing.
“We were born too soon,” Heinfeld said.
The College World Series hadn’t grown into the big ESPN-fueled event it is now when the Buckeyes won their one and only national title in baseball 50 years ago. About 10,000 people showed up at the old Rosenblatt Stadium to see Ohio State beat Oklahoma State 8-2 in the championship game. Since 2011, the CWS has been played at 24,000-seat TD Ameritrade Park, the largest non-major league baseball stadium in the country.
“The ballpark, the facilities, all of it just seems surreal compared to when we were here,” said John Machado, an assistant coach on the ‘66 team. “At the time, we thought that Rosenblatt was big, unbelievably big.”
Heinfeld, Machado and about a dozen other members of the 1966 title team in the morning visited the site where Rosenblatt once stood and were introduced in the middle of the fifth inning of the Arizona-Oklahoma State game. The reunion continued with a dinner at a steakhouse.
Notably absent was Shawnee graduate Steve Arlin, the strong-armed pitcher who starred on Ohio State’s 1965-66 teams. Arlin couldn’t make the trip because of illness, but his name came up often.
“He was something else,” said Heinfeld, who lives in Springfield and also was a pitcher. “We didn’t even have radar guns back then, so no one knew how hard anyone threw. We’re guessing he was somewhere around the 100-mph mark. His fastball even moved all over.”
In 1965, Arlin famously struck out 20 while pitching all 15 innings — tournament records that still stand — in a 1-0 win over Washington State. The Buckeyes ended up losing the championship game to an Arizona State team that included Rick Monday and Sal Bando.
In the ‘66 CWS, Arlin pitched two complete games, winning both, and relieved in three other games. He was named Most Outstanding Player, finished his college career 24-3 and went on to pitch six seasons in the major leagues.
The team also included Shawnee grad Jim Graham, who was the starting third baseman. Jim Elshire of Wapakoneta was on the pitching staff.
The ‘67 Buckeyes also appeared in the CWS, but the ‘65 and ‘66 teams were exceptional, said Machado, who lives in the Atlanta area and will be inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame in September for his exploits as a player in the early 1960s.
“Strong overall — good defense, timely hitting,” he said. “But that pitching, especially led by Arlin. … We know one guy doesn’t win it, but he was greatly responsible for our success.”
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