Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On May 17, 2001, the Iowa State Cyclones rallied in the bottom of the ninth to stun Baylor 6-5 in the Big XII tournament. The last win in Cyclone baseball history, Iowa State’s baseball legacy stretched from 1892 to the end of the program following the 2001 season.
Joining the Iowa Intercollegiate Baseball Association in 1892, the Iowa Agricultural College took the diamond for the first time. Eventually joining the Missouri Valley Conference, the Cyclones claimed the conference title in 1924. Moving to the Big 6 during the early 1930s, Iowa State again rose to the top to claim first place in 1936.
Leroy ‘Cap’ Timm took over in 1938 and led the Cyclones through the mid-twentieth century. During one soggy spring day Timm notably soaked the infield with gasoline and used fire to dry out the dirt. “We got the games played,” remarked Cyclone multisport athlete and then shortstop Gary “The Roland Rocket” Thompson. The same season, in 1957, Iowa State reached the College World Series for the first time.
When Timm retired in 1974, he looked back on a career including 340 wins, three conference titles, and two College World Series appearances. By 2001, however, the school decided to end the program due to budgetary constraints. When the lights went out in the spring of 2001, Cyclone baseball ended with a rich tradition played out in 2,775 games over the course of 109 years. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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