Former Bombers coach talks title teams in 1980s

Since the 1930s, Ithaca College baseball enjoyed an insurmountable amount of success as a program, which includes 49 NCAA Tournament appearances and a handful of Division III College World Series bids.

A bulk of that success took place in the 1980s, an unforgettable decade for the Bombers. The decade is home to not one but two World Series titles in 1980 and 1988.

Led by George Valesente, who led the Bombers baseball program from 1979 to 2019, both teams had a combination of grit, skill and talent.

“When you’re a coach [for these teams], you ride the wave. They just took off,” Valesente said. In the 1980s, on top of the two national titles, the Bombers made the World Series five times and qualified for the NCAA Tournament every year of that decade.

Valesente joined the Ithaca College baseball program in 1978 in preparation for the 1979 season. The Bombers had a brief appearance in the NCAA regionals in 1979, going 2-2 and bowing out after a 4-2 loss to Eastern Connecticut.

The 1980 season, however, had the makings of something special. Ithaca College was returning key players, including John Nicolo, Joe Hopkins, Marty Olmstead, Jim Barletto and more. This was complemented by an impressive freshman class, which included Mark Fagan and Dave Axenfeld.

“They sort of filled in spots we really needed,” Valesente said of Fagan, Axenfeld and the other Bombers freshmen.

From there, Valesente said the 1980 team was an “incredible display” of “we’re here to win and we don’t care who you are.”

“Many of the games were like that when we were on the field,” Valesente said. “[The team] knew what they needed to do and wanted to do it. That was the major focus.”

Valesente called the 1980 squad a “very tough team.” In fact, they were so tough, it led to some altercations within their own dugout. Sometimes, the altercations stemmed to opposing teams.

“Teams that fight against each other fight with each other when it comes time to play,” Valesente said, noting the 1980 squad was just a “passionate bunch of guys.”

The Bombers compiled a record of 33-4 in 1980, which saw the team cruise into the College World Series. The team lost to Upsala, 7-4, to kick off the series, but went on to win four straight for the title.

“They had an attitude,” Valesente said. “They had an edge. They didn’t like their opponents and hated to lose. They were just cocky.”

Teddy French, the Bombers outfielder who broke his glasses the night before a penultimate playoff game, hit a home run in the eighth inning that would guide Ithaca College to a 5-4 win over Marietta College. The Bombers would then beat Marietta in the title game that would commence a half hour, by a score of 12-5.

Olmstead, on the mound after only a day of rest, tossed a complete game for the Bombers.

“It was the kind of group that just did everything so well,” Valesente said. “From a coaching standpoint, they had the idea of what you had to do to win. That’s all they wanted to do.”

The 1979-80 college sports season was extra special for Nicolo, Doug DeCarr, John Bertino, Bob Campese and Fred Yaple — who were also members of Ithaca College’s national championship football team in 1979.

“It was really unlike any year a school could imagine,” Valesente said.

As for the 1988 team, Valesente said this squad had “a lot of skill and talent.” From Steve Graham to Vinny Roman, Joe Sottolano to Fritz Hamburg, Brian Parrotte and more, the talent was endless.

All of the talent on one team led to a slow start and some players not “playing well” in the early part of the season, Valesente said.

“They weren’t close to reaching their potential,” he added.

One day, Valesente said to his assistant coach, Frank Fazio, who retired the same year as Valesente, that 1988 is “going to be an early golf season.”

“Someone overheard me and got pretty upset at that,” Valesente noted, adding that this team started playing like the 1980 squad. “They played to win the games. It didn’t matter how or what they had to do to win.”

The Bombers went 36-11-1 in 1988, which meant another World Series appearance. Ithaca College won the first two games of the series, lost one and then bounced back to win two straight for the national crown.

In the decisive matchup against Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Roman delivered a two-out, two-run hit in the seventh inning to tie the game at 5-5. In the eighth inning with the bases loaded, Hamburg and Eckert were issued back-to-back walks to force in a couple of runs. From there, the Bombers went on to win, 7-5.

“It was pretty exciting,” Valesente said. “It was a challenging group, and at first, they weren’t playing to their potential. They finally discovered things to help their team win.”

Valesente noted a slew of players from each of the 1980 and 1988 teams went on to sign professional baseball contracts. One notable player, Greg Cook, signed with the Texas Rangers and was the second Bomber in the program’s history to reach the major leagues.

“[The teams] caught on to what the whole focus is and what it means to be a team,” Valesente said. “We had that unexplainable intensity and passion to win.”

Valesente noted a lot of the players went to have successful careers in non-baseball occupations and have families. Despite this, a handful of players still gather for alumni weekend.

Valesente noted that in the early 1990s, the 1980 and 1988 squads played against each other in fall ball games during alumni weekend.

“It was for bragging rights,” Valesente said, noting that the 1980 team went on to win. “Championship teams end with a bond. They still maintain friendships. It was great to work with these guys. They’ll remain close forever.”

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