COLLEGE BASEBALL HALL OF FAME
INDUCTED IN 2007
Inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007
The National College Baseball Hall of Fame, located in Lubbock, Texas, is a museum operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States.
College Baseball Foundation Article from Collegebaseballfoundation.org – July 4, 2007
LUBBOCK, Texas — The College Baseball Foundation announced today the names of eleven collegiate baseball legends, including former USC outfielder Fred Lynn, which join four veteran candidates that will comprise the 2007 Induction Class into the new College Baseball Hall of Fame in Lubbock, Texas.
Lynn (Alhambra, Calif/El Monte HS) becomes the second Trojan to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after legendary head coach Rod Dedeaux made the first class last year. He appeared on three consecutive USC national championship squads (1971, 1972 and 1973) and had a career .320 average with 28 home runs and 111 RBI. He also earned 1971 All-College World Series honors for the Trojans.
College Hall of Fame Ceremony
During his major league career which started with the Boston Red Sox, Lynn became the first player in major league history to win American League Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player honors after batting .331 with 21 home runs and 105 RBI. He later earned MVP honors at the 1982 AL Championship Series with the California Angels (.611 with a home run and five RBI) and the 1983 All-Star Game, where he hit the first grand slam in All-Star history in Chicago’s Comiskey Park.
The announcement comes after the conclusion of an intensive voting process that began with nominations in January and three elimination ballots. The Class of 2007 includes legendary coaches Jim Brock of Arizona State, Chuck “Bobo” Brayton of Washington State, Bibb Falk of Texas, Jerry Kindall of Arizona and Dick Siebert of Minnesota, in addition to standout former players Jim Abbott of Michigan, Pete Incaviglia of Oklahoma State, John Olerud of Washington State, Phil Stephenson of Wichita State and Derek Tatsuno of Hawaii.
Four veteran selections previously announced will be celebrated and officially inducted with the Class of 2007. This first-ever Veteran Class of pre-1947 candidates includes legendary players Christy Mathewson of Bucknell, Lou Gehrig of Columbia and players-turned-coaches Joe Sewell of Alabama and John “Jack” Barry of Holy Cross.
The collegiate legends will be officially enshrined during a three-day celebration of college baseball in July, which will feature the theme `The Past Meets Present’. The CBF will kick off the festivities on Monday, July 2rd with the Mayor’s First Pitch Breakfast/Opening Ceremonies and Alumni Golf Tournament, followed on July 3rd by the fourth annual Brooks Wallace College Baseball Player of the Year Award dinner to be held at the United Spirit Arena, on the campus of Texas Tech University. Members of the 2007 Hall of Fame Class will be in attendance and recognized during these events.
Over 300 candidates were originally submitted for consideration by universities and CBF members. In conjunction with the Society for the Advancement of Baseball Research (SABR), the ABCA Veteran and CBF Historical Committees comprised the CBF Research Committee, which was charged with evaluating nominees worthy of official consideration. A complete list and short biographies of the 2007 Hall of Fame Inductees are available at: www.collegebaseballfoundation.org
- April 10, 2007 College Baseball Foundation Online – 2007 Hall of Fame Inductees Announced.
- July 4, 2007 Fred Lynn was inducted into the College Baseball Hall Of Fame.
Played in 158 career games at USC … Batted .320 in his career (159-for-497) with 28 home runs and 111 RBIs … Member of three USC national championship squads in three seasons … First team All-American in 1972 after batting .326 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs … Earned All-College World Series honors in 1971 … Named to the 1970s All-Decade Team for the College World Series … 1972 all-region and all-conference selection
“I wonder why I am here,” Lynn said with a smile, “especially after it took us 17 hours to get here because of the weather. I am proud to be here, and I am grateful to many people for a fair amount of success. My parents were very supportive, and I probably got a lot of the ability from my mom. My dad did toughen me up a little by bouncing a hardball off my head when I was little. The convinced me that there would be no sports without A’s or B’s in class, and I was grateful for USC football helping me come there on an athletics scholarship. Playing for (Hall of Fame) coach Rod Dedeaux was scary at times, but you learned to play intelligently and avoid making the mentral mistakes.”