Led by coach Duane Banks, the 1972 Hawkeye baseball team was the only Hawkeye baseball team to participate in the College World Series since it began in Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1947.

”It was the greatest sports event and the most thrilling I have even had in my life or been a part of,” said Dave Wooldrik, who pitched for that team.

Had the Hawkeyes not come back from a devastating loss in the double-elimination regional, Iowa may never have sent a team to the College World Series. But the Hawks did, and Hawkeye fans followed their team to Omaha after the dramatic regional.

“It was a very festive and electric atmosphere,” said Fred Mims, the standout center fielder on the team and current Iowa associate athletics director. “The fans were great, and there was a lot of excitement.”

Mims played professional baseball for the Houston Astros organization for four-and-a-half years before returning to Iowa.

Playing in the College World Series and running out onto the field in Rosenblatt Stadium is something that every college baseball player hopes to do someday.

This year’s series will be the last one at “The ’Blatt.”

“As a team, we took the field from left field,” Wooldrik said. “It was a full house, and when we came out, we got a standing ovation.

“I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about what it was like.”

The Hawkeye players and fans had high hopes, Mims said, because most Iowa teams were struggling to find success at the time. The baseball team won the Big Ten championship, and fans were ecstatic about how far they had come.

Though the support was there and Iowa pitcher Mark Tschopp had 15 strikeouts, the Hawkeyes lost the first game, 2-1, against Arizona State. They went on to lose their second game, 13-9, against Temple while Bill Heckroth, a current Iowa state senator, was pitching.

The Hawkeye team attended Heckroth’s wedding a week before the series.

“We played together, partied together, and we all got along so well,” Wooldrick said. “I have memories and friendships that will last a lifetime, and of course I was a part of great baseball.”

Catcher Jim Sundberg highlighted the list of players from that ’72 team who went on to experience success at the major-league level. He went on to play for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, and the Chicago Cubs. Sundberg was named an All-star three times and won six Gold Glove awards.

As this year’s College World Series nears its conclusion, current Iowa pitcher Nick Brown said playing on college baseball’s biggest stage is an opportunity he wishes for — and he thinks it’s feasible.

“It’s something I hope for the team,” said Brown, a junior right-hander. “And something we are striving for, but we have to take things one day at a time. I think that is what made us so successful this past season, and that’s what we would need to do to get there.”