UNC and NC State Hope to End ACC's 58 Year Drought in CWS (A Tribute to the 1955 Wake Forest Baseball Team)

North Carolina and N.C. State have a lot in common these days.. Not only are they the two largest state universities in North Carolina (and within half hour drive time between the two), they are also the only two Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) representatives left at the College World Series.  The ACC can claim only one national championship in NCAA Baseball history and will vie to break a 58 year drought for ACC baseball teams.  The only championship? (Boy that's a good trivia question).



Wake Forest Demon Deacons in 1955...  Let's take a look at that memorable team.


When the 1960 Philadelphia Eagles were inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (they had defeated Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers 17-13 in the title game), a sportswriter said to running back Billy Ray Barnes, "I assume this was your biggest thrill in sports." Barnes looked at him and emphatically told him, "Not even close".

Maybe the sportswriter didn't know of Barnes prolific college baseball career. He was the 1956 ACC Player of the Year and a member of the Wake forest team that won the National Title in 1955, "Winning a championship for your friends and your school can't be beat," said Barnes. "That will always be number one."

Billy Ray Barnes

Wake had a solid program back then. As a matter of fact, they had lost in the title game to Texas for the 1949 title. The Deacons were coached by Taylor Sanford, a graduate of Richmond where he captained the football, baseball, and basketball teams and set school records in the shot put and discus.Not only were his players undoubtedly impressed with Sanford's playing career but his laid-back personality was a huge hit with his team. Barnes says "He had a calmness, a piece of mind. He never panicked and he knew what he was doing. He always seemed to make the right move."

Outfielder Tommy Cole agreed.  "He wasn't one of the guys but he was very approachable. You could talk to him about anything. He never got on you, never rode you hard. He had the respect of the guys,"according to Cole.

The 1955 team was built to score runs.  Wake led the ACC that year in batting average, runs per game, slugging percentage, doubles per game, and triples per game. Linwood Holt, the All-American junior catcher from Graham, NC led that group. Cole said Holt was someone "who could do anything you needed a catcher to do. He had a great mind for the game."

Coach Taylor Sanford

The Wake infield had Bob Waggoner at first, Jack Bryant at second, Harold Moore at shortstop, and Barnes at third base. Cole was in right field, speedy Luther McKeel patrolled center field, while Frank McRae was in left. At 6'3", 240 pounds, McRae was an intimidating precence in the batter's box. According to Cole, "he (McRae) was solid. Not an ounce of flab. When he hit it, he hit it. He had a home run at South Carolina that's probably still going up."

The Wake pitching staff was led by Lowell "Lefty" Davis, a junior from Illinois. Like Barnes, Davis was better known for another sport; he was an All-ACC basketball player. Jack McGinley, John Stokoe, Buck Fichter, Ralph Adams, and Bill Walsh rounded out the staff.

Like this great team, the Tarheels and Wolfpack will need a great run to win the National Title.  It can be done.  Fifty-five years is a long time!

To see more details of Wake Forest's 1955 National Championship run, see article here..