University of North Carolina Athletics
BREWER: Rabb's Spirit Will Live On With Baseball Program
April 7, 2006 | Baseball
April 7, 2006
CAR-O-LINES
by Rick Brewer, Sports Information Director Emeritus
Last week plans for the much needed revamping of Boshamer Stadium were formally announced.
Unfortunately, Walter Rabb will not see that work completed. Rabb, 91, died earlier this week in Chapel Hill.
From 1947 to 1977 Rabb was the face of Carolina baseball. In 31 seasons as head coach his teams posted a record of 540-358-9.
It was Rabb who led the way in getting the stadium originally built. He was a close friend of Cary Boshamer, a 1917 alumnus. Rabb convinced him of the need for a stadium and Boshamer contributed the money needed for its construction.
During his time at Carolina Rabb not only served as baseball coach, but also assistant athletic director. Following the retirement of Chuck Erickson, he was even interim athletic director from May 1968 to January 1969.
But, sitting behind a desk didn't excite Rabb. He preferred being on the field or in the classroom, where he taught physical education.
Rabb was known as "The Old Leaguer" to many. It was a term used by Bunn Hearn, who had made Rabb his assistant during the 1940s. It referred to a player who was capable and dependable under pressure, someone who knew how to play smart baseball. Rabb used it himself to describe some of his players or people he appreciated.
Rabb grew up wanting to be a major league player. Baseball, boxing and horse racing far surpassed all other sports in popularity at that time.
In fact, the reason he ended up in Chapel Hill was Phil Rizzuto.
After attending Mars Mill and then transferring to NC State, Rabb signed a contract with the New York Yankees. He played shortstop at Snow Hill, Akron and Augusta. But, he knew that Rizzuto was ahead of him in the Yankee farm system. So he decided to give up that dream and come to graduate school at Carolina.
It was a good decision. Rizzuto became a five-time all-star and Hall of Fame shortstop in New York and Rabb began his career at Carolina.
He became a professor in the physical education department in 1942 after finishing his graduate work. Except for a three-year break during World War II, he continued to have that position until his retirement. He also was director of the University's intramural program until 1961. That's when he became assistant athletic director.
But, it was on the baseball field that Rabb gained his real prominence at Carolina. When Hearn suffered a stroke in 1947, Rabb took over as coach. Although Hearn eventually recovered, Rabb ran the team.
Rabb's 540 career wins in 31 seasons may not seem impressive today. But, now teams regularly play 60 to 80 games. The most games any of Rabb's teams ever played in a year was 36. In fact, on only 15 occasions did they play as many as 30.
Seasons today run from early February to the middle of May. Over the years changes in the academic calendar prevented the Tar Heels from competing more than they did.
Baseball is usually perceived to be the most conservative of all sports. Many think of baseball men as being storytellers, people who like to live in the past. Indeed, men like Rabb could talk for hours about games and players from decades ago. When ACC coaches met before the league's baseball tournament each year, they would spend over an hour talking about the sport before ever getting around to the business of the tournament. It was annually the longest meeting of any group in the entire school year.
But, Rabb had as much foresight as anyone in athletics. As Carolina's assistant athletic director he helped push through the concept of an ACC baseball tournament. The hope was to copy the success of the league's basketball tournament and spur more interest in baseball. The ACC Baseball Tournament is now a sellout almost every year and has been copied by other conferences.
While serving as president of the College Baseball Coaches Association, he had the organization push to include baseball in the 1964 Olympics at Tokyo.
When that failed, he suggested a possible World Series between the top players in Japan and the best college players from this country. It seemed natural to him since so many college coaches had visited Japan to conduct clinics on the sport. But, that couldn't be worked out with the NCAA.
One of Rabb's biggest disappointments was the failure of the NCAA to allow colleges to extend their seasons through the summer. He argued that players were going to compete in the summer-- Cape Cod, Alaska or somewhere else. Why not let that happen on campus? But, there were too many problems that would have to be overcome with the NCAA and the idea never got a lot of backing.
When that didn't work out, he became the guiding force behind the N.C. Collegiate Summer League. It was another attempt by Rabb to promote college baseball. The league lasted several seasons in the early 1970s.
After his retirement Rabb still attended as many games as possible. The press box at Boshamer is named in his honor. He knew the stadium he had conceived in the 1970s needed changes and was looking forward to the renovations. Now he'll miss the completion of that face-lifting. But the groundwork he laid for the stadium and the entire baseball program will be around forever.
