Georgia Tech Baseball Programs and Guides

According to the historical notes in recent baseball programs, the first year that Georgia Tech fielded a baseball team was about 1895, but two articles from The Atlanta Constitution indicate that there was a Tech team playing games as early as the spring of 1889 (see The Atlanta Constitution, March 17, 1889, p. 17; and March 31, 1889, p. 17). A May 1892 article from the same newspaper covers a baseball game between Tech and the University of Georgia (May 15, 1892, p. 21), in which Tech was defeated.

None of these early articles mention a coach of baseball. The first coach mentioned in the historical notes in recent baseball programs, Coach Todd, did not begin until 1900. Two other men served as coach in 1902 and 1903. In the following season, John Heisman, who was also hired to coach Tech's football team, took over the team. Heisman remained as baseball coach until 1917, the year of his departure from Tech. Heisman coached the team to a winning record for 11 of the 14 seasons he spent at Tech. He was succeeded by Joe Bean, who coached Tech baseball for the following three seasons.

In 1921, Kid Clay took over as baseball coach. He remained in the position until the 1931 season, posting winning records for nine of the 12 seasons he coached. Bobby Dodd assumed the coach's position for the rest of the 1930s, although no team was fielded in 1936. Roy Mundorff coached the team until 1943. No team was fielded during the final two years of World War II, 1944 and 1945.

Joe Pittard began a 17-year career as baseball coach at Tech in 1946. Pittard led the team to two NCAA tournaments, in 1948 and 1959, and one SEC championship, in the 1957 season. Another long-term coach, Jim Luck, succeeded Pittard in 1962. Luck continued in the position for 20 seasons, sending the team to one NCAA tournament in 1971. Under Jim Morris, who took over as coach in 1982, the team began having considerable success: They were ACC champions for four consecutive seasons (1985 through 1988), and they reached the NCAA tournament in nine consecutive seasons (1985 through 1993). Several Tech players, including two who began under Morris, Jason Varitek and Nomar Garciaparra, have gone on to very successful major league careers. Kevin Brown, a successful major league pitcher, also played under Morris; Mark Teixeira, another major league player, played for Tech from 1999 to 2001.

As of this writing (January 2012), Danny Hall has been coaching the baseball team for 19 seasons, since 1994. The team has participated in the NCAA tournament almost every season during Hall's tenure; they have been ACC champions several years, including 2000, 2003, and 2005; and they have sent teams to the College World Series at least twice, in 1994 and 2002. The team is regularly nationally ranked; in the ESPN/USA Today Preseason Coaches Poll, Tech is ranked number 10 for the 2012 season.