1961-1963 FRESNO CITY COLLEGE BASEBALL

It is a feat that has only been accomplished twice in the 70-year baseball history of the California Community College Athletic Association: back-to-back-to-back state championships.

And the first team to do it was Fresno City College from 1961-1963.

Coached by Len Bourdet, who took over the program in 1958, the Rams won 72 games in those three seasons. They went 21-12 in 1961, 26-9 in 1962, and 25-8 in 1963.

In 1961, Fresno City College defeated Cerritos College to win its first state championship. The Rams were “fortunate to play well when we had to,” recalls one former player. Pitchers Leroy Harris and Bucky Hoover both threw complete games against Cerritos. Harris, who had nine wins that season, won the first game of the best-of-three series. In Game 2, Hoover was the beneficiary of ten runs and 19 hits (four from Chuck Caldera) in a 10-2 championship-clinching victory for FCC.

In 1962, Dick Selma entered the picture. Selma, who would go on to have a ten-year career in Major League Baseball, went 13-2 that year with one of those wins coming in the first game of the championship series against Orange Coast College.

In the last game of that series, it was Sherrill Ankenman who earned the win.

Ankenman, a relief pitcher, entered the deciding game (Orange Coast College won Game 2 to force Game 3) after Bill Harrison was ejected for arguing a balk. Ankenman pitched five innings, allowing just one hit, and the Rams rallied behind him: seven runs on eleven hits over the next four innings to win their second straight state championship.

Fresno City College also celebrated another milestone in 1962 when Bix Hayden threw the first perfect game in school history, blanking Porterville, 8-0.

In 1963, the Rams won their third straight state championship by beating Long Beach City College. FCC had two future major leaguers on that team: Dick Selma and Ross Moschitto, an outfielder from Atwater who was just 20 years old in 1965 when he made his big-league debut for the New York Yankees.

Fresno City College won three consecutive state baseball championships in its first 14 years of existence. As of 2020, the Rams have won a total of five state baseball championships, adding titles in 1972 and 1992.

Bob Albers (’61), Sherrill Ankenman (’62), Doug Atwood (’61), Tom Avakian (’62, ’63), Dewey Belli (’61, ’62), Clark Bridgman (’61), George Bryson (’61), Chuck Caldera (’61, ’62), David Corona (’61), Charles Craig (’61), Aaron Epperly (’61), Jerry Fleming (’62, ’63), Ken Frankfort (’61), Bob Gamboa (’61), Gary Groth (’61), Leroy Harris (’61), Bill Harrison (’61, ’62), Cliff Hathaway (’62), Bix Hayden (’62, ’63), Chris Heintz (’63), Terry Heizenrader (’61, ’62), Bucky Hoover (’61), Ken Hoyt (’61, ’62), Tom Jacobsen (’61), John Kempf (’62), Lincoln Marini (’62), Howard Martin (’62, ’63), Major Martin (’62), Ross Moschitto (’63), Darrell Moss (’61), Ron Oliver (’62, ’63), Basil Perch (’61, ’62), Jerry Rosser (’61, ’62), Bob Schanze (’63), Howie Schmidt (’63), Dick Selma (’62, ’63), Marty Sharp (’61, ’62), Lawrence Silva (’62, ’63), Steve Smith (’62), Dean Stewart (’61), Nolan Tinkler (’61), Kryn Van Elswyck (’62), Craig White (’61)

Coach: Len Bourdet