The Story in Van Winkle Hollow
A quiet place along Highway 12 between Rogers and Eureka Springs holds...
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In the spring of 1979, baseball at the University of Arkansas was far different than today. The Hogs played their home games at George Cole Field, attendance averaged under 1,000, and the Baseball Razorbacks had never been to the College World Series. The cherished nickname “Omahogs” was decades away. College baseball in Fayetteville was more of an outing than an obsession. The 1979 team was about to change all that forever; however, their story is often forgotten in the celebrated annals of Razorback Baseball.
Unfortunately, Arkansas Razorback baseball fans can recall every detail of the 2018 College World Series, but time has a way of enabling us to put that season in perspective. In hindsight, that season featured one of the most memorable postseasons in team history, overshadowed by an unhappy ending. Lost in the collective memories of Razorback fans is the “other CWS Runner-up” finish and the amazing accomplishments of the 1979 team.
The 1979 season was Norm DeBriyn’s tenth year as head coach. The graduate of Wisconsin-Oshkosh arrived in 1970 and took over an overlooked team, with a minimal budget. Without a suitable on-campus ballpark, the Hogs played home games at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Coaching at the UofA was not exactly the dream job in college baseball. The position was initially offered to the Arkansas golf coach, who had second thoughts after about two weeks.
When DeBriyn was hired to lead Razorback baseball, he had little college baseball experience, but he was available. He had coached the freshman team at Northern Colorado as a graduate assistant, and he was already on campus. In 1969, the 29-year-old aspiring coach volunteered to help Arkansas Coach Wayne Robbins in fall practice, and he was teaching First Aid and Health in the college of Education.
Norm DeBriyn had no second thoughts. In addition to a chance to coach baseball, DeBriyn could keep his teaching job and get a raise from $7,000 to $9,000. The Baseball Hogs went 19-13 in DeBriyn’s initial season, and by his second season, the Hogs 23 wins set a new school record for victories in a season. A hire made for convenience has become one of the best coaching choices in Razorback history.
DeBriyn brought respectability immediately, but perhaps more surprisingly, he convinced Athletic Director Frank Broyles to build George Cole Field on the south side of the university campus. Baseball at Arkansas would never be an overlooked part of the athletic program again. By the late 1970s, the program was attracting pro prospects. Future major leaguers Tim Lollar (1978), and Johnny Ray (1979), were chosen in the Major League Draft and become big-league stars.
After 30+ victories in 1976-1978, the Razorbacks moved into uncharted territory, winning 49 games in 1979. They won four games without a loss in February but lost two of three to Texas in the first Southwest Conference home series early in March. From that point on, the 1979 Baseball Razorbacks never lost another conference series.
The first Arkansas team to reach the College World Series was a team of veterans that DeBriyn later recalled as “feisty” and sometimes “challenging,” but always ready to compete. Junior catcher Ronn Reynolds, who would play three seasons with the New York Mets, was chosen as an All-American. Pitcher Steve Krueger, second baseman Johnny Ray, first baseman Ed Wallace, outfielder Mark Brumble, shortstop Larry Wallace, and outfielder John Hennell returned to lead the 1979 team. They all received post-season honors. Senior Rich Erwin set a record for victories in a season (13) that would stand until Blaine Knight’s 14-win season in 2018.
Reynolds batted .347, Ray led the team with 47 RBIs, and veteran pitcher Krueger posted a 1.73 ERA, but two Arkansas-born freshmen may have added the missing pieces that moved the Hogs to the top tier of college baseball.
Kevin McReynolds, the Arkansas Player of the Year in 1978 for Sylvan Hills High School, hit 8 home runs and batted .282 in his first year of college baseball. Little Rock McCellan High School’s Scott Tabor won 10 games on the mound. McReynolds was named to the College World Series All-Tournament Team, and Tabor was selected to the All-SWC Tournament team.
Despite the 40-win season, there was no consensus that Arkansas would get a post-season bid. Texas was dominating in their two wins over Arkansas in the Southwest Conference Tournament, and the SWC was not recognized as one of college baseball’s toughest conferences. No SWC team other than the Texas Longhorns had ever won a College World Series.
The Razorbacks got the call, but it would involve a trip to Tallahassee, Florida, to the East Regional. The Hogs fought through a tough tournament with a one-run win over George Washington, a nine-to-one rout of SEC East Champion Florida, and two hard-fought wins over an underrated Delaware team.
June 5, 1979, Razorback Baseball Arrives
The Razorbacks advanced to Omaha with one uniform and practice gear handed down from the football team, but they certainly came to play baseball. After a 5-4 win over perennial power Pepperdine, the Hogs would meet Texas on June 5. The game became the moment in time when the Razorbacks would claim their place among the elite programs of college baseball.
Although they were yet to be called the “Omahogs,” the 1979 team made themselves right at home. The Texas Longhorns were the ideal villains for the Razorbacks’ landmark baseball story, and the Hogs claimed their new status in college baseball with an emphatic 9-4 win.
Freshman Scott Tabor started the game, and freshman Kevin McReynolds was the hitting star. McReynolds hit a home run and a double in Arkansas’s seven-run third inning, and Texas never threatened after that.
Cal State Fullerton would claim the CWS title three days later, but the baseball Razorbacks became the focus of spring sports in Arkansas. There was a time when baseball was part of our grandparents’ spring and summer routine. In 2026, on spring evenings at Baum-Walker, baseball is still the “Arkansas Game.” The beginning of that love affair with college baseball can be traced to that June 5, 1979, game in Omaha, Nebraska.
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