Dowling’s 1963 Season Rates Best

Starting pitchers of the 1990’s are having a hard time moving into the upper strata of individual pitching seasons in Goldpanners history.

It is unlikely the 1963 season of Dave Dowling, left hander out of the University of California, will ever be duplicated, especially when it was not done during the great years turned in by by USC’s Tom House in 1966 and another USC lefty Brent Strom, in 1968.  Not even USC flame-throwing sensation Mike Adamson could do it with his 1966 hummer.

Dowling, now a dentist in Washington state, ran up an 11-3 record with one save while fashioning a sensational 0.85 earned run average.  Just as amazing, however, are his 216 strikeouts in 116 innings.  He posted 11 complete games, second only all-time to House’s 13 in 1966.

House’s 1966 season showed a 1.31 ERA and 15.2 record with 1 save.  House recorded 177 strikeouts in 137.1 innings.  On that same Goldpanner team Adamson was going 9-0 with a 1.43 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 101.1 innings.  House and Adamson thus combined for 21 complete games and 7 shutouts while posting a combined 24-2 record with 1 save.  Further, they added to their claim as the most outstanding 1-2 punch in team history with their combined 1.36 ERA for 238.2 innings.  This is not to mention the 347 strikeouts and just 113 hits surrendered.

The best performance of the 1990’s so far came in 1994 from Gonzaga’s Darin Blood.  The big righty cracked 14^th place on the all-time list as he posted a 7-1 record and a 2.16 ERA.

In the summer of 1997, Craig Jones of USC made the list as he earned 19^th place all-time by posting an 8-3 season with a fine 2.43 ERA.  Jones is also among the team’s top relievers with his 1996 season when he went 1-1 with a save and a 3.82 ERA for 40 innings of work in 19 games.

House holds the team record for games started with 16 and his 13 complete games is tops.  Dowling’s seven shutouts are unmatched.  Greg Harris of Long Beach City had a great all-around season on the hill in 1976 and matched House’s 15 victories in a campaign.  Harris went 15-3 with 1 save and earned a 2.12 ERA over 144.1 innings.  The 144.1 innings came on 15 starts and 22 appearances and is the most ever for a Panner pitcher in a single season.  Only house’s 137.1 in 1966 and UCLA’s Tim Leary with 121.2 in 1978 come close.  Interestingly, another pitcher, Ed VandeBerg of Arizona State, ranks fourth at 117.2 innings.

A pitching quiniela was turned in by the 1991 staff headed by Brett Backlund of Iowa and reliever Benji Grigsby of Lassen Community College in California.  As rare as it is to have a 10-game winner on a summer team, the 1991 club had two of them as Backlund and Grigsby both turned the trick.

Backlund, named Most Valuable Player of the National Shootout in Amarillo, Texas, went 10-0 with a save and a 2.64 ERA.  Grigsby had a high ERA at 4.12, but how about 10 victories and 5 saves?

In all of the years of Goldpanner baseball, there have only been a dozen pitchers to make it to the double victory column and ’91 is the only year it happened twice.  However, Wayne Vincent of Florida State with 12 wins and Brent Strom of USC with 9, just missed in 1967.

1961 Lethbridge

6/21/63: Stapp Stops with Five Hitter

1963 NBC HARVEST OF TROPHIES:

Leading Pitcher. 
Sandlotter of the Year.
All-America Team Member.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER