Editor's note: The University of Northern Iowa baseball program is in its final week of existence after a February decision by university officials to eliminate the program at season's end. Courier sports writer Matt Coss revisits the last 50 years of Panther baseball during a five-part series this week.

First in a series

CEDAR FALLS - More than 40 years later, Jim Bowen and Phil Johnson still vividly recall the nuances of the ballpark.

"It reminded me of the original Cooperstown Park," Bowen said. "It was an all-wooden stadium, a full grandstand from first to third base."

"To left field, a Texas league pop-up was a home run," Johnson noted, "and you couldn't hit it out with a cannon to right field."

Nestled right behind the West Gymnasium and Russell Hall, the State College of Iowa (now the University of Northern Iowa) played its baseball games.

Led by legendary coach L.W. "Mon" Whitford, the Panthers - a Division II program - competed in the North Central Conference. Whitford, UNI's all-time winningest coach with 303 victories, served as the head coach from 1926 to 1965.

"It was probably one of the most enjoyable athletic experiences I ever had, playing for 'Mon,'" said Bowen, who was originally from Cedar Rapids and played at State College of Iowa from 1962-65. "He was fun and entertaining, but he was dedicated on competing.

"He pushed you hard and wanted performance. It was an absolute honor to be penciled regularly in his lineup."

Whitford, who died in 1973, had a winning season in each of his last eight years, including his 1962 squad that made it to NCAA district play and the 1965 team that reached the Midwest Regionals.

Tom Simpson, a left-handed pitcher from Waterloo, pitched a complete game for Whitford's 300th career win.

The game was far different during Whitford's era. Instead of aluminium bats, everybody used wood.

"I often wonder how good a hitter I could have been with an aluminum bat in my hand," said Bowen, who was a left-handed-hitting outfielder for the Panthers.

Teams didn't play 50-plus-game schedules and freshman weren't eligible for the varsity squad. In fact, Whitford's club never played more than 21 games in a season.

"The quality of baseball was good," Bowen said. "There's no doubt in my mind it's steadily gotten better with concentration on individual play, private coaching and teaching."

Several players on the baseball team during the 1960s participated in multiple sports.

In addition to being a pitcher, Johnson played for Norm Stewart's basketball team. Duane "Josie" Josephson - one of four Panthers to reach the big leagues - was the quarterback on the football team, a guard on the basketball squad and a catcher on the baseball team.

Two of the program's four all-time major leaguers came from the 1960s.

Josephson, who died from a heart ailment in January 1997, played for the White Sox (1965-70) and Boston Red Sox (1971-72).

Eddie Watt, who was at UNI in 1961, pitched for the Baltimore Orioles from 1966-73, followed by a year with the Phillies and Cubs.

Johnson, drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 36th round in 1966, remembers going to Minneapolis one night while in college to see Watt.

"After a couple of us checked into a motel, we realized we didn't have any tickets," Johnson said. "So, it's like 2:30 or 3 in the morning, and the game was the next afternoon and we knew what hotel the Orioles were at, so we called Eddie to get tickets.

"He answered the phone and said, 'Phil, do you realize what time it is?' We were in college, so time had no meaning. However, the next day the tickets were there for us."

Bowen said the camaraderie amongst the players "was exceptional."

"There was a lot of poker played in the back of the bus," said Bowen, who went on to coach two Division III national championship teams at California State University-Stanislaus in 1976 and '77. "I don't ever remember any discipline issues. It says something about the cohesiveness of the group."

During a road trip in the 1966 season, several players were huddled in the back of the bus playing cards. The game was "in-between." As the pot climbed to nearly $40, head coach James D. Anderson (known as J.D.) - in his first season - walked back and asked if he could join the game.

Anderson was dealt a deuce and an ace (which played as a high card). Then, Anderson had to decide how much he wanted to wager that his next card would fall between those two. If the card he drew was equal in value, he lost.

Anderson bet the pot.

"He ended up getting a deuce, so he had to match the pot," Johnson said. "That was the last time we played in-between. He took it hard. The rest of us thought it was pretty unfair we were being penalized that he lost.

"We just had a lot of fun together and had a great group of guys who loved to play baseball. We really looked forward to the road trips."

Like today, the players had to battle the elements.

"It was so cold up at Morehead (N.D.) one day that everybody was on the bus between innings," Johnson said. "The weather, that was part of the fun.

"Now, it'd be considered freezing. Back then, it was just cold."