For many Cal State Fullerton fans, Titan baseball began with Hall of Famer Augie Garrido's arrival on campus in 1972, or CSUF's incredible inaugural D1 season in 1975, culminating with the "Gutty Little Titans" knocking off defending national champion, USC, and advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Even a casual college baseball fan can tell you that Cal State Fullerton quickly became an NCAA baseball powerhouse, with national championships in 1979, 1984, 1995, and 2004. In addition, there would be 41 annual appearances in the NCAA tournament, including most recently in the 2023 season, and 18 trips to the College World Series.
While doing research deep in the archives of the Daily Titan for another Titan Memories story, we came across another baseball championship that has largely been lost to history. The school, at the time, was still named California State College, Fullerton. Enrollment had just topped 10,000 students, and Dr. William B. Langsdorf had been the college president since 1959.
Until Augie arrived, Bill Fulton was at the helm of the Titan baseball program from 1965 to 1972, when Fullerton competed in the D2 California Collegiate Athletic Association.
So, turn on MeTV, text Jimmy Darren and Robert Colbert, and let's crank up The Time Tunnel, and head back some five decades ago.
Bob Roth's original April 8, 1969 story from the pages of The Titan newspaper is hereby presented in its entirety:
As big Don Neugebauer rounded third and trotted out the final leg of his home run he was met with a welcoming party that resembled something that one might see after a World Series triumph.
The win was not quite of that stature but the Titans of CSF couldn't care less for they had just become the upset winners of the first Orange County Invitational baseball tournament, and no one could deny them a victory celebration.
Neugebauer was the man of the hour as his three-run home run in the bottom of the last inning wiped out a 4-3 University of California, Santa Barbara lead and gave the Titans a 6-4 win and the tournament title.
But one can't possibly think of the Titans' wins without many more names coming to mind. Names like Sam Borgogna, Bill Meng, Don Bacon, Bob Ickes, Bob Elder, Rich Cox, Allan Tenney, Bob Gause, and Bob Murray cannot go unmentioned.
To re-cap the Titans' amazing triumph one must go back to the first game of the tourney as southpaw Borgogna turned in a brilliant complete game, 11-strikeout performance and CSF dumped Grambling College 6-2.
Murray gave Borgogna a big lift in the field as he nailed two Grambling runners at the plate with perfect throws.
The next day Bob "Cowboy" Gause was the hero. Gause, who had seen only limited service thus far in the campaign, threw a four-hitter at the University of Wyoming as CSF won its second straight, 4-1.
Later that same day the Titans suffered their only loss of the tourney as a late inning rally fell short and CSF dropped a 5-3 decision to the New Mexico Lobos.
At this point the Titans had to really bow their backs as one more loss would eliminate them from a chance at the crown and they still had to face the defending national champion Chapman Panthers, who were 3-0 in the series.
Coach Bill Fulton started star left-hander Rich Cox, who defeated Chapman earlier in the year, and once again Cox was more than Chapman could handle.
With the help of a couple of fielding gems from shortstop Elder, Cox limited Chapman to three hits in seven innings or work, while walking only one and striking out six.
At this point, side-wheeling reliever Tenney came in, and he was superb. While protecting a precarious 2-0 lead, Tenney was faced with runners on second and third with no one out.
He proceeded to pin the Panthers' ears back by retiring the side on three harmless pop ups.
The Titans scored their first run in the fifth inning as Ickes and Cox contributed the important hits.
All of this merely set the stage for the final game, when the Titans pulled off their biggest win against UCSB.
Things did not look too good for CSF as the Gauchos scored three runs in the second frame to jump out on top. Ickes singled in a run for CSF in the lower half of the inning but a UCSB homer in the fourth gave the Gauchos a 4-1 lead.
CSF cut it to 4-2 after four as Neugebauer singled in Don Bacon who had just belted a long ground rule double. Murray singled in another run in the fifth after CSF loaded the bases with none out and it looked like the Titans were ready for the kill, but a series of attempted squeeze bunts was thwarted and the inning was wiped out.
Borgogna, pitching with just two days rest, then came in out of the bullpen for CSF and turned in a great clutch performance, as he held UCSB hitless over the last three innings.
Because of the time limit on the games the Titans came up in the eighth inning knowing that it was their last chance. Sophomore Meng led off the inning and opened the gate by delivering a line drive single to left.
Bacon then moved pinch runner Jerry Hamilton around to third with a looping fly ball down the right field line that fell for a double.
That brought out Neugebauer and with one strike on him the personable first sacker picked out one to his liking and sent it high and deep over the left field fence.
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