In this four-part series, The O’Colly will revisit the 1981-87 Oklahoma State baseball teams, which have one of the most dominant stretches in college baseball history.
The Cowboys’ seven-consecutive College World Series appearances mark the longest stretch in the sport’s history, but they never came away with a national championship.
By the time Gary Ward’s team arrived back in Stillwater from Omaha, Nebraska, in mid-June 1982, the Oklahoma State head coach’s message was simple.
“Now.”
Ward had instilled the idea of an imminent return to the College World Series in the minds of his players the moment their ’82 campaign ended after a dreaded 1-2 finish at the college baseball promise land.