Concordia's 1908 baseball team
Baseball’s history at Concordia actually goes back to 1894, the second year of the school’s existence. Physical fitness was so important to the Rev. Theodore Buenger, Concordia’s first president, that one of the first things constructed on campus was a baseball diamond laid out where the Main Classroom Building now stands.
The school fielded its first baseball team in 1904 when Dr. Herman Wollaeger arrived to be the school’s first athletic director and baseball coach. There are no won-loss records of the early teams, but a look at the 1908 team (see picture) reveals that the Comets wore the traditional garb of ballplayers of the era.
Perhaps Concordia’s most well-known baseball alum was
Dick Siebert, class of ’30. A first baseman/pitcher, Siebert’s most impressive achievement at Concordia was pitching the Comets to a 7-6 victory over the University of Minnesota.
Siebert, who also played and coached basketball at Concordia and who had a distinguished major league career with the Philadelphia Athletics, is best remembered for his three decades of service as baseball coach at the University of Minnesota. While at the U of M, he won three NCAA Championships. Siebert Field, the current home of the Gophers, was named in his honor in 1979.
Baseball remained a successful sport at Concordia in the 1930’s and 40’s. In 1948, the Comets had three pitchers who, as was the custom in those days, made considerable money pitching semi-pro baseball in the summer. A practice that was banned the following year as campus officials determined it strayed from the essence of the school’s mission.
Paul Hinrichs, class of ’45, was another baseball star. A pitcher, he originally signed with Detroit and later made it to the major leagues with the Yankees and Red Sox.
Head Coaches Paul Roth, Joey Klemp and Dave Aker helped Concordia - then donning the nickname “Comets” - gain recognition on the national scene, which led into the Mike Streitz era that saw five UMAC Championships and consistent NSCAA & NAIA Tournament appearances in his run from 1989 to 1999.
Other sports came and went but baseball has remained a consistent staple of the Concordia athletic scene. Since 1993 the team has played at Bob Barnes Field, named for the longtime AD and former coach who retired in 1988 after 40 years of service.
With its cozy dimensions, Barnes Field is a hitter’s paradise. It is reminiscent of the field on which alumni helped build the Concordia legacy. Just as cars parked in Gangelhoff Center’s lot are targets for right field moonshots, homers on the old field would have been launched at present-day Interstate 94.
Present day Barnes Field features a view of the Concordia Dome at Sea Foam Stadium two blocks away in the left center field backdrop, while Gangelhoff Center’s south wall and slanted roof are home run targets. In the spring of 2010, Concordia baseball coach
Mark “Lunch” McKenzie named the 24-foot left field fence “Wiesy’s Wall” in honor of his longtime friend and bench coach,
Jim Wiesner, for his lifetime of service to the game of baseball.
Concordia Baseball Team Achievements
National Little College Athletic Association (NLCAA) / National Small College Athletic Association (NSCAA):
1978 - 3rd in the Nation under head coach Paul Roth
1981 - qualified for, but did not attend NLCAA Tournament
1984 - 2nd in the Nation under head coach Joey Klemp
1985 - 5th in the Nation under head coach Dave Aker
1989 - NSCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Mike Streitz
1990 - NSCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Mike Streitz
1991 - NSCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Mike Streitz
1992 - NSCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Mike Streitz
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA):
1993 - NAIA District Playoff appearance under head coach Mike Streitz
1994 - NAIA District Playoff appearance under head coach Mike Streitz
1995 - NAIA District Playoff appearance under head coach Mike Streitz
1996 - NAIA Northern Playoffs - 3rd place under head coach Mike Streitz
1997 - NAIA District Playoffs - 5th place under head coach Mike Streitz
1998 - NAIA District Playoffs - 4th place under head coach Mike Streitz
NCAA Division II
2008 - NSIC Tournament Champions & NCAA Tournament berth under head coach Mark "Lunch" McKenzie
Conference Championships
1947-82 - 11 total baseball championships under athletics director Bob Barnes
1970 - Upper Midwest (UMAC) Champions under head coach Bob Barnes
1992 - Upper Midwest (UMAC) Champions under head coach Mike Streitz
1993 - Upper Midwest (UMAC) Champions under head coach Mike Streitz
1994 - Upper Midwest (UMAC) Champions under head coach Mike Streitz
1995 - Upper Midwest (UMAC) Champions under head coach Mike Streitz
1997 - Uppper Midwest (UMAC) Co-Champions under head coach Mike Streitz
2003 - NSIC Tournament Co-Champions under head coach Mark "Lunch" McKenzie
2008 - NSIC Tournament Champions under head coach Mark "Lunch" McKenzie
