It was November of 1979. The Fall practice season was over. Earlier in the year, Miami finished 34-12. Bill Doran hit over .400 and Bill Long finished 8-1. Sadly, the season ended with two tough losses to San Diego State and Michigan State in the Mideast Regional.
They were a fun bunch of guys and extremely talented. Chewing was a big part of baseball back then, so what the heck…I decided to write about it! (See link below and forward to Page 8)
“I’d say about half of the team chews,” Sam Dittoe said. “The ladies say it’s pretty sick. Actually, it is pretty disgusting.”
Fast forward to the present. I contacted Mike Fidelholtz who provided the photo below from last month. Eight teammates got together at the home of Steve Nesmith. What a great reunion.
Seated at table from L to R:
Sam Dittoe
Blane McCann
Bill Doran
Steve Fireovid
Bill Long
Standing L to R:
Steve Nesmith
Mike Fidelholtz
Dean Gottler
Original article link (click arrows and go to page 8):