Inductees

The 1968 William Jewell College baseball team captured the NAIA National Baseball Championship. Coached by NAIA and William Jewell College Hall of Fame member Fred Flook, the Cardinals’ storied run to the National Championship began with a tremendous rally through the district tournament.

They earned a spot in the National Tournament in St. Joseph. They edged Buena Vista, Eastern Michigan and Central Washington but then lost to Georgia Southern. With Georgia Southern suffering a loss, the two teams were forced to meet again, this time for the championship. The team battled back and forth through the ninth inning tied. In the bottom of the 13th inning, Cardinal shortstop Larry Libeer lined a 360-foot, first pitch home run over the left field fence to life Jewell to a 4-3 victory, the school’s first national championship in any sport.