Ronald George Fraser (June 25, 1933 – January 20, 2013) was an American college baseball coach best known for his tenure at the University of Miami from 1963 to 1992. Nicknamed the "Wizard of College Baseball", he led the Miami Hurricanes baseball program to over 1,200 victories—his teams set an NCAA baseball record with playoff appearances in 20 consecutive seasons and won College World Series championships in 1982 and 1985.
Fraser managed the United States national baseball team on several occasions, including to its first ever world title at the 1973 Amateur World Series in Nicaragua and at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also managed the Netherlands to two European championships in the 1960s.
Early years
Born and raised in Nutley, New Jersey, Fraser was a three-sport letterman at Nutley High School where he graduated in 1953. He then attended Murray State College in Kentucky from 1953 to 1954. He later went on to manage the Netherlands national baseball team from 1960 until 1963.
Fraser was hired as manager of the Dutch national team in 1960, replacing Henk Keulemans, becoming the team's second ever coach and first American coach. He led the team to two European championships, in 1960 and 1962. On one occasion, Fraser broke his leg while attempting to demonstrate a proper slide. Fraser left the Netherlands team in 1962 to take a coaching job with the University of Miami.
In 1972 and 1973, he returned to coach the Netherlands between college seasons, taking part in the 1972 Haarlem Baseball Week and winning another European title in 1973 in Haarlem. Fraser returned to the Netherlands a third time in 1980 when he participated in Haarlem Baseball Week with his Miami Hurricanes collegiate team, winning the tournament. and the Ron Fraser Building, which houses the baseball offices at Mark Light Stadium, was named after him in 1986. Fraser retired as coach of Miami baseball at the end of the 1992 season.
1992 Summer Olympics
Fraser coached the United States national baseball team at the 1992 Summer Olympics, which marked the first time that baseball was an official medal sport. The team, per Olympic rules at the time, was restricted to amateur players only. The team had a 5–2 record in pool play, then fell to Cuba in the semifinals, followed by a loss to Japan in the bronze-medal match.
Later years
Fraser was inducted to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Head coaching record
See also
- List of college baseball career coaching wins leaders
- Miami Maniac