PASSING THE COACHING BAT-ON

FSU faced some professional competition on March 3, 1988. The Seminoles hosted the Kansas City Royals, an MLB club that won the 1985 World Series under franchise icon and former Seminole Dick Howser. The exhibition game (cut short from rain) was part of the festivities naming the FSU ballpark in honor of Howser, who passed away in 1987 from a malignant brain tumor. Howser was FSU’s first baseball star, an All-American shortstop who led the program to its first College World Series in 1957. After his playing career, he became a coach for the New York Yankees. Howser then served as head coach of the Noles for just one season in 1979 before passing the coaching baton to assistant coach Mike Martin. “It’s the biggest day I can remember for Florida State in my 15 years,” Martin said on dedication day. “It really goes to show you how much Dick Howser was respected.”