Trojan memorabillia on display in Hall

By From staff reports
Published in Sports on July 24, 2009 1:46 PM

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MOC Sports Information

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- The Sultan of Swat.

Stan "The Man" Musial.

Willie Mays.

Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.

And now the Mount Olive College baseball team.

A baseball cap and photo of the Trojan players posing with their 2008 Division II national championship trophy are now enshrined at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum along with several hundred legends of the "greatest game on dirt."

Mount Olive's display is part of the Hall's Amateur Baseball exhibit, which recognizes champions in 13 different amateur categories including NCAA, Junior College, American Legion and Little League. The Trojans' exhibit went on display in May and will remain on exhibit until early 2010.

"We're excited to honor the Trojans as the 2008 NCAA Division II champions in our Amateur Baseball exhibit case," said John O'Dell, curator of History and Research at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "Over 330,000 baseball fans will be able to view Mount Olive's impressive accomplishment."

The Trojans posted a 58-6 record in 2008 and captured the school's first-ever national championship in any sport. Mount Olive was ranked No. 1 in the national polls for the final three months of the season. Coach Carl Lancaster's team won the Conference Carolinas title, Division II South Atlantic Regional crown and capped it with a Division II College World Series championship.

Six players from the World Series team were selected in the Major League Draft -- David Cooper, Casey Hodges, Erik Lovett, Ryan Schlecht, Michael Williams and Rich Racobaldo. Racobaldo was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in June, while the other five were chosen in the 2008 draft.

Former Boston Red Sox great Jim Rice and Ricky Henderson will be the star attractions in Cooperstown this weekend. Nine-time All-Star second baseman Joe Gordon, who was selected by a Veterans' Committee, will be inducted posthumously.

"It is an honor to have Mount Olive College baseball represented in the National Baseball Hall of Fame," said Jeff Eisen, athletics director at Mount Olive College. "Having our national championship team's achievements being celebrated alongside the baseball greats of all-time is a quite a tribute to our team's accomplishments."