The Buffalo Bulls baseball team was a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the
University at Buffalo
The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...
in
Amherst, New York
Amherst () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. ...
, United States.
From 2001 to 2017, the team was a member of the
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...
East division, which is part of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) at the
Division I level. The Bulls played their home games at
Amherst Audubon Field on the UB campus.
The Bulls were coached by
Ron Torgalski for the program's final 11 seasons, from 2007 through 2017. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, the program was eliminated by the university.
History
The year 1949 is considered the official inaugural season of UB varsity baseball. But baseball’s start at UB goes back much further. There are newspaper accounts of a UB team from as early as 1894. From 1914–1917, several good UB teams took to the diamond playing some of the best teams in the country including
Pitt,
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...
and
Syracuse
Syracuse most commonly refers to:
* Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse
* Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area
Syracuse may also refer to:
Places
* Syracuse railway station (disambiguation)
Italy
* Provi ...
. The Bulls qualified for the
NCAA Division I baseball tournament
The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team Men's College World Series (MCWS) at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Oma ...
in
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
and
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
.
Year-by-year results
Bulls in Major League Baseball
The first Buffalo alumnus to appear in Major League Baseball was
Bill Schuster, who debuted with the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
in 1937. The most notable Bull from the pre-draft era was
Eddie Basinski
Edwin Frank Basinski (November 4, 1922 – January 8, 2022) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Early life
Basinski was born in Buffalo, New York, ...
, who picked up 147
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...
in 203 games with the Pirates and
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
between 1944 and 1947.
Since the
Major League Baseball Draft
The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...
began in 1965, Buffalo has had 33 players selected.
Joe Hesketh, a 1980 draftee of the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
, accumulated a 9.0
WAR
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
over eleven seasons as a left-handed
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
from 1984 to 1994.
Pitcher
Steve Geltz
Steven Geltz (born November 1, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Tampa Bay Rays.
Amateur career
Geltz was born in Newfane, New York to Ro ...
played for the Bulls and was undrafted in 2008. He made his Major League debut in 2012 for the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buffalo Bulls Baseball
Baseball teams established in 1916
Baseball teams disestablished in 2017
1916 establishments in New York (state)
2017 disestablishments in New York (state)