George Case was the head coach of the Rutgers Baseball team from 1950-1960, accumulating a record of 117-85 and leading the program to its only College World Series in his first season, 1950. Case mentored a number of All-Americans in his 11 seasons at the helm of the Scarlet Knights, including four fellow Rutgers Hall of Fame inductees in Pete Hall, Ray Van Cleef, Harding “Pete” Peterson and Jim Monahan.
As a professional player, Case was a four-time All-Star (1939, 1943, 1944 & 1945) for the Washington Senators, starting as the American League right fielder in the 1943 game. Case led the Major Leagues in stolen bases six times, including five straight years from 1939-43, as well as the American League a sixth time in 1946 as a member of the Cleveland Indians. He stole a career-best 61 bases in 1943. Case also led the American League in runs scored with 102 in 143. Over his career, Case batted over .300 three times, scored over 100 runs in four different seasons and tied a major league record with nine hits in a doubleheader in 1940. Holding down a lifetime career batting average of .282, injuries forced an early retirement for Case at age 31 in 1947 and three years later he took over the program at Rutgers.
With a reputation as the most dangerous base stealer of the 1940’s, Case brought that aggressive style of play to RU, where his first team made history in advancing to the College World Series for the first and only time in school history.
Case and his 1950 Scarlet Knights own the distinction of winning the first College World Series game in Omaha, Nebraska, taking down defending national champion Texas with a 4-2 upset victory that featured a College World Series record seven stolen bases. RU would win the first game of what has now been 75 consecutive World Series played in Omaha.
While the Scarlet Knights ultimately came up short, they posted a 3-2 record in Omaha and All-American outfielder Ray Van Cleef was named MVP of the College World Series, going 11-24 (.458) as RU was named Co-Runner-Up. In total, the 1950 team posted a 20-6-1 record and had three players who would be named All-Americans in their careers in Peterson, Van Cleef and Monahan.
Case left Rutgers after being offered a position with the expansion Washington Senators, coaching third base for his good friend and long-time Washington teammate, Mickey Vernon.
A number of his Rutgers players went on to play professional baseball with Peterson reaching the major leagues and later becoming the farm director of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
