OKLAHOMA CITY (Nov. 1, 2019) – When Darrel Palmer arrived at Oklahoma Christian College in the fall of 1970, he didn't know what to expect. Not raised in a Church of Christ environment – he'd attended a Catholic high school in Oklahoma City, then Connors State College in far eastern Oklahoma – he didn't know how, or if, he'd fit in.

Palmer found his home with a rising baseball team looking to earn respect and allied himself with a group of young men hungry to prove themselves at a high level of competition and overcome obstacles put in their way by their Oklahoma NAIA brethren.

By his senior season in 1972, the Eagles proved to be one of the NAIA's elite teams, finishing third in the national tournament in Phoenix, establishing themselves as one of the university's legendary squads and earning OC's still-young athletic department a measure of respect among its peers.

For its accomplishments that season under legendary coach Max Dobson, that squad will be recognized as a "Team of Distinction" on Saturday during a ceremony between basketball games in the Eagles' Nest. The 1972 team is the second to receive the "Team of Distinction" award – created by the OC Athletic Hall of Fame committee – joining the 1968 men's basketball team on that elite list.

Palmer couldn't imagine being anywhere else Saturday than among his former teammates and with his old coach, at a place that became close to his heart.

"We were led by one of the best," Palmer said. "Coming to OCC was the best thing I've ever done. I don't know how to describe it. The place grows on you. It's just relaxed. Everybody talks about state of Oklahoma, how people here are different. It's the same thing at OCC. They're different. Everybody is for everybody. Easygoing. It's a wonderful atmosphere."

In the early 1970s, OC's baseball team played both a spring collegiate schedule and a summer-league schedule, during which the Eagles competed against both college and semi-pro teams. OC finished its 1971 summer season with a 27-6 record, so Dobson figured to have a competitive squad the following spring.

Two factors worked in Dobson's favor: he had a mature group of players, several of whom were married – "We weren't out shooting pool or chasing women late at night," shortstop Johnny Inman said – and a small group, with only 19 on the roster. Every player knew his role and went out and filled it, Palmer said.

"We didn't know if we were any good," Palmer said. "We weren't scared of anybody but we weren't cocky. We might win the game, we might not. We all knew what we had to do and we did our jobs. We didn't walk around and say we were the best team in Oklahoma. We just kind of molded into a group of guys that had our responsibilities. It's hard to explain."

Despite the success of OC's 1968 basketball team – which twice beat No. 1-ranked Northeastern State to win the NAIA District 9 title and advance to the NAIA national tournament – the college's athletic programs still weren't respected enough by their in-state peers to be allowed into the Oklahoma Collegiate Conference, forcing the Eagles to have to play an independent schedule.

The only way for the Eagles to earn a best-of-three postseason playoff with the Collegiate Conference champion was to win 70 percent of their games. Four Collegiate Conference schools – Southeastern Oklahoma State, Central Oklahoma, Cameron and Oklahoma Baptist – did schedule the Eagles, who went 13-3 against those teams during regular season.

The Eagles filled out the schedule with games against Lubbock Christian (Texas), Oklahoma City University, Southern (then Bethany) Nazarene, John Brown (Ark.) and Dana (Neb.). With only 31 games on the regular-season schedule, every game was critical for the Eagles to reach the 70-percent threshold for wins. It went down to the final weekend of the season, but OC finished the regular season with a 23-8 record.

East Central beat Phillips in a three-game playoff to determine the Collegiate Conference title, and the Tigers were none too happy about having to turn around and play another series for the right to represent Oklahoma in the NAIA Area III tournament, even though they got to host the playoff series.

"We imposed upon them, being an independent in Oklahoma," recalled OC outfielder David White. "A lot of coaches would not recognize the quality of our record or the wins. That made it tougher to get the association to give us an opportunity to play against other teams. If you won, it certainly made them upset. They felt like they should be winning."

East Central threw its ace, unbeaten Joe Sweat, on two days of rest in the opener on May 18, while OC started another unbeaten pitcher, fully rested junior right-hander Morris Karnes. It proved to be no contest, as the Eagles lit up Sweat for three runs in the first inning and scored four off reliever Wayne Bettes in the second en route to a 12-2 romp.

Bob Thompson, another of the Eagles' three primary pitchers, threw the second game of the series the next day. He went the distance, allowing only six hits, but East Central led 3-0 after six innings and 3-2 entering the eighth. Freshman Harold Redd had two RBIs for OC, including a sacrifice fly to score Mike Blalock to put the Eagles up 4-3. Three errors by the Tigers in the seventh and eighth innings gave OC the opening it needed.

The Area III tournament, played in Enid, featured the district champions of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and North and South Dakota. The Eagles drew Wayne State (Neb.) in the opener of the double-elimination tournament on May 25 and led 3-0 headed into the bottom of the ninth inning when Wayne State hit a pair of solo home runs off Karnes, but he settled down and recorded a groundout and strikeout – his ninth of the game – to finish off the win.

Later that day, Thompson struck out 13 batters – also not allowing a run until the ninth inning – as the Eagles edged Northern State (S.D.) 3-1. A walk by Ron Ackerman, a double by Inman and a suicide squeeze bunt by Palmer put Thompson ahead 2-0 in the first inning and the right-hander rode that lead the rest of the way.

Needing only one more win to advance to the NAIA World Series, the Eagles rolled Wayne State 16-6 in a rematch the next day. OC had 16 hits, including three by Palmer, who had four RBIs. Starting pitcher Brad Jones also had three hits and two RBIs for the Eagles, while Inman added three more hits.

"Even amongst the Christian schools, we were not highly thought of until we beat them," OC outfielder Steve Mauger said. "Then we got to the (NAIA World) Series and everyone took notice."

The Eagles rode a charter bus to Phoenix – a luxurious trip for a team accustomed to traveling in station wagons – where they played at Phoenix Municipal Stadium, the home of a Triple-A franchise. A headline in what's now known as The Oklahoman declared that "OCC Just May Win It All." In the article under the headline, Phillips coach Joe Record – a respected voice among his peers – described the Eagles as "not too flashy" and a team that "doesn't make many mistakes. We preach that you don't win ball games, you give them away and OCC doesn't give you anything."

Karnes certainly didn't give Frostburg State (Md.) much of anything in the tournament opener on June 5, spinning a three-hitter. But the Eagles also struggled to score against Frostburg State left-hander Keith Voelker, who threw a three-hit shutout. Frostburg State's Phil Rollins doubled with one out in the ninth and a bad hop on a ground ball by Jim Riggleman led to Inman making a bad throw that allowed Rollins to score to give his team a 1-0 win. It was Karnes' only pitching loss of the season.

"Frostburg was the one that was killed us," said Tony Sellars, a freshman utility player in 1972. "Those (Frostburg) guys were out partying the night before. We thought we'd take care of it against those guys but we couldn't get anything going offensively."

Thrown into the losers' bracket, the Eagles pounced on Winona State (Minn.) for three first-inning runs, then held off a late rally to win 5-3, with Karnes recording the save, relieving Jones (who had relieved Thompson, the starter) and striking out Winona State catcher Daniel Halverson with two outs and the bases loaded to end the game.

That advanced OC to face one of the pre-tournament favorites, Lewis (Ill.). The Eagles scored twice in the bottom of the third inning before Lewis answered with four runs in the top of the fourth as rain began falling. After a 90-minute delay, OC came right back with two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game and it stayed tied through nine, then 10, then 11 innings.

Karnes – making his third appearance in as many days – pitched three innings of one-hit shutout relief after Jones had pitched the first nine innings for OC and the Eagles finally broke through in the bottom of the 12th. Tom McLemore drew a leadoff walk off Lewis ace Tom Brennan, a first-team All-America selection. Brennan recovered to strike out Dennis Morgan but White drilled a double to left-center field, scoring McLemore with the winning run.

Up next was OC's sister school, Lipscomb (Tenn.), with its star left-hander Butch Stinson, who went on to reach the Triple-A level professionally. Stinson scattered eight hits and struck out 12 as the Bisons rolled to a 7-1 win. Karnes pitched in a fourth straight game, in relief of Thompson, and finished the tournament having thrown 15 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. Not surprisingly, he also made the NAIA All-America first-team list.

"It was just a case of losing to a team with a little more depth," Dobson said after the game. "I think if we'd had one more day that we could have given them all they wanted with Karnes."

That Karnes pitched so much during the postseason wasn't surprising. Karnes (13-1, 0.98 ERA, 109 strikeouts in 92 innings), Jones (7-1, 2.69 ERA, 53 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings) and Thompson (10-2, 2.16 ERA, 93 strikeouts in 96 innings) combined to pitch all but 30 1/3 innings on the season for the Eagles. Only four other players pitched at all, and one of those (Sellars) threw but one pitch all season.

"His fastball couldn't have broke a pane of glass," Mauger said of Karnes. "His curveball was his secret. He was a brain pitcher. He used finesse and could hit the corners. It came from all different directions. Bobby Thompson was a power pitcher. Then Brad Jones, another power pitcher. It was a good group."

Offensively, Inman led the Eagles with a .379 average and 18 RBIs, drew 30 walks and was named to the All-America honorable mention list. Morgan, OC's catcher, hit .295 with two home runs and 25 RBIs, making the All-District 9 list. Palmer, the first baseman, hit .339 and drove in 33 runs, while McLemore and Blalock each drove in 24 runs and Ron Ackerman hit a healthy .342.

"To get as far as we got, you had to be fortunate," Inman said. "We had some good ballplayers and some good fortune."

The 30-10 record posted by the 1972 team still stands as the highest winning percentage (.750) in program history. No other OC baseball team won 30 games in a season until 1993 and only one has advanced as far in a national tournament, in 2015 when current coach Lonny Cobble guided the Eagles to the National Christian College Athletic Association semifinals.

No doubt heavily influenced by Dobson, several of the players from the 1972 team embarked upon successful coaching careers. Palmer, at Northwest Classen High School in Oklahoma City, and Morgan, at Meeker High School,  both won state titles in 1977, and Morgan went on to a long coaching and administrative career at Moore High School.

Karnes spent decades as a baseball and basketball coach in his home state of Missouri, retiring from Bernie High School in 2006. Mauger taught and coached delinquent children in his home state of Pennsylvania for 35 years. Inman became OC's baseball coach, serving in that position from 1987 to 2001.

"From coaches I had, he put a different cut on it," Palmer said of Dobson. "It wasn't a rah-rah, fired-up type deal that a lot of coaches were. It was stay under control – he had that, and that brought me down to earth to where I learned how to control my actions and mouth. He helped me during my coaching career with my demeanor. All of that is because of coach Dobson.

"If you use a cuss word on the baseball field, you have lost control of yourself to where you're not smart enough to use regular words to handle the conversation. You are choking under pressure if you can't control your verbiage when you're taking to somebody. That was a valuable lesson I learned from him."

Other players went into teaching, the military, business, medicine, ministry and broadcasting, among other professions. One of them, Sellars, became involved again with OC athletics in 2018, serving as the play-by-play voice on the video streams of OC baseball games.

"All of us have benefitted from being part of that," said White, who went on to become mayor of Dexter, N.M., after a long career in the U.S. Air Force. "OCC was a launchpad for me. Once you have a degree, what do you do with it? I fell back on a lot of things that I learned. I really appreciated everybody's support there, even if I didn't recognize it at the time.

"I spent 30 years of my life in the military. The discipline I learned (at OC) was so important when I found myself in difficult situations in combat or dealing with personal issues. It was important to learn all of those things in Eagle-land and use them and recall them."

OC's current baseball facility is named Dobson Field, in honor of Max Dobson and his late wife, Ramona. He remains, understandably, emotional when he talks about the 1972 team.

"They did so much more than people thought they could do," Dobson said. "It's sentimental. We played baseball to win and have fun, and we had fun!"