Before 1969, the only thing UCLA baseball was known for was Jackie Robinson and he wasn't even very good when he played there.  USC and Arizona State had dominated west coast baseball, winning five of the previous eight national championships between them.   In fact UCLA had never even qualified for the NCAA tournament despite playing in the five-team California Intercollegiate Baseball Association consisting of the four current Pac-10 California schools plus Santa Clara and later UCSB until 1967.  Their only conference championship in 1944 predated the tournament.

  There was no indication that UCLA would contend in 1969.  USC was the defending national champions (UCLA had finished 4th in the conference the previous year) and had pounded the Bruins in a pre-season tournament.  But UCLA had two junior college transfers that made a big difference:  slugging first baseman Chris Chambliss (a 3rd team All-American) and relief pitcher Jim York (an 0.45 ERA in conference games).  UCLA fell to 4th place in the conference standings after Danny Graham (yes, that Danny Graham) misplayed a fly ball which led to a loss to Oregon,  but the Bruins caught fire and needed only to split a two game season ending series with USC to clinch a tie for the conference championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.  

  The first game at Sawtelle Field (where Jackie Robinson Stadium now stands, but then just a dusty old park with wooden bleachers - they had played on an on-campus field where Pauley Pavilion now stands until Pauley was constructed), featured starting pitchers, undefeated Brent Strom of USC versus soph Rick Pope of UCLA who came to the school as a highly touted quarterback.  It wasn't even close. The Bruins bombed Strom and won 9-4.  The next day at Bovard Field, they were even more impressive, scoring 12 runs off future major leaguer Jim Barr in a 14-5 win.  Adding insult to injury, Trojan coach Rod Deadeaux was tossed from the game after protesting balks called on Barr.

  Next up were the District 8 playoffs, a two-out-of-three series against  Santa Clara, a baseball powerhouse who had won 9 of 12 games against Pac-8 opponents.  In the first game at Santa Clara, the Bruins came back from a 3-0 deficit and held on to win 7-5 after surviving a ninth inning rally.  In the next game at Sawtelle, Pope gave up only one run in ten innings and UCLA won the game on a single, an error and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th, sending them to the College World Series.

   Unfortunately, the stay in Omaha was short and ugly.  In the first round game against Tulsa, UCLA committed six errors and gave up only one earned run.  Despite blowing 4-0 and 5-2 leads, they still had a chance to win, sending the game into extra innings.  But in the bottom of the tenth, Tulsa scored the winning run on a walk, error and single.

  The next game was even more heartbreaking.  In the 11th inning against Arizona State, York's wild throw on a bunt allowed the winning run to score from first base in the 2-1 loss.  Not only was UCLA eliminated from the tournament before half the teams had even played a game, but the Sun Devils went on to beat Tulsa for the national championship . . . and USC won the next five in a row.  It took 28 years to get back to Omaha, where they again quickly lost two tough games, one in extra innings.