Coach Ron Fraser
Coach Ronald "Ron" Fraser (June 25, 1933 – January 20, 2013) coached the college baseball team at the University of Miami from 1963 to 1992. Coach Fraser, nicknamed the "Wizard of College Baseball," was one of the most successful coaches in NCAA baseball history, and was also responsible for bringing college baseball to a new level of public awareness. The Miami Hurricanes baseball team went from being on the brink of being "contracted" to being the toast of college baseball under Fraser's tenure.
Fraser managed the United States national baseball team on several occasions, including to a world title at the 1973 Amateur World Series in Nicaragua and at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also managed the Netherlands to two European championships in the 1960s.
Baseball Coach
Size: 7-feet tall
Media: Bronze
Unveiled: April 24 , 2015
Location: Alex Rodriguez Park, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Inscription on Plaque: Plaque: RON FRASER 1933-2013 THE WIZARD OF COLLEGE BASEBALL. Ron Fraser served as University of Miami Head Baseball Coach from 1963 to 1992. His Hurricanes won 1,271 games, earned 20 consecutive NCAA Regional Tournament berths, made 12 College World Series appearances and won the 1982 and 1985 National Championships. Fraser was a visionary who led college baseball into the modern era with first-class stadiums, national television exposure, clever promotions and crowd-pleasing baseball. He was also a legend in international baseball, winning three European Championships and America's only World Amateur Championship in 1973. He coached the 1992 U.S. Olympic team and was enshrined in 11 halls of fame. Fraser was a civic and charitable champion of those less fortunate, touching countless lives and making a profound impact on the University of Miami and South Florida. This magnificent statue stands in grateful recognition of the life he lived, at the ballpark he built, for the University he loved. For as long as the game is played, Ron Fraser will be lovingly remembered as "The Wizard of College Baseball."
“Papi is home, welcoming fans into the gates, just as he should be. It looks so real; it’s like he’s here. It’s so amazing how [sculptor Zenos Frudakis] captured his smiling eyes .”