For Rick Vaughn, the 1976 George Mason University baseball team that went to the 1976 NAIA College World Series was more than just a collection of players.
“It really was like a brotherhood or a fraternity,” said Vaughn, a right-handed pitcher who played from 1975 to 1978 and threw the first no-hitter in school history. “The fun we had together going out there as a group of guys was something.”
The team did not win the championship, going 1-2 in the double-elimination tournament, but it set a high bar of expectations and helped build momentum toward the Patriots’ 1980 move to NCAA Division I.
The team will be honored Friday at Dewberry Hall at the First Pitch Dinner, which annually kicks off the new season. Expected to attend and speak are three former Mason players now with the World Series champion Kansas City Royals: assistant general manager J. J. Picollo, BA Communication ’94; scouting director Lonnie Goldberg, BSEd Physical Education ’94; and area scout Ken Munoz, BSEd Physical Education ’94.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore, BSEd Physical Education ‘91, MS Physical Education ’93, who cannot attend, adds to Mason’s connection to the Royals.
“A lot of those players were in the area and they still are,” Picollo, Mason’s catcher from 1993-94, said of the ’76 team. “We saw those guys a lot and built friendships with them. Just to have an association with them and having that tradition of a quality NAIA program was satisfying.”
Vaughn, BSEd Health Education ’79, an Alexandria, Va., native and vice president of communications for the Tampa Bay Rays, takes as much satisfaction in Mason’s contributions to the Royals.
“When you get to know those guys and you see them representing us well in winning games and the World Series and representing the school well, it’s exciting,” Vaughn said. “It’s a source of pride for me.”