FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                    October 10, 2007

NORTHWESTERN TO RETIRE NUMBER OF BASEBALL GREAT MIKE HARGROVE

            Northwestern Oklahoma State University will retire the baseball number of former major league player and manager Mike Hargrove at ceremonies in Alva on Oct. 27.

            Hargrove’s number 30 will be the first number ever retired in the 110-year history of Northwestern.

            “Mike Hargrove has enjoyed great success at every level of competition,” said Bob Battisti, director of athletics at Northwestern. “This is an honor he most certainly deserves, and we are pleased that he will come back to Alva for this special day.”

            Hargrove’s number will be retired during halftime of Northwestern’s football game with Bacone College. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Ranger Field.

            Hargrove’s wife, Sharon, is a 1973 graduate of Northwestern.

            He graduated in 1972, where he earned varsity letters in baseball, basketball and football. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Northwestern Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and enshrined in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame, also in 1993.

            Hargrove was drafted in 1972 by the Texas Rangers and made his major league debut on April 7, 1974. He was voted American League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and The Sporting News after hitting .323 with 14 doubles, 10 home runs and 56 RBI. Hargrove was named to the American League All-Star Team in 1975.

            In addition to the Texas Rangers, Hargrove played for the San Diego Padres and the Cleveland Indians. He finished his playing career with the Indians, retiring after the 1985 season.

            Hargrove spent 17 seasons as a major league manager with the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians.

            From 1991 to 1999, Hargrove managed the Cleveland Indians. His teams won five consecutive American League Central Division titles from 1995 to 1999, and captured American League championships in 1995 and 1997.

            He was named the American League Manager of the Year in 1993 by USA Today and won the same honor by The Sporting News in 1995.

            He was named the Triple A Manager of the Year in 1989 during his one season with Colorado Springs.

            Hargrove and his wife reside in Richfield, Ohio. They have five children: Kimberly, Melissa, Pamela, Andrew and Shelly. Mike and Sharon both graduated from Perryton (Texas) High School.

-NW-

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