Looking for win 500

Baseball's Bob Seddon tries to win his 500th in a tourney he hasn't won in since 1992. The answer had to be batgirls. With the 1971 Penn baseball team playing on Murphy Field, inches from exit 41 on the Schuylkill Expressway, first-year Penn coach Bob Seddon felt the answer to increasing attendance was to install a public address system and to employ batgirls. "We saw it in Florida, and many colleges are doing it," said Seddon during his inaugural season. "It's a new gimmick, and it adds something if it's treated correctly." The P.A. system is still a fixture at Penn baseball events. Needless to say, the batgirls weren't one of Seddon's victories. But victories are not what Seddon lacks. In fact, between March 25, 1971 and today, Seddon has racked up 499 baseball victories, and he looks to break the 500-win barrier tonight at Veterans Stadium, when the Quakers play La Salle in the opening round of the Liberty Bell Classic at 7 p.m. Tonight's situation, however, is far from ideal. For starters, being a midweek game, the Red and Blue will have their usual pitching structure, where nobody will throw more than two innings. On another note, the Quakers have not won a Liberty Bell Classic game since 1992. "I was a little disappointed we didn't get [Seddon's 500th win] in the second game up at Columbia on Saturday," said Penn pitching coach Bill Wagner, who was hired by Seddon in that first season. The 1956 Springfield College (Mass.) graduate should have had another shot at the milestone victory yesterday, but the winter weather collapsed any hope of playing that game -- literally. Approximately 160 feet of Bower Field's outfield fence, beginning at the left foul pole, was flattened due to the high winds and wet snow accumulations. A temporary fence is being installed for this weekend's contests. Playing in the inclement Northeast, where games are limited by Southern-school standards, 500 wins is a feat which not only propels him 190 wins over the second-winningest coach in Penn history (Walter Cariss, 1920-43), but also keeps him rising in the winningest-active NCAA coaches, where he now places 69th. Fair-weather-school coaches, such as Fresno State's Bob Bennett, have collected over 1,000 wins. But that is not going to stop the long-reaching celebration. "He doesn't invite attention to himself, but he's very appreciative," said Samantha Seddon, the coach's wife. "As a family we're going to celebrate, but we have six children and six grandchildren, so we'll have to pick the date carefully." Additionally, the University plans to honor him at a November 8 baseball banquet, assuming he gets that one win between now and then. Besides the physical improvements to Murphy Field in 1971, Seddon took a Penn team that had gone 18-44-3 in seven straight losing Ancient Eight seasons, and boosted them to second place in the 10-team Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League (the Ivy League plus Army and Navy) in just two years. Beginning that year, the Quakers have finish in first, second or third place 13 more times. Seddon cited several special teams he has led over the years, especially the 1975 squad, whose 12-2 EIBL record was enough to give Seddon his first championship. The 1988-90 three-peat championship teams also found a place in Seddon's heart, as their pitching staff was the best he's ever seen. "They had a personality team. They won 18 consecutive Ivy games," Seddon said. "And we didn't need a relief pitcher in three straight years." But with attention veering to the West Philly coach, Princeton, of course, will try to steal the limelight as quickly as possible. Tigers coach Tom O'Connell is only 21 wins away from his 500th victory after 26 years of coaching, but being in the Ivies for only 16 years, O'Connell has racked up a mere 147 league wins -- second to Seddon's 226. Seddon's 500th victory will also be his 654th in a Penn uniform, after amassing a 154-70-27 record in 18 years of coaching soccer. In 1986, under the pressure of then-Athletic Director Paul Rubincam, Seddon stepped down from the soccer program to concentrate on America's pastime. "To be very honest, it added years on to my coaching," Seddon said. "I wasn't ready to give up the two sports. I wished I had stayed with soccer a little longer? I wish I could've stayed another year or so and gone out with a little preparation, because there wasn't much preparation to that decision." Although Seddon isn't distributing T-shirts with the words "500 more" printed on them, he says that he looks to keep coaching for a few more seasons. But in looking ahead, Seddon, like any coach, has tried to focus on the games ahead, and not on his personal achievements. That involves the tough task of taking the team's mind off the landmark win. "I haven't mentioned it," Seddon said. "I can't help but know about it, because my wife and my family and everybody is mentioning it. But it's kind of a landmark. "People say when you win your 300th game or your 400th game, 'What's your goal?' and my answer to that is 500 games. 500 wins is nice -- it sounds better than 600, but 600 would be nice."