(Overland Park, KS) Inducted on February 15, 2024, Chris Bando became the Sun Devil Baseball’s 13th member of the College Baseball Hall of Fame, a record number for any NCAA institution. Named to the 1970’s Men’s College World Series All-Decade team at catcher, Bando was a key player for the 1977 national champions on both sides of the ball.
Bando arrived in Tempe in 1975, and fit right in with coach Jim Brock’s Sun Devils.
“Chris Bando came to ASU fully equipped. He had manners. He had good family background. He worked hard,” Brock’s wife, Patsey, stated. “Jim was very proud of his work ethic. Everybody liked him. He fit in with the team very well.”
The Sun Devils made it to the College World Series in his freshman and sophomore year, finishing third each time. After the 1976 season, Coach Jim Brock told Bando that he was going to change positions.
“Coach Brock was wise and moved me behind the plate in my junior year… his wisdom, he thought that was the best position for me personally, professionally, and for our team,” Bando reflected on the move to catcher. The Sun Devils had three catchers drafted and signed after the 1976 season in Mike Colbern, Frank Lucy, and Gary Allenson. Eventually, 26/27 players from the 1976 team would be drafted, with 13 big-leaguers. Coach Brock told Bando that he would catch in every game next season, and sent him to play in the summer Alaska Baseball League.
“Of course, he was very coachable. Jim was pleased at how quickly he adapted to the catching position,” Patsey remembered. She had traveled to Alaska with Jim that summer to watch Bando’s progress, “I just remember what a leader he was. And a catcher needs to have that kind of personality.”
The Sun Devils got off to a hot start in 1977, staying undefeated through their first ten games. The team’s mental toughness would be tested in the middle of the season, as the offense would put up 22 runs over a three-game losing stretch. Under Coach Brock and his staff, however, the Sun Devils felt prepared for any challenge.
“The standards that the coaches set were excellent. They demanded excellence out of you. They really developed mental toughness and truly an attitude of sacrificing for the betterment of the team,” Bando commented. Finishing the season 47-11 (15-3 WAC) and besting BYU for the Western Athletic Conference title, ASU then hosted and plowed through the Rocky Mountain Regionals. Bando was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference team.
For the third year in a row, ASU was heading to Omaha for the College World Series. Riding a 17-game winning streak, the high-powered offense beat Clemson 10-7 before dropping an unusually low-scoring 3-2 game versus Southern Illinois. Now on its last life, ASU rallied through Minnesota and South Carolina to set up a rematch with Southern Illinois in the preliminary final, the same place ASU fell in the previous two years. Stepping up to the challenge, ASU found their bats and sent Southern Illinois packing with a 10-0 result.
In the 1977 College World Series finale, Chris Bando would have his biggest highlight as a Sun Devil. The team had little trouble putting away South Carolina in a 6-2 semifinal matchup, but now the two teams headed into the seventh inning of the championship game tied at one apiece. That’s when Bando made contact.
“It was just like an answer to prayer. It really was,” said Patsey Brock, who watched Bando’s home run from the stands in Omaha. ASU closed out the final two innings and were crowned national champions for the fourth time in program history. Bando joined his brother in the ASU history books, as Sal Bando had also been the winning run in a 2-1 victory that gave ASU their first title 12 years earlier.
“Hitting a home run to take the lead for ASU in the bottom of the seventh inning… just winning that final game and being a national champion, I think in any sport at any level, it’s a special bond that sticks with you forever,” Chris Bando speaks on his favorite memory from his career as a Sun Devil, “It was just really a special moment knowing that you were the best team in the country, and you were going to compete for that championship every year. It was an incredible culture to be in and I’m very privileged to experience that.”
In 1978, Bando set NCAA single-season records for doubles (30) and RBIs (102), earning him All-American honors, All-College World Series honors, and another spot on the All-Western Athletic Conference team. Finishing as runners-up, the Sun Devils would make the College World Series finale for the second straight year, and Bando was named the catcher for the All-College World Series team. His continued excellence in the CWS landed him as the catcher for the 1970’s Men’s College World Series All-Decade team.
Following the 1978 season, Bando was drafted by Cleveland and played nine seasons in the MLB. In 1984, he was inducted into the Sun Devil Hall of Fame. Now set to enter his second hall of fame, he reflects on the people that helped him succeed.
“It’s humbling to receive this award and it’s on behalf of the coaches and my teammates. Without them, I wouldn’t have had those opportunities,” Bando made sure to constantly throw praise on his teammates, and specifically thanked Jim and Patsey for their impact on his life, “You couldn’t have asked for better role models to be under at a critical time of leading a young man’s life. Coach had weekly Bible studies in his home for the team, that planted a seed of faith that bore fruit later in my life.”
Bando’s name remains in the ASU record book. With 195 hits over his 155 career games, his .388 batting average stands 7th best for a Sun Devil. He’s just one spot above teammate and Golden Spikes Award winner Bob Horner, who was drafted first overall in 1978 and went straight to the big leagues.
The man currently at the helm of Sun Devil Baseball pays his gratitude to Bando, that team, and that era for their excellence.
“He was about team first, and for somebody that was as skilled and talented as he was, to put the team first, that’s all you need to know about him as a person. His personal skill level was through the roof, but his number one priority was to play winning baseball, which is the epitome and what the fabric of ASU baseball is about,” said Head Coach Willie Bloomquist. “It’s because of those guys in that era and how well they did. They were the ones that established Arizona State as ‘College Baseball’s Greatest Tradition’, the school to beat. That’s why I came to ASU from out of state, I just knew Arizona State was legit at baseball, and that’s because those guys did that. They laid the foundation.”
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Media Relations –Preston Fekkes
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