Rosenblatt Stadium

Since 1950, the country's best college baseball teams have traveled to Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Neb., to determine the national champion.

For two weeks every June, Omaha is transformed into a baseball oasis in the middle of America's heartland.

A vision to turn Omaha into a baseball town began on a hilltop on the city's south side. It started as Omaha Municipal Stadium and opened in 1948.

Johnny Rosenblatt was instrumental in bringing the stadium and the College World Series to Omaha. The stadium was renamed in his honor in 1964.

Rosenblatt hosted its first College World Series in 1950. It also saw its first no-hitter. Texas' Jim Ehrler accomplished the feat -- repeated only once since (Jim Wixson, 1960) -- against Tufts. Ehler led the Longhorns to the title over Washington State.

Texas was the champion of the inaugural CWS at Rosenblatt. It marked the beginning of a long and enduring relationship between the Longhorns and the city of Omaha. With 33 trips, no team has been there more times than Texas.

Texas may be Omaha's most frequent visitor, but no team can match the trophy haul of USC. Rod Dedeaux's Trojans won six titles during a seven-year stretch from 1968 to 1974. And no team comes close to matching their 12 titles.

One man almost single-handedly brought down the USC juggernaut. In 1973, Minnesota's Dave Winfield turned in what is still regarded as one of the best individual performances in Rosenblatt history, striking out 15 Trojan batters on four days' rest.

In today's era of tightly managed pitch counts, Steve Arlin's feat seems imaginary. In 1965, Ohio State's Arlin set two CWS records in a 1-0 win over Washington State by recording 20 strikeouts in 15 innings while making his third start in four days.

It's widely regarded as the greatest play in College World Series history, bringing increased attention and exposure to Rosenblatt. Miami's perfectly executed hidden ball trick against Wichita State propelled the Hurricanes to the 1982 championship.

Garrett Wittels' assault on Robin Ventura's record for consecutive games with a hit was halted at 56 and will carry over into 2011. In 1987, Ventura brought a 56-game streak to Rosenblatt, pushing it to 58 before the Cowboys bowed out.

Facing elimination and trailing LSU 5-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning in the 1987 College World Series, Stanford's Paul Carey hit a walk-off grand slam to keep the Cardinal alive. They went on to win the first of two consecutive championships.

Rosenblatt is not just a place, it's a destination for college baseball players. At Clemson, they remind themselves of the season's objective by emblazoning it on their hats.

At Rosenblatt, even the unlikeliest of heroes can find themselves immortalized. Exhibit A: Warren Morris. He hadn't hit a home run all season, but his two-run walk-off homer in the 1996 championship game against Miami gave the Tigers a 9-8 win.

Augie Garrido's Rosenblatt history traces back to his playing days at Fresno State in 1959. Garrido is the only coach to win championships with two different teams (Texas, Cal State Fullerton) and in four different decades (1979, 1984, 1995, 2002, 2005).

Sculptor John Lajba created this statue, located at the stadium's entrance, to commemorate Rosenblatt's 50th anniversary.

Rosenblatt's rite of passage for the College World Series champion never gets old, as each year's winning team enjoys a ceremonial dogpile to celebrate its triumph. LSU had the honors in 2009.

After 60 years, Rosenblatt will close its doors and the College World Series will move to a new stadium a few miles away, but the memories created at "The Blatt" will forever remain in the hearts and minds of college baseball enthusiasts.