BOWLING GREEN — Gary Haas will become the first baseball player in Bowling Green history to have his number retired on Saturday, an honor attributable to a second opportunity that changed his life.
Haas’ No. 6 will join the likes of Nate Thurmond’s No. 42 in basketball, Paul Miles’ No. 29 in football, George McPhee’s No. 9 in hockey, and No. 19 worn by Falcons hockey greats Brian Holzinger and Nelson Emerson.
Unlike nearly all college athletes, however, Haas said no to college baseball the first time around. Former BGSU coach Dick Young offered a walk-on spot to the Eastwood High School graduate out of high school, and Haas said he couldn’t afford it.
It became a blessing in disguise.
“Quite frankly, it was really the best thing for me,” Haas said.
He went on with life, bouncing from a factory job with his brothers to a car dealership to a fertilizer plant — but he never lost the love of the game, driving a Volkswagen filled with uniforms to play competitively for various teams in his spare time.
Two of Haas’ federation baseball teammates played at BGSU, and Young’s visit to watch his two players was well-timed. The Falcons had just lost both middle infielders and had a scholarship signee who signed a pro contract, leaving an opening.
It didn’t take Young long to find a solution, or for Haas to say yes to college baseball at age 22.
“He had a scholarship available and saw me playing and said, ‘Hey, I need a shortstop. Would you be interested in coming to play baseball for us?’” Haas recalled. “It didn’t take me too long to say yes. I thought it over, met him for lunch at the student union, and as they say, the rest was history.”
On the diamond, Haas was a two-time captain who helped BGSU win its first ever Mid-American Conference baseball championship in 1972, and he finished his career with nine school records.
His 442 assists rank fourth at BG, and Haas hit .392 against MAC opposition, some of which had a long four years pitching to him.
Don Purvis, who coached Haas for three seasons, recalled a conversation with former Central Michigan coach Dave Keilitz, who admitted that he had seen plenty of No. 6.
“He told me one time that he just couldn’t wait for Haas to graduate, because he was killing them every time he saw them,” Purvis said. “When you get that kind of compliment from an opposing coach, you’ve got a pretty good player, which he certainly was.”
Haas credits his time at Bowling Green for creating two opportunities in his life: the education that allowed him to have a 43-year career at Rudolph Libbe and the chance to play the game he loved while earning a degree.
At Rudolph Libbe, Haas worked his way up from cleaning bathrooms and cutting grass to an executive vice president at the time of his retirement. His donation of $1 million to the BGSU baseball program in 2014 was the largest ever gift by a former Falcons student-athlete.
His grandson, Tyler, is a freshman catcher for the Falcons, who will take on Central Michigan at 1:05 p.m. Saturday at Steller Field.
Haas said he was humbled by the honor, though he will have a much different opponent on the field this time. While being recognized by BGSU, he said he’ll do his best to avoid getting choked up.
“They say you get more emotional as you get older,” he said jokingly. “I certainly fall into that category.”
First Published April 30, 2019, 9:44 p.m.
