Rollins Family Honors Their Father, Rich, With Contribution to Kent State Baseball
1/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
KENT, Ohio - To honor their father, the Rollins family has recently made a financial contribution to the Golden Flashes baseball program. For their generosity, the entrance plaza next to Schoonover Stadium will be called "Rollins Way."
"I wanted to honor my father, who had a great career at Kent State and in the major leagues," said Patrick Rollins, who also played for KSU from 1988-91. "Kent State goes a long way back in my family.
"When I was able to make a contribution, I wanted to make sure and give back to the baseball program that gave so much to me," Patrick added.
Echoing the sentiments of his son, Rich stated, "Kent State has meant a lot for me and my family. We wanted to give back for all it has given."
Rich Rollins was a captain for the Golden Flashes during the 1959 and 1960 seasons and was a three-time All-Mid-American Conference First Team selection and was a two-time member of the All-District IV Team.
"In 1956, I was enrolled at Ohio and a friend encouraged me to visit Kent State," Rich explained. "After that, I decided to attend the university and it was a very momentous decision that changed my life. My best friends who are a part of my life are from that era."
Despite only playing approximately 20 games a season, Rich's six triples in 1960 and his .420 average in 1959 still rank second and fourth in the season annals, respectively. He also ranks third with a career batting average of .389.
Among players from the wood bat era at Kent State, he had the most career at-bats (239), hits (93), RBI (63), doubles (24) and total bases (164).
He became only the second former Flash to go on to play major league baseball when he appeared in his first game with the Minnesota Twins in June of 1961. With the Twins until 1968, Rich received the most votes for the All-Star Game in 1962 and led the league in triples (10) in 1964.
Also seeing stints with the Seattle Pilots in the 1969 season and with the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians in 1970, Rich finished his 10-year career with a .269 average, 887 hits and 399 RBI.
"The Rollins family has always shown a tremendous amount of support for our baseball program," said sixth-year head coach Scott Stricklin. "We are excited that they have decided to take their support to the next level and we are even more excited to name "Rollins Way" in their honor."
