SHORT LIFE & LONG REMEMBRANCE

In 1953 when I entered George Pepperdine College in Los Angeles (the OLD Pepperdine, not the new one in Malibu), I met Carl Osterhaus, also an entering freshman.  He was a heck of a nice fellow, a great athlete and a good addition to Pepperdine's baseball team.  Everybody liked him.

Near the end of our sophomore year, Carl died of an aneurysm.  It was the first time most of us had been touched by the death of one of our contemporaries.  It was really hard for us.  I remember Eddie Myers, my friend and a frat brother of Carl, breaking the news to me.  It was something I never forgot.

I don't want Carl to be forgotten, so checking the internet for anything pertaining to his short life, I turned up the information below

Randy Angel, Easy Reader News, Hermosa Beach, CA

Published March 24, 2005

It took five decades, but Mira Costa High School formally honored its first baseball star last Saturday with the dedication and unveiling of a Mustang green-and-gold sign, proclaiming the home diamond as Carl Osterhaus Memorial Field.

Carl Osterhaus was a standout pitcher and a member of Mira Costa’s first graduating class in 1953. He led the Mustangs to a CIF championship that season, hurling two no-hitters, winning 10 straight games, and being honored as the team’s outstanding player.

Osterhaus’ dominance on the mound earned him a baseball scholarship to Pepperdine College (now University), where he pitched until his life was drastically cut short at the end of his sophomore year. He died of a brain aneurysm.

Soon thereafter, Mira Costa administrators decided the baseball field would officially be named Carl Osterhaus Memorial Field. But as time went on and memories faded, no official marker had ever been placed.
A group of former Mira Costa teachers and alumni who remembered Osterhaus began a drive in 2004 to raise funds for the sign, which now stands prominently above the bleacher section and is visible from the field and Meadows Avenue.

After the Mira Costa band and cheerleading squad supplied pre-ceremony entertainment, Master of Ceremonies Bob Brigham introduced former teachers and teammates of Osterhaus, before Bill Kelly and Jerry Striff removed the tarp to unveil the overdue memorial.

Kelly, who was Osterhaus’ catcher for the Mustangs, recalled the pinpoint accuracy his battery mate possessed.
Striff, who had lived across the street from the Osterhaus family, was in Little League when Osterhaus pitched for Mira Costa and remembered how much he idolized the tall southpaw.

Among those in attendance was Osterhaus’ Pepperdine coach John Scolinos, whose college coaching career spanned 45 years and included three National Championships while at Cal Poly Pomona. A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Scolinos was named as the NCAA Division II Coach of the Century by Collegiate Baseball. ER

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Hermosa Beach hasn't forgotten him, and I haven't either.  RIP, Carl.