Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2017
- Class:
- 1963
In the history of Marshall baseball, no batter has been more difficult for opposing pitchers to retire over the course of an entire season than infielder Rodney "Rusty" Wamsley was in 1963. Splitting his time between shortstop and second base for the Thundering Herd, Wamsley has the program’s best single-season batting average at .471 in 1963, and slugged .835, which stood as a program record until 1998. Wamsley's 16 doubles that year led the entire nation.
The Point Pleasant, W.Va., native logged a .386 career batting average, which is No. 2 in the school record book, and he is still sixth at Marshall with seven career triples. He led Marshall in games played each season, at-bats in 1961 (71) and 1962 (58); hits in 1962 (23) and 1963 (40); runs scored in 1963 (22); doubles in 1963 (16 in that season, the record until 1985) and is seventh all-time. He led Marshall in runs scored in 1963 (22), runs battered in (71) and three home runs.
Wamsley was named second team All-Mid-American Conference in 1962, and received first team recognition in 1963. He was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.
