International and College Baseball Coach
Nicknamed “The Wizard of College Baseball,” this 1952 Nutley High School graduate never had a losing season in 30 years as head baseball coach at the University of Miami. Fraser retired in 1992 with the most career victories of any active college coach, 1,275 wins against 438 loses. Fraser has been inducted into seven halls of fame and named coach of the year 24 times. His teams hold the NCAA record of 20 consecutive tournament appearances and played in the College World Series 12 times.
But he has never forgotten Nutley. For decades, he made sure that his hometown visitors to Florida got the best seats at the games and the best accommodations at restaurants in town.
Fraser was also a top international amateur coach. He was the Netherlands national baseball director and coached the Dutch Baseball Club to two European championships in the early 1960’s. He is the only American to be named International Coach of the Year, which he accomplished twice, and he led the United States Pan American Team to a silver medal in 1987. He also was named head coach of the first official United States Olympic Baseball team that played in Barcelona, Spain in 1992.
The author of several books on baseball, Fraser is a nationally recognized motivational speaker, a television color analyst, and a special consultant for the Los Angeles Dodgers. At Miami, he was also known as an exceptional promoter. He helped create the Miami Maniac, one of the more recognizable mascots in college baseball. He also introduced bat girls to the game, coached a team that was the first to wear green gloves on St. Patrick’s Day, and even provided free admission to fans showing up in bathing suits. Fraser and his wife, Karen, reside in Weston, Florida.