Hall of Fame
Labeled the “best athlete that ever played for me” by 2003 Cal U Hall of Fame inductee Chuck Gismondi, Randy Wadsworth was the Vulcan baseball team’s starting catcher and top hitter in 1986 and 1987.
Wadsworth transferred to Cal U from then-called Robert Morris College after that school dropped its baseball program after being the team’s starting catcher in 1985.
In 1986 as the leadoff hitter, Wadsworth batted a team-high .377 and also led the Vulcans in hits (52), runs scored (36), and home runs (7). He was second on the team in RBI (33), triples (5), walks (21) and finished third in at bats (138), doubles (5), and stolen bases (5). Wadsworth received first-team, all-conference honors.
For an encore and hitting out of the third spot in the lineup, Wadsworth batted. 380 and tied the single-season home run record with 11. His 56 RBI’s in 1987 is still a co-school record 20 years later and Wadsworth also led the team that season in hits (46), runs scored (32), doubles (5), triples (5), walks (30), and stolen bases with eight. He still ranks fifth among all Cal career leaders in batting average (.378) and home runs (18). Wadsworth was selected as the Vulcans’ Most Valuable Player both seasons and received the PSAC-West’s Player of the Year honor in 1987 despite his team finishing with an 18-21 overall record.
Wadsworth is the ninth Vulcan baseball player to be inducted into the Cal U Athletic Hall of Fame.
“It’s pretty humbling and pretty amazing,” Wadsworth said. “When Coach Gismondi called me I was stunned. As a kid growing up in California I used to go to a lot of the games and hear the names and watch some of the people inducted with me such as Kenney Toomer and Tim Loomis. To be elected to this and knowing the great athletes that came out of here makes this a great and special honor.”
Wadsworth’s respect and admiration for his collegiate coach and baseball program is quite evident.
“I have known him since I was a little kid but even to this day I call him Coach Gismondi, not Chuck,” said Wadsworth. “His knowledge of baseball is so thorough. After the baseball program was dropped at Robert Morris I saw a lot of Coach Gismondi. We started talking and he was selling me on the program but he really didn’t have to because I remember watching so many of the great players there. I knew Scott Nichols and played with Brian Schaum who also went pro. Guys like Steve Luko and Dion Jansante were our heroes growing up and I knew what was there. Coach Gismondi’s awesome.”
He went on to play professional baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ organization and played for both the Great Falls (MT) and Sarasota (FL) Dodgers before a broken collarbone injury sustained from a home-plate collision ended his playing career.
“It was really different,” Wadsworth said about his year of pro ball. “You’re shipped out there and get off the plane in Montana and they taxi you to the complex. You don’t know anyone and you are competing from the time you get on that field because you are trying to make it to the next level and everything else is trying to do the same.”
Originally from Daisytown, PA, and a graduate of California Area High School, Wadsworth was a multi-sport scholastic star that played baseball, football, and basketball all four years. He was the starting catcher and helped the Trojans’ baseball team win the 1983 WPIAL Class AA championship. The following year Wadsworth and Cal advanced to the PIAA Class AA state title game where they lost by one run. Wadsworth was also a member of the Trojans’ boy’s basketball team that won a section title in 1982 and competed in the state playoffs. He received the school’s prestigious Three-Sport Award following his senior season. Wadsworth was also a standout in several summer baseball leagues, including two successful years with the Charleroi Magicians. His high school baseball coaches were Cal U alumni Romaine Howell ´79 and J. Budd Grebb ´62.
Wadsworth is proud to be part of his hometown’s rich baseball tradition.
“It’s a pride thing and when you put on that California uniform you will compete with anybody and the ball players that have come out of California are pretty phenomenal,” he said.
Following professional baseball, Randy returned to Cal U in 1989 and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration and management.
A regional property manager for AIMCO, Wadsworth believes his Cal U days aided him build his professional career.
“Absolutely my education at Cal helped prepare me in what I do today,” said Wadsworth. “I enjoyed my time here and out of high school as a kid you dream of playing professional baseball and think you need to play Division I baseball so more scouts will see you. But Coach Gismondi wasn’t beating around the bush and said I would go to class and we would play good competitive baseball, which we did. The PSAC is always good baseball.”
Randy and his wife and Cal U alumna Dawn ´90, ´92, reside in Orefield, PA. They are the proud parents of two children—Christian Joseph, 11 and seven year-old Cullen Anthony. Randy also coaches several youth sports teams.
His coaching philosophy compares to his playing career that was team-oriented and emphasized the passion for the game rather than his own impressive individual statistics.
“I never look at that kind of thing,” Wadsworth said about personal accomplishments. “I always tell the boys I coach that you belong on this field and you have to have that attitude when you go out on a field that you are the best one out here. You may not be but you have to think that. In baseball you have to be mentally strong. I never got into stats when I played. I went out there and enjoyed and loved the game. To this day I love the game and I think I drive my wife nuts because when I’m not working I am on a baseball field. I always wanted to compete and the numbers just happen.”
