BLACKSBURG – It's been 40 years since the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first team in NFL history to win four Super Bowls, the United States Olympic hockey team completed the "Miracle on Ice" — and, a few days later, won the gold medal — and Virginia Tech baseball's Chuck Hartman began his second season as the Hokies' head coach.
Tech ended 1979 with a 28-14 record in Hartman's first year, a season in which he won his 500th career game as a head coach, and the squad returned two All-Metro Conference players – pitcher Dave Grier and first baseman Harold Williams. It also included six future Major League Draft selections and two future Tech Hall of Famers, one of whom was a freshman from Hamlet, North Carolina – Franklin Stubbs.
The Hokies finished 1980 with a 30-18 record, including two wins in the Metro Conference Tournament, but saw a total of 13 games missed because of rainouts. Two of those contests were against Virginia, which marked just the 23rd season since the two schools started their rivalry back in 1900 in which they had not met – 16 of those occurred from 1906 through 1921.
The Hokies and Cavaliers were scheduled to open their Commonwealth Clash three-game ACC series today in Charlottesville. The cancellation of the 2020 athletics seasons because of the current events and the worldwide pandemic thus ended a 40-year string of seasons competing against their in-state rivals.
Hokiesports.com recently spoke with three current members of the Tech baseball team about what this rivalry means to them.
Senior Tanner Thomas is from Jacksonville, Florida, but knew about the Virginia Tech-Virginia rivalry before coming to Blacksburg. As a young kid, he was introduced to the rivalry through football.
"I've always been interested in watching rivalry games, no matter what the sport was," he said. "So, I learned a lot about the rivalry just sitting at home watching football and listening to the announcers explain it and how long it has been going on.
"The baseball rivalry against Virginia is an intense feeling. You can feel the intensity when you wake up that day. Knowing that I am representing the school in a big-time rivalry is an amazing feeling. There is no other attitude than to win those games."
Nick Biddison, a sophomore from Glen Allen, Virginia, doesn't really remember how he first learned about the rivalry, but knows for as long as he can remember, the two schools just don't get along too well.
"I personally try not to think about the rivalry when we are playing them," he said. "It really is just for bragging rights about who is the best team in the state. We also always want to beat them for recruiting reasons."
For Glenwood, Maryland native Kevin Madden, he has a bigger vested interest in the rivalry, especially now. The Hokie sophomore is the son of Kevin and Kay Madden, both graduates of Virginia. His father actually pitched for the Cavaliers (1982-85) and was the team's captain his junior and senior seasons. In 1985, he struck out 50 batters, third most on the team, in just 42.1 innings of work.
"I was recruited by Virginia multiple times throughout the process and initially reached out to them and told them I wanted to go there," the younger Madden said. "I made the mistake of getting caught up in the national champs thing. I received an offer from Coach [Brian] O'Connor, but it was only as a walk on.
"I felt disrespected and worth more than that. Therefore, the decision was easy. My dad always encouraged me to do what I wanted, and that he was not going to be involved in the decision-making at all. It was entirely up to me. I am grateful for my dad giving me that freedom."
Madden, Sr. was drafted out of high school in the 16th round by the Oakland Athletics, but decided to attend the University of Virginia, although he was being recruited by Virginia Tech as well. After just two starts, he tore a ligament in his elbow, which required Tommy John surgery (at the time he was just the third player ever to have it), and he worked his way back to pitch two more seasons for the Cavaliers.
"I was offered a professional contract after my junior season from the Pittsburgh Pirates' Branch Rickey, III, the grandson of Branch Rickey, who signed Jackie Robinson," Madden, Sr. said. "But I declined the contract and decided to return to Virginia.
"Those Tech teams back then were stacked with guys like George Canale, Franklin Stubbs and Billy Plante. Those guys were superstars. Back then, we used to play home-and-homes and then a third game at a neutral field. My senior year, that third game in Pulaski ended in a bench-clearing brawl. That's how intense the rivalry is."
"The rivalry, it's personal, obviously," the younger Madden said. "I was fired up to play against them last year and enjoyed the series. Let's just say if we got the opportunity, I wouldn't mind running up the score against them or stealing a bag up by 10 late in the game."
In all, there have been 190 baseball games played between the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech – the most games for Tech against any opponent and the most among any of the Hokies' sports teams. The men's basketball teams comes in second at 151, starting in 1915, and the two schools have faced each other every season since 1934-35. The football squads have played 101 games, starting the rivalry in 1895, and have played consecutively since 1970.
Virginia leads the all-time series at 103-87. The Cavaliers won the first nine, while Tech's longest stretch is 12 straight from May 3, 1981 through April 27, 1985, a run that helped the Hokies take their first lead in the series at 52-50. Virginia would retake it after a 12-game streak that coincided with the Hokies' move into the ACC, which has only heightened the rivalry.
In recent history, one of the more memorable weekend series was in 2015, when the Hokies swept No. 1 Virginia in Blacksburg over an early March weekend (13-15). Brendon Hayden drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to win that Friday's game, and Alex Perez' two-run home run in the eighth gave Tech the 6-5 win on Sunday to complete the sweep.
Final pitch of the game. Tech defeats No. 1 UVa 2-1. pic.twitter.com/ZxvpnLQyNy
— Virginia Tech Baseball (@HokiesBaseball) March 13, 2015
Ironically, the two teams have faced each other just once in postseason play – at the 2013 ACC Baseball Championship (a 10-1 win for Tech that started its run to its lone ACC Championship Game appearance). For those missing baseball games right now, CLICK HERE to view the entire game (courtesy of hokietapes).
However, no game may have tested the wills of each side more than last year's opening-series game on May 16. It went 11 innings, lasted five hours and 30 minutes – the longest ever for Tech in its recorded history – and did not end until 11:33 at night.
"I really don't think I have ever been a part of a game that long," said Biddison, who had two hits in the game and caught all 11 innings, and both nine-inning games the following two days. "To be honest, the game didn't seem that long until (after the game) someone had told me how long it actually took. I think that just goes to show how back and forth the games between the two of us are."
Thomas, who also had two hits, including a double, had similar thoughts.
"I have never been in a game like game one last year," he said. "In my perspective, it felt like a normal game with how competitive it was, and how fun it was to play made it go by way faster than it was."
Madden brought his entire game that night, leading Tech with a career-high five hits, while scoring two runs and adding an RBI.
"That was a long game, for sure," he said. "I remember the BC series we played an extra-inning game, but the UVA game was different. I remember I had five hits in the game, talked trash to the other team's coaches and players, but we lost."
After dropping Game 2 (another two-run loss), the Hokies were able to salvage a win in their final game of the 2019 season — an 8-4 victory on Senior Day. And the players were certainly ready for this year's Clash games as well.
"It was great to send my friends, teammates, and most importantly, the seniors off with a victory," Madden said. "I was looking forward to playing UVA this year. We had a very promising team, and UVA was ranked. It would've been a fun matchup."
"Obviously, Virginia Tech is mainly known for our football, so we are trying to do everything we can to turn it into a baseball school as well," Biddison said. "I think it almost starts with becoming the best team in the state."
"This year was going to be a big year for baseball," Thomas said. "Every game, we were getting better and better as a group on and off the field. We were definitely going to win the series this year."
Baseball, and all other events, will eventually return — and the Hokies and Cavaliers will battle once again on the diamond for bragging rights for best in the state.