USD Magazine, Winter 1998

lrl'rl• wo of the most heartfelt passions in history professor Ray ,...l!;-1 Brandes' life are teaching and baseball. During his 31- =a year career at USD, Brandes searched for the perfect way to combine his two loves. When he hit upon the right formula, the results were spectacular. Brandes recently completed the first two volumes in a trilogy about the San Diego Padres baseball club of the Pacific Coast League, a minor league that brought professional baseball teams to the West Coast long before major league clubs like the Dodgers and the Giants arrived. All three books in the series are published by the Padres organization, with the third due out in early 1998. The history professor worked with several USD student researchers on the first two books, thick volumes filled with pic– tures, statistics and player interviews that chronicle the team from 1936 to 1957. But the third book in the series was written through the unique collaboration Brandes long wanted to create. "I believe in stimulating students to do the best work they can," says Brandes, who designed and produced the books himself, and has authored more than 20 other books about the American West during his career. "What better way than to offer them the chance to have a book credited to their work?" Thus in the spring of 1996, Brandes brought his research and writing seminar, a core course in the graduate public history program, to San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium, since renamed Qualcomm Stadium. The 22 students interviewed former Padres players, researched statistics and game summaries, and wrote papers on the team's his– tory from 1958 to 1968. The project attracted the attention of Padres owner John Moores, who decided that the team should publish the books in limited edition hardbound sets. Each student will be listed as a con– tributing author when the third volume, The Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres: The Westgate Years, 1958-1968, is published.

"The students soaked up the atmosphere of the ballpark and had the chance to participate firsthand in the field of public, or applied, history," says Brandes. "No matter what career they choose, this book will be proof of their ability as historians capable of research– ing, writing and working in the public sector." Brandes knows how important that proof is in the competitive market for teaching and history-related jobs. A professor at USD since 1966, Brandes shaped the university's public history program and served as graduate dean for 18 years, always putting the empha– sis on helping students find careers. When he retired from USD this year, his efforts were recognized at the annual faculty convoca– tion with the Medal of San Diego de Alcala, the university's highest honor and one that has been presented only three other times in the school's history. Brandes was grateful for the honor, and reflects that his ongoing reward is the success of his students. "I still hear from many of the students I taught, people who are now college professors, high school teachers, filmmakers, museum directors, curators and archivists. There are many historians who came out of our program," says Brandes, who in the past few years also developed the university archives. "I knew that to be successful they needed more than classroom instruction." Brandes spent much of his time at USD finding opportunities for students to work outside the classroom. Although the Padres book series is only the most recent in a long line of collaborations with his students, it is to Brandes one of the most satisfying proj– ects of his career. "Because we worked so closely with the Padres on these books, I wanted the students to come up with a first-class product," he says. "They can be proud that as historians they helped memori– alize and honor the baseball legends of this region."

- Michael R. Haskins

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