1956 Gophers Baseball team honored on 60th anniversary of winning College World Series

Many great moments make up Gopher baseball history, but one memory was re-lived Saturday on a day 60 years in the making.

The 1956 Minnesota team came back to the campus where it all started, six decades after bringing home the program's first ever national title.

"We won that championship 60 years ago this year and it's something we'll never forget,” Jerry Thomas said. “It's the highlight of all of our careers!"

"We were young and thought that it's nice to win a tournament,” 1956 first baseman Doug Gillen added. “As you get older you appreciate it more. It's kind of a big deal."

Six members of that squad returned with memories on their minds, and in-person reminders too that included their championship rings and the national title trophy from the 1956 season.”

"I love seeing it. Every time i see that thing i get shivers up and down my back," Thomas used to describe the trophy.

Players have come and gone and the program has changed over the years, but this moment in time for these legendary Gophers will last foreve.

"No one can ever take that away from you,” Gillen said.