OMAHA, Neb. — Jim Meier waited outside as Minnesota players filed out of Rosenblatt Stadium.

Moments after the Golden Gophers beat Arizona on their way to a College World Series title in 1956, the 10-year-old Meier wanted a souvenir. A Minnesota player discreetly handed him one.

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Meier ran the two blocks home, to the residence above the Riverview Tavern in Omaha. More than 65 years later, the baseball with “Minnesota College June 10, 1956” scribbled on it is one of the most prized possessions among a treasure trove of baseball memorabilia.

"The team was just waiting for their bus and I saw one player with a ball stuffed in his back pocket," Meier recalled. "I said, 'Hey, Mister. Got a ball?' He handed it to me and I ran. I was pretty excited that day."

Meier, 78, stood on the same field where much of his life—outside of two years he spent in Japan serving in the U.S. Air Force—has been spent last Sunday, showing fans in town for the 2024 CWS dirt stored in cardboard ice cream cups, baseballs, leather gloves and newspapers clippings, all remnants of Rosenblatt Stadium, which was demolished in 2012.

There are memories—hundreds of them—he can recount of the 61 years that the stadium, which is now a park, hosted the CWS. The ball he snuck away and still proudly displays is one of them.

So are the games, including when Minnesota second baseman Jerry Kindall became the first player in the history of the event to hit the cycle in 1956—a distinction he held for 68 years before Tennessee infielder Christian Moore joined him in the Vols’ thrilling 12-11 victory over Florida State down the street at Charles Schwab Field on Friday.

Meier wasn't in attendance for Moore's historic moment like he was for Kindell's. He'll be at some games before the week is over, though. He says he always finds tickets, though he has to drive now instead of walk since the current stadium opened near downtown Omaha in 2012.

"I've never had season tickets, but I always figure it out," Meier said. "As I kid, I'd just walk into the games."

Rosenblatt, which Meier fondly refers to as 'Ole Rosey Girl,' is as much a part of his own life as it is for the players that played there. Growing up in Omaha, baseball is ingrained.

Meier's late father played and even had few Major League tryout offers. He still has his glove and a ball he kept from an exhibition game that featured Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in Omaha in 1927.

He gifted the ball to Meier for one of his birthdays growing up. It holds a little more sentimental value to Meier than the other pieces of his collection.

"He was a really good player," Meier said. "He got offers to try out for the Cubs, the Indians and the White Sox but it was the depression. There was no money, so he didn't go to the try outs...I have pictures and my mom kept a pretty extensive clipping book of the teams he played for. He was a shortstop."

Meier made baseball memories with his own son. His favorite happened in 2006, when Oregon State opened the CWS with a loss to Miami and fought its way through the losers bracket to the championship series, beating North Carolina in two out of three games.

Meier had no previous connection to either team. He often doesn't, unless his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers are there. But that week, because of his background in sports psychology, he was approached by someone with the team about writing motivational letters to Oregon State players.

Meier would watch the games at Rosenblatt, drive to his home 20 miles away, type up the letters and then hand deliver them to coaches at the team hotel before the game the next day.

The Beavers were the first team in CWS history to lose two games and win the championship.

As Meier watched Oregon State players dogpile at Rosenblatt, he noticed his son tearing up.

"My son was sitting next to me and he had a tear in his eye," Meier said. "He said this, 'Dad, I know you had something to do with that.' That's my favorite. I've got a lot of them, but that's my favorite."

Tennessee is looking to make its own memories. It has already made a few.

Moore's cycle wasn't even his biggest moment in the Vols' CWS opener. The double he hit with Tennessee down to its last out helped set up the tying and eventual game-winning run.

Two nights later, the Vols beat North Carolina to move to 2-0 in the CWS for the first time in program history and it pulled them within a game of the championship series for just the second time ever.

"It would be nice to have Michael Jordan and say you've got the best guy to take over, or Peyton Manning to lead the way," Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said. "But this is a deal where you got nine guys and baseballs flying around and arms moving and things like that and energy in the dugout.

"There's just a lot of things that happen in our sports, with all due respect to the others. What carries the heavy weight for us is the camaraderie."

All four teams in the winners bracket have never won a CWS title, while Kentucky is making its first appearance in Omaha.

Meier remembers when teams like Southern California, LSU and Miami were regulars. That has changed in recent years as college baseball has grown. Meier finds that refreshing.

Tennessee is three wins away from its first national championship if it can continue its memorable run. Meier will be watching.

"I don't really have a skin in the game. I just want good baseball," Meier said. "I'd be happy with Tennessee winning."

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