OU Baseball: Oklahoma to Retire Legendary Coach Enos Semore's Jersey

Still the program's all-time winningest head coach, Semore's famous No. 24 will be retired Saturday before the Sooners' home game with Baylor.

Enos Semore / OU Athletics

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma Athletics Department and Oklahoma baseball program announced Tuesday that OU will retire legendary coach Enos Semore’s jersey this Saturday, May 11, before the Sooners’ 4 p.m. game vs. Baylor. 

Semore, the winningest coach in OU baseball history with a record of 851-370-1 (.697), led the Sooners from 1968-89. He directed OU to five straight College World Series appearances from 1972-76 and collected a program-record 62 wins in 1976. 

“No one has meant more to the success of our proud and storied Oklahoma baseball program than Coach Enos Semore,” said OU Vice President and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione. “So it is with tremendous honor that we will retire the jersey of one of the great OU coaches in any sport this Saturday. Coach Semore was an exceptional leader of our program for 22 seasons, which is reflected by the performance of his teams on the diamond and by the love his players and staff showed and still show for him to this day. We are grateful for all he did to help make OU Baseball what it is today. He is incredibly deserving of this honor.”

A 2005 American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, Semore’s OU teams won seven Big Eight Conference titles, with six coming in a seven-year stretch from 1972-78 when the Sooners went a combined 316-97 (.765) and the other in 1986. His squads finished third or higher in the Big Eight standings in 19 of 22 seasons and finished no lower than fifth.

In his final season of 1989, Semore was named the Big Eight Coach of the Year. Additionally, he helped spearhead the building of L. Dale Mitchell Park in 1981, the Big Eight’s first true baseball stadium, moving the program from its previous home at Haskell Park to its current location on south campus. 

“It’s an honor for Coach Semore to have his jersey retired and an honor for us as a team to take part in something that will mean a lot to him,” said OU head coach Skip Johnson. “He’s a staple of our program for the foundation he laid many years ago. I’m just one of the many coaches who have tried to add to that foundation. Saturday will be a special day for Coach, his family and our program.”

Prior to his tenure at Oklahoma, Semore spent five seasons as the head coach at Bacone (OK) Junior College where he compiled a 152-22 record. In 1967, his team won the national junior college championship. 

A graduate of Northeastern State University (OK) in 1956, Semore was a four-year letterman in basketball and baseball for the Riverhawks (then Redmen) and was inducted into the school’s athletics hall of fame in 1989. 

Born in Haskell County, OK, Semore still resides in his home state, retiring in Noble, OK, He and his late wife Mary have three children: Lee, Janie and Scott.

First pitch Saturday is set for 4 p.m. CT. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the ceremony, which will begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. on the field.

 Quoteable:

Todd Butler: Student-Athlete, 1987-88; Current Assistant Coach 

“Coach Enos Semore is the best coach I have ever been around my entire career. When you speak of class and character for young men to develop and replicate he exemplified those qualities daily. Congratulations #24, Boomer Sooner!”

Darron Cox: Student-Athlete, 1987-89

“Coach Semore, congratulations on having your number retired. It’s a well-deserved honor. I’d like to say thank you for the impact you had on my life. You helped guide and change the direction of my life that led to a brighter future. As I look back over the years I start to realize that a college coach’s short term responsibility is about the X’s and O’s and the W’s and L’s. However, the great coaches understand the impact that they have on the future direction of young men’s lives. In my opinion, you belong in the category of greatness. On your special day I’d like to say thank you and congratulations Coach!”

Chris Ebright: Student-Athlete, 1987-89

“Coach Semore has been one of the most influential people in my life, both on and off the field. He taught us how to play the game the right way, stressed the importance of an education, and led by example of how to act like a man.”

Stan Meek: Student-Athlete, 1972-74; Assistant Coach, 1977-89; Head Coach, 1990

“I am thrilled to see that Coach Semore’s number is being retired. I can’t think of anyone more deserving, considering both his baseball accomplishments at OU and how he has represented the university through the years. He is a wonderful human being that has earned this honor. This will be a special day for many of his former players and coaches.”

Joe Simpson: Student-Athlete, 1971-73

“Enos Semore meant a lot of things to a lot of people. A terrific coach. Great mentor. A leader in every sense of the word. He embodied what was right about college athletics and worked every day to not only make us better ball players, but better men. Personally, I’ll never be able to thank him enough.”

Bobby Witt: Student-Athlete, 1984-85

“Congratulations Coach Semore on your number being retired. It’s been long overdue, I want to thank you for all that you did for me while I was at OU and especially talking sense into me at “The Kettle” when I was going to leave, without that conversation I would have never been a Sooner for life! Thank You, Coach!”