Gators Boosters Karen and Dennis Aust at a recent UF baseball game. (Photo: Isabella Marley/UAA Communications)
No Pitching Labs In His Day, But Former Big Leaguer Dennis Aust Pitches In To Help Gators
Thursday, March 3, 2022 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — They walk past his name when they enter their specialized training space. Inside, as Florida's pitchers analyze spin rates and arm angles attempting to improve their craft, they are reminded of their precise non-pitching location by a simple glance around the room.
Beyond the raised mounds, safety nets and radar guns, a large wall reads: Dennis Aust Pitching Lab. A Tampa Times illustration of Dennis Aust in 1958.
For a group of 18- to 22-year-old college players dreaming of perhaps a shot at the big leagues one day, the name Dennis Aust isn't likely to register. Not unless they put on their reporter's hat and visit Google or BaseballReference.com. If any of them take the time to learn more about the man who donated $1 million recently to Gator Boosters as part of a naming gift and scholarship endowment, they will discover Aust, like them, was a pitcher.
A good one.
They will find out that as a 15-year-old Nebraskan who had recently moved to Florida in the summer of 1956, Aust pitched the Pensacola Optimists to the Babe Ruth World Series in Portland, Ore. At historic Multnomah Stadium on Aug. 22, 1956, Aust outdueled future big leaguer Al Downing for six innings until Downing's Trenton (N.J.) team scored six runs in the seventh inning to end Aust's magical postseason run. Still, a couple of weeks later, Aust appeared in the Sept. 10, 1956, edition of Sports Illustrated as an up-and-coming pitching star whose delivery drew comparisons to Phillies star right-hander Robin Roberts.
The 81-year-old Aust recalls that summer of '56 fondly.
"I hitched a ride with a friend who was driving to Key West,'' Aust said. "I spent the summer there with my dad in Pensacola. He went to Florida to race greyhounds at the Pensacola Greyhound Track. I ended up playing Babe Ruth there and made the All-Star Team."
The Aust story takes off from there.
If those young hurlers keep digging, they will discover Aust relocated to the Tampa area when he was in high school, and the right-hander with a crisp fastball and sharp curve developed into the staff ace at Chamberlain High. In an era before Major League Baseball had an amateur draft, Aust was uncertain of life after high school.
Fortunately, his coach at Chamberlain, Ken Nuznoff, realized his potential and made calls to college coaches around the state. Then-UF coach Dave Fuller sent an assistant to watch Aust pitch, and he signed with the Gators.
"I had no ideas of going to college,'' Aust said. "My parents didn't have the funds to send me to college. My baseball coach went to bat for me."
As a freshman, Aust pitched for UF's junior varsity. By the time he was a sophomore in 1960, Aust was on full scholarship and once again an ace. In his signature outing for the Gators during his junior season, Aust struck out 17 in a 6-0 win at Vanderbilt on April 22, 1961– a school-record in a nine-inning game that he still shares. He finished 8-3 and earned All-SEC honors that season.
Dennis Aust featured in Sport Illustrated in 1956.
Following the '61 season, Aust signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and started his professional career. His journey to St. Louis made stops in towns like Johnson City (Tenn.), Billings (Mont.), Portsmouth (Va.), Atlanta, Tulsa, Knoxville and Jacksonville. Pitching for the Triple-A Jacksonville Suns in the summer of '65, Aust went 8-4 with a 1.07 ERA in 34 appearances as a late-inning reliever.
He was in the majors by the end of the season.
"That was the best year I had in baseball,'' he said.
Aust accomplished what many of the young pitchers throwing in the lab named after him dream of one day.
On the night of Sept. 6, 1965, at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Aust made his major league debut in the second game of a doubleheader against the Phillies. Aust struck out Philadelphia shortstop Bobby Wine to start a 1-2-3 top of the seventh with comedic catcher Bob Uecker behind the plate.
Aust spent parts of two seasons with the Cardinals, a team that featured future Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Steve Carlton and Orlando Cepeda. But competition for innings was stiff, and Aust was shipped back to the minors after 15 relief appearances and two saves. The last batter Aust faced in the majors was Giants outfielder Willie Mays on May 7, 1966, in the penultimate game at Sportsman's Park before the Cardinals moved downtown to Busch Stadium. Dennis Aust in big leagues.
Aust bounced around the minors for a couple more seasons and thought he might get another shot when Roger Craig, Aust's manager his final season in the minors, became pitching coach of the San Diego Padres in their expansion season of '69. Aust said Craig told him he could pitch in the majors and would urge the Padres to draft him.
"The draft came along, and I didn't get drafted, so I decided I better get a job,'' Aust said.
His baseball career finished, that's what Aust did. He took a job in St. Louis for a year. He moved to Las Vegas to sell real estate and later to California. After a few years there, the real estate market fizzled, and Aust returned to Tampa in the late 1970s.
After some ups and downs, Aust and a partner started a business that leased employees to local companies. They took care of payroll and administrative tasks. It took off.
"We grew really fast. We had like 40-some in-house people and like 10,000 leased employees," Aust said. "We used to do our checking with ADP [Automatic Data Processing]. We ran our checks through them, and they saw how big we were getting, and they decided they needed to be in the employee-leasing business. They made an offer we couldn't refuse."
That was 1995. Aust retired and began to enjoy life the way many retired ballplayers do. He bought boats and fished. He moved into a home on the water. He drove cross-country in a motor home to fly fish out West. He bought a mountain home in North Carolina.
"The money didn't come from baseball; I'll tell you that,'' Aust quipped.
In Aust's final season in the majors, Dodgers lefty Sandy Koufax was the highest-paid player with a $130,000 yearly salary. The game paid Aust mostly in experiences.
The next time he visits Florida Ballpark, he may share some of them with the Gators' young pitchers.
The Dennis Aust Pitching Lab at Florida Ballpark. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
He faced Hall of Famers such as Mays, Willie McCovey and Joe Morgan. He pitched against Downing as a 15-year-old and roomed with Tracy Stallard with the Cardinals. Both pitchers are etched into baseball history. Downing served up Hank Aaron's 715th home run in 1974, which broke Babe Ruth's career record. Stallard surrendered Roger Maris' 61st home run in 1961, which broke Ruth's single-season record.
"I still get autograph requests each month, with people sending me baseball cards," Aust said. "They'll write letters."
Aust and his wife, Karen, have visited Florida Ballpark. During baseball season, the couple lives in South Florida. They donated to give back to a place that helped Aust on his life journey.
He didn't stay in the big leagues long, but Aust knows what it takes to get there. The Gators of today live in a different world from his.
"They are some lucky guys," he said. "I'm just glad I could do something for the university. They gave me a chance to go to school, and from there, I got a chance to play Major League Baseball, which was always my dream as a kid. It all worked out."
