A signed Orel Hershiser baseball jersey, the first ever Freddie Falcon mascot outfit and the first ever Falcon emblem can only be found in one place, the University’s archives. For thirty years, Mickey Cochrane has stored old artifacts from every sporting season since the early 1900s, to create a room full of memorabilia.
The archive room is located at the west end of Anderson Arena and is open an hour before every home basketball game.
Cochrane came to the University in 1964 when the athletic director at the time, Sam Cooper, hired him to start soccer and lacrosse programs. Before coming to the University Cochrane was at Johns Hopkins University for 11 years, and he had also coached teams for the Army in the 1950s.
“I came here to teach and coach. At that time all coaches were also professors; at Hopkins I could only coach,” Cochrane said. “It took a little while to get the programs going, but after a while, they both played in the national tournaments.”
Mike Wilcox, a three-time All-American under Cochrane in lacrosse, said he was a gifted coach.
“I was a two-time captain for him. He always made practice fun. When you think practice is a grind he kept everything alive and took the pressure off of everyone,” Wilcox said. “He expected a lot from everyone. He was a great coach in respect by getting the most out of his players and winning championships.”
He has also been influential to coaches today, as women’s soccer coach Andy Richards said that he has the utmost respect for Cochrane.
“He is a fantastic guy. I call him The Legend or Mr. Soccer because of the way he started and shaped the soccer program of today,” Richards said. “He has helped me out. He’s so knowledgeable and fascinating to talk to.”
He retired from the University in 1985 but was still associated with the University by becoming an archivist. The archives were formerly in the Doyt Perry Stadium, but when water got into the stadium, it would damage the archives that were placed there. As a result, he and Don Cunningham, also a former University coach, started placing the archives where they are now in Anderson Arena, to better preserve the history here at the University.
“I collect things from the campus and all over the country,” Cochrane said. “I’ve always been interested in history and sports, so I combined the two with taking this position.”
Cochrane said he works with several Halls of Fame across the nation including: lacrosse, soccer and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. He collects items from old jerseys and pictures to player cards and even buttons made way back in the early 1900s.
“The archives are getting more popular because of the hundred years of the University this year,” Cochrane said. “This is something we thought was really needed. Plus we just love doing it.”
