Joba Chamberlain inducted into Nebraska Baseball Hall of Fame

LINCOLN, Neb. - A former Husker standout, two-time World Series Champion, and 10-year big leaguer will forever be part of baseball history in the Cornhusker state.

Joba Chamberlain was inducted into the Nebraska Baseball Hall of Fame in Beatrice, on Sunday night.

“When you go to start playing baseball you don’t understand what that means and to have this honor and to be inducted and what that means to Nebraska baseball is an honor and a privilege,” Chamberlain said. “I get to share this with my son and my dad, those are the two that have built me into this game, and I’m just so grateful for that.”

Despite a decade long MLB career, with five different teams, Nebraska fans likely remember Joba best for his performance with Husker baseball in 2005, turning in a 10-2 record with a 2.81 ERA, leading to Nebraska’s first ever win in the College World Series. Pitching coach Rob Childress presented the honor to Chamberlain and says they couldn’t have done it without the kid from Lincoln.

“We won everything we could win,” Childress said. “We won the regular season, the tournament, the regional, super regional and Joba went and led us into the College World Series with a win over Arizona State. Joba did everything he could to set us up for a national championship.”

For Chamberlain, his biggest takeaway from his baseball career in Nebraska, is Husker nation.

“I think the greatest joy Nebraska ever gave me was the fans…. This goes to them as much as it does to me,” Chamberlain said.

“He bled red going up,” Childress said. “He grew up in the city of Lincoln, all he wanted to ever do was be a Husker and thankful we had the opportunity to do that. Even though we missed him out of high school having a chance to make amends for that was a blessing by coach Day.”