At Dongdaemun Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Aug. 18, 1989, Whimoon High School faced off against Gongso at the round of 16 teams of the 19th Bonghwangdaegi High School Baseball Tournament. Park Chan-ho, the first grader at Gongso High School, displayed good pitching capability. Back then, he was showing off his power to hitters at Whimoon High School by inserting a ball with a speed of 140 kilometers per hour, which could be called a light ball into the catcher’s mitt.안전놀이터
However, it was not Park Chan-ho who received the spotlight but Park Jeong-hyuk, the fourth batter of the Whimoon High School, who hit home runs three times in a row from Park Chan-ho. Park, who carried the Whimoon High School hard, also drew a large arch at the first batter’s box of the quarterfinals against Gwangju Jinheung High School, becoming the first player in high school baseball to hit home runs in four consecutive at-bats.
At the final match, Wi Jae-young’s Dongsan High School, who was dubbed the “best high school player” at the time, was confronted. Hwimungo had 17 strikeouts by Wi, and was on the verge of winning the title. After the final match, Wi won the MVP and the most valuable pitcher award, and Park Jeong-hyuk, who had six home runs during the competition, swept the RBI award in order to reserve future stars.
In the final, he met Dongsan High School’s Wi Jae-young (left) and finished second, but Park Jung-hyuk was amazing in winning three hits.
Park Jung-hyuk, who went to Korea University in 1990, was involved in a dubious beating incident and his pace dropped sharply due to injuries and other reasons. After graduating from college, he retired after a very short professional career at LG Twins, and worked as a sports agent before ending his short life in 1999 due to an unexpected car accident.
Players from Hwimung University who won the 42nd Bonghwangdaegi High School Baseball Competition in 2014 are running to the ground. Hwimung University defeated Yoo Shin-go to embrace the green phoenix for the first time. File Photo by Hankook Ilbo
Park Jung-hyuk’s dream of winning the title has become a reality thanks to the performances of his juniors including Lee Jung-hoo. Hwimung lifted the first Bonghwangdaegi in 2014 and became a prestigious high school in baseball by winning two more championships between 2016 and 2019.