Cal Poly Pomona alumni Tim Mead and Mike Ashman celebrate the Angels 2002 championship.

For many local baseball fans, images from last October's World Series are etched in memory. The Anaheim Angels seven-game series win over the San Francisco Giants ended decades of frustration and brought the Orange County franchise its first championship.

Yet for Tim Mead, vice president of communications for the Angels and a 23-year member of the organization, most memories of the team's incredible postseason run are now little more than ghosts and echoes.

"Those were 18-19 hour days in October. It's all kind of a blur," admits the 1981 Cal Poly Pomona grad. "It's not so much one hit or one play I'll remember. It's the people."

This wasn't Mead's first championship moment. As a student assistant in the sports information department at Cal Poly Pomona, he worked closely with the Broncos baseball team when it won the 1980 NCAA Division II World Series. Later that same year, he was hired as an intern in the Angels media relations office, which eventually led to a full-time position with Anaheim.

Over the years, Mead's strong work ethic and attention to detail carried him through a series of jobs with the Angels, including a four-year stint as assistant general manager. The division between work and personal life faded as he became linked with the team and its performance.

"It encompasses your life. It's something you're associated with," says Mead. "I live it. After all this time, this remains a dream job for me."

Still, Mead is mindful to make time for family, being at home in Diamond Bar whenever possible with his wife, Carole, and their 16-year-old son, Brandon. He also maintains a network of friends and acquaintances, something he drew to involve two good friends-and fellow Cal Poly Pomona alumni-with the Angels.

Brent Shyer, a 1980 grad, is the university's former sports information director who later worked in the Los Angeles Dodgers' front office. Mike Ashman ('87), an All-American on the 1980 championship team, enjoyed a six-year professional playing career. In 1996 he was named the Broncos head baseball coach.

"I remember Mike saying that if we ever needed anybody to help out, he was willing. He started throwing home batting practice for us during the 2001 season," recalls Mead. "When we made the postseason this year, Brent volunteered to help with whatever we needed. Believe me, his expertise is second to none."

So on Oct. 27, 2002, when the Angels clinched the title and the celebration began, there was a very special moment between the three on the field. That is Mead's most cherished World Series image.

"Here you had Cal Poly Pomona with three people in the professional ranks-not playing-involved in a World Series together," says Mead. "And it's three friends. Three guys who, in 1980, were all part of a national championship team. That's special."