On This Date: Ex-College Cagers Make Their Mark on September 24 MLB Games

Extra! Extra! Read all about memorable major league baseball achievements and moments involving former college basketball players! Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Nonetheless, numerous ex-college hoopsters had front-row seats to many of the most notable games, transactions and dates in MLB history.

Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a September 24 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

SEPTEMBER 24

• Boston Red Sox 2B Jerry Adair (one of Oklahoma State's top three basketball scorers in 1956-57 and 1957-58 while ranking among nation's top 12 free-throw shooters each season) amassed four hits in an 11-7 win against the Baltimore Orioles in 1967.

• Philadelphia Athletics SS Frank Callaway (Tennessee letterman in 1918 and 1919) collected a career-high three hits in a 7-4 victory against the Chicago White Sox in 1921.

• New York Mets 1B Donn Clendenon (four-sport letterman with Morehouse GA) cracked two homers against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1969 game.

• Philadelphia Athletics C Mickey Cochrane (played for Boston University in early 1920s) contributed three doubles against the Washington Senators in a 1933 contest.

• New York Giants SS Alvin Dark (LSU and USL letterman in mid-1940s) homered in both ends of a 1952 doubleheader sweep against his original team (Boston Braves), going 5-for-5 in the opener.

• Cleveland Indians rookie SS Billy Harrell (averaged 10.3 ppg in three seasons for Siena in early 1950s) banged out three hits against the Detroit Tigers for the second time in a week in 1955.

• New York Mets manager Gil Hodges (played for Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) suffered a heart attack during a 1968 game against the Atlanta Braves.

• Chicago White Sox 1B Ron Jackson (second-team All-MAC choice from 1951-52 through 1953-54 led Western Michigan in scoring and rebounding his last two seasons) registered four hits against the Kansas City Athletics in a 1957 contest.

• In 1957, Brooklyn Dodgers LHP Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati's freshman squad in 1953-54) appeared in relief in the final game at Ebbets Field. Koufax got a chance to go to the plate and struck out for the 12th time in as many at-bats this season.

• Chicago Cubs C Gordy Massa (played briefly for Holy Cross in 1956-57) supplied two safeties in his MLB debut against the Cincinnati Reds en route to securing hits in all six games the remainder of the 1957 campaign.

• Pittsburgh Pirates 1B Jack Phillips (leading scorer for Clarkson NY in 1942-43) went 4-for-4 in a 3-2 triumph against the Cincinnati Reds in the nightcap of a 1950 twinbill.

• Philadelphia Phillies RHP Ron Reed (Notre Dame's leading rebounder in 1963-64 and 1964-65) won his last eight relief decisions of the 1983 campaign.

• Milwaukee Brewers LF Ted Savage (led Lincoln MO in scoring average in 1955-56) provided three hits and four RBI in a 7-3 verdict over the California Angels in 1970.

• RHP Hal Schumacher (St. Lawrence NY hooper in early 1930s) drove in the winning run in the 10th inning of opener of a doubleheader against the Boston Bees as the New York Giants clinched the 1936 N.L. pennant.

• RHP Joe Vance (Southwest Texas State letterman in 1927-28 and 1928-29) won his lone decision with the New York Yankees in 1937 by allowing only four hits and one run in eight innings against the Boston Red Sox.

• In 1992, Toronto Blue Jays DH-RF Dave Winfield (starting forward with Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) became the first 40-year-old in MLB history to knock in 100 runs in a season when he stroked a two-run double off Baltimore Orioles RHP Ben McDonald (started six games as 6-6 freshman forward for Louisiana State in 1986-87).

• New York Yankees LHP Tom Zachary (Guilford NC letterman in 1916) posted his 12th victory in as many decisions in 1929. No hurler will have a better season without losing a game.