On This Date: Ex-College Hoopers Make Their Mark on July 28 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 hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games, transactions and dates in MLB history.

Former college hoopers Billy North (Central Washington), Ossie Orwoll (Luther IA) and Ace Parker (Duke) provided key MLB performances on this date for the Athletics' franchise. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a July 28 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JULY 28

  • Cincinnati Reds CF Ethan Allen (Cincinnati basketball letterman in 1924-25 and 1925-26) went 4-for-4 in a 7-5 win against the Brooklyn Robins in the nightcap of a 1929 doubleheader.

  • 1B Donn Clendenon (hoops letterman for Morehouse GA) clobbered two homers en route to setting a New York Mets record by knocking in seven runs in a 12-2 rout of the San Francisco Giants in 1970.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers rookie RHP Roger Craig (forward with North Carolina State's 1949-50 freshman hoops team) fanned 11 Cincinnati Reds batters to post his third MLB victory in as many starts in 1955.

  • Detroit Tigers CF Hoot Evers (Illinois hoops starter in 1939-40) contributed four hits against the Boston Red Sox in a 1948 contest.

  • Kansas City Royals rookie RHP Rich Gale (led New Hampshire with 7.2 rpg in 1975-76), improving his mark to 12-3, posted his fifth triumph of the month by tossing his third shutout in 1978.

  • Detroit Tigers 1B Hank Greenberg (enrolled at NYU on hoop scholarship in 1929 but attended college only one semester) stroked four hits against the Cleveland Indians in a 1935 game.

  • Washington Senators rookie OF Gary Holman (USC hoops letterman in 1962-63) delivered a career-high three hits against the Boston Red Sox in a 1968 outing.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers rookie RF Frank Howard (two-time All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection when leading Ohio State in scoring and rebounding in 1956-57 and 1957-58) furnished six RBI in an 8-6 win against the Cincinnati Reds in 1960.

  • New York Yankees LF Charlie Keller (Maryland three-year hoops letterman from 1934-35 through 1936-37) cracked three homers against the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a 1940 twinbill. Keller went yard only once more in the remaining 58 games of the campaign.

  • Toronto Blue Jays RHP Dave Lemanczyk (averaged 4.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg from 1969-70 through 1971-72 on couple of NCAA College Division Tournament teams for Hartwick NY) registered his third shutout in 1979, blanking his former team, the Detroit Tigers, 3-0.

  • CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record) traded by the Chicago White Sox to the San Francisco Giants in 2002.

  • Chicago White Sox RHP Ted Lyons (two-time All-SWC first-team selection for Baylor in early 1920s) tied a MLB record with two doubles in a 10-run second inning en route to a 14-6 decision over the St. Louis Browns in the opener of a 1935 doubleheader.

  • Oakland Athletics CF Billy North (played four basketball games with Central Washington in 1967-68) made an unassisted double play against the Kansas City Royals in a 1973 contest.

  • Philadelphia Athletics rookie 1B Ossie Orwoll (Luther IA hooper in first half of 1920s), raising his batting average to .390, manufactured four hits against the St. Louis Browns in a 1928 game.

  • Philadelphia Athletics rookie SS Ace Parker (Duke hoops letterman in 1935-36) provided a career-high three hits and four RBI in an 11-7 win against the Cleveland Indians in 1937.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers INF Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in PCC both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) went on a 12-for-25 spurt en route to capturing the 1949 N.L. batting title.

  • Boston Red Sox RF Arlie Tarbert (Ohio State hoops letterman in 1924-25 and 1925-26) collected a career-high two hits in a 3-0 win against the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a 1927 doubleheader.

  • In the midst of a career-high 20-game hitting streak, St. Louis Cardinals 1B Bill White (two-year hooper with Hiram OH in early 1950s) doubled in his fourth consecutive contest in 1964.