On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make Mark on September 1 MLB Games

September 1st, 2015 - 6:27

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 1 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

SEPTEMBER 1

  • Milwaukee Braves 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) swatted two homers against the Chicago Cubs in 1960.

  • Chicago Cubs LF Ethan Allen (Cincinnati letterman in 1924-25 and 1925-26) supplied four hits against the New York Giants in 1936.

  • Baltimore Orioles LF Al Bumbry (Virginia State's runner-up in scoring with 16.7 ppg as freshman in 1964-65) banged out four hits against the Kansas City Royals in 1974.

  • Arizona Diamondbacks 1B Tony Clark (San Diego State's leading scorer in WAC games in 1991-92) collected five RBI against the Colorado Rockies in 2007.

  • Philadelphia Athletics rookie RHP Jack Coombs (captain and starting center for Colby ME) went the distance in a 24-inning, 4-1 win against the Washington Senators in 1906. Coombs tossed two more complete-game victories in the next 10 days.

  • Milwaukee Braves 2B Jack Dittmer (played for Iowa in 1949-50), entering the game with a .180 batting average, started a streak of six consecutive multiple-hit contests in 1954. Dittmer homered in three of the tilts.

  • Closing in on the conclusion of an 18-year Hall of Fame career, Washington Senators C Rick Ferrell (played forward for Guilford NC before graduating in 1928) furnished four hits against the Philadelphia Athletics in 1947.

  • In 1976, Baltimore Orioles rookie LHP Mike Flanagan (averaged 13.9 ppg for UMass' freshman squad in 1971-72) registered his first of 167 MLB career victories (six-hit, 7-1 nod over Kansas City Royals).

  • Pittsburgh Pirates rookie 3B Gene Freese (West Liberty WV captain of 1952 NAIA Tournament team) stroked four hits against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1955.

  • SS Dick Groat (two-time All-American with Duke in 1950-51 and 1951-52 when finishing among nation's top five scorers each season) received a bases-loaded walk in the 21st inning to give the San Francisco Giants a 1-0 victory at Cincinnati in 1967.

  • Chicago Cubs SS Don Kessinger (three-time All-SEC selection for Mississippi from 1961-62 through 1963-64 while finishing among nation's top 45 scorers each year) went 4-for-4 against the Houston Astros in 1968.

  • Detroit Tigers RF Harvey Kuenn (played briefly for Wisconsin in 1951-52 after competing on JV squad previous season) contributed four hits against the Chicago White Sox in 1959.

  • Washington Senators SS Doc Lavan (played for Hope MI from 1908 through 1910) went 4-for-4 against the New York Yankees in 1918.

  • In 1931, New York Giants rookie LHP Jim Mooney (played for East Tennessee State) notched his fourth win and second shutout since being summoned from the minors three weeks earlier.

  • Washington Senators rookie SS Buddy Myer (Mississippi State letterman in 1923-24) went 4-for-5 for the second time in an eight-game span in 1926.

  • Cincinnati Reds CF Greasy Neale (graduated in 1915 from West Virginia Wesleyan) went 5-for-5 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the nightcap of a 1918 doubleheader.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers LHP Preacher Roe (played for Harding AR in late 1930s) yielded five solo homers but the St. Louis Cardinals still were soundly defeated, 12-5, in 1953. Five years earlier, Roe tossed his second of back-to-back shutouts in 1948.

  • New York Yankees rookie LHP Marius Russo (member of LIU teams compiling 50-2 record in 1934-35 and 1935-36 under legendary coach Clair Bee) earned a save against the Cleveland Indians in the midst of seven straight complete-game victories to close out the 1939 campaign.

  • Baltimore Orioles RF Ken Singleton (played for Hofstra freshman team in mid-1960s) homered twice against the Seattle Mariners in 1980.

  • Cleveland Indians 2B Riggs Stephenson (Alabama letterman in 1920) collected two homers and six RBI against the St. Louis Browns in the nightcap of a 1924 twinbill.

  • LHP Bob Veale (scored 1,160 points from 1955-56 through 1957-58 with Benedictine KS) made relief appearance for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971 when they started what is believed to be the first all-black lineup (including several Latinos) in MLB history (against Philadelphia Phillies).

  • Pittsburgh Pirates CF Bill Virdon (played for Drury MO in 1949) belted a two-out, game-ending grand slam in a 6-4 verdict over the Cincinnati Reds in 1963.