On This Date: Ex-College Hoopsters Make Their Mark on July 28 MLB Games

July 28th, 2016 - 7:03

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 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 (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 team) fanned 11 Cincinnati Reds batters to post his third MLB victory in as many starts in 1955.

  • Detroit Tigers CF Hoot Evers (Illinois 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 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 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 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 (played for Luther IA 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 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 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 (played two years with Hiram OH in early 1950s) doubled in his fourth consecutive contest in 1964.