On This Date: Ex-College Hoopsters Make Their Mark on June 27 MLB Games

June 27th, 2016 - 7:02

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 June 27 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 27

  • INF Jack Barry (basketball letterman for Holy Cross in 1908) traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1919.

  • Seattle Mariners 1B Bruce Bochte (starting forward for Santa Clara's NCAA playoff team in 1969-70) supplied his ninth multiple-hit outing during an 11-game hitting streak in 1979.

  • 2B Marv Breeding (played for Samford in mid-1950s) traded by the Houston Astros to the Chicago Cubs in 1967.

  • Detroit Tigers 1B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college crown) registered his 2,000th career hit with a first-inning, two-run homer against the Baltimore Orioles in 1987.

  • St. Louis Cardinals 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham captain) stroked three doubles against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the nightcap of a 1931 doubleheader.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) went 3-for-4 against the Atlanta Braves, raising his batting average in 1987 to .387 en route to finishing at .370.

  • LHP Mark Hendrickson (two-time All-Pacific-10 Conference selection paced Washington State four straight seasons in rebounding from 1992-93 through 1995-96) traded by the Tampa Devil Rays to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a five-player swap in 2006.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (played for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) smacked two homers against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1954 game.

  • St. Louis Cardinals LF Danny Litwhiler (member of JV squad with Bloomsburg PA in mid-1930s) cracked two homers in a 3-2 win against the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a 1943 twinbill.

  • Chicago White Sox RHP Ted Lyons (two-time All-SWC first-team selection for Baylor in early 1920s) notched his eighth consecutive complete-game victory in 1939.

  • In the midst of a career-high 14-game hitting streak, Chicago Cubs CF Jerry Martin (1971 Southern Conference MVP after he was Furman's scoring runner-up in previous season) smashed a homer in fourth consecutive contest in 1979.

  • Cleveland Indians 2B Dutch Meyer (Texas Christian letterman in 1934-35 and 1935-36) collected four hits against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1945 contest.

  • 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) belted a 14th-inning, two-run homer to give the New York Yankees a 6-4 victory against the Boston Red Sox in 1978. Two years earlier, Nettles went 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBI against the Milwaukee Brewers in a 1976 game.

  • Chicago Cubs RF Bill Nicholson (Washington College MD guard for two years in mid-1930s) provided his seventh straight two-hit game in 1942.

  • LHP Garry Roggenburk (led Dayton in scoring all three seasons from 1959-60 through 1961-62 and grabbed school-record 32 rebounds in his third varsity game en route to pacing Flyers in rebounding first two years) won his Seattle Pilots debut in 1969 by yielding only four hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings of relief against the California Angels.

  • LHP Matt Thornton (averaged 5.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg for Grand Valley State MI from 1995-96 through 1997-98) made his MLB debut in 2004, toiling four scoreless innings of relief with the Seattle Mariners against the San Diego Padres.

  • Philadelphia Phillies CF Cy Williams (Notre Dame forward in 1909-10) went 4-for-4 against the New York Giants in a 1921 contest.