On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make Mark on August 29 MLB Games

August 29th, 2019 - 7:50

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 Big Ten Conference hoopers Hoot Evers (Illinois), Frank Howard (Ohio State), Don Lund (Michigan) and Robin Roberts (Michigan State) supplied significant MLB performances on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an August 29 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

AUGUST 29

  • In 1959, Milwaukee Braves 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) homered in his third consecutive contest for the second time this month.

  • Cincinnati Reds rookie CF Ethan Allen (Cincinnati hoops letterman in 1924-25 and 1925-26) amassed four hits and scored three runs in a 6-5 win against the Boston Braves in the nightcap of a 1927 doubleheader.

  • St. Louis Browns RHP Elden Auker (All-Big Six Conference first-five selection with Kansas State in 1931-32) notched his fourth consecutive complete-game triumph the last half of the month in 1941.

  • Detroit Tigers CF Hoot Evers (Illinois hoops starter in 1939-40) contributed four hits against the New York Yankees in the nightcap of a 1948 twinbill.

  • RHP Eddie Fisher (played for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman hoops squad) purchased from the Chicago White Sox by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.

  • Detroit Tigers LF Hank Greenberg (enrolled at NYU on hoops scholarship in 1929 but attended college only one semester) supplied four hits against the Washington Senators in the opener of a 1940 doubleheader.

  • In 1951, New York Giants RHP Jim Hearn (Georgia Tech hoops letterman in 1941-42) defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates for the eighth straight time.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (hooper for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) drove in seven runs and whacked two homers in a 13-1 victory against the Cincinnati Reds in 1951.

  • Washington Senators LF 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) smacked three extra-base hits against the Kansas City Royals in a 1970 game.

  • Atlanta Braves RF David Justice (Thomas More KY assists leader in 1984-85 while averaging 9.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg) jacked two homers against the Houston Astros in a 1995 contest.

  • New York Mets RHP Cal Koonce (Campbell hoops standout in 1960 and 1961 when North Carolina-based school was junior college) hurled a five-hit shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1967.

  • Kansas City Athletics 2B Jerry Lumpe (member of Southwest Missouri State's 1952 NAIA Tournament championship hoops team) went 4-for-4 against the Boston Red Sox in a 1961 outing.

  • St. Louis Browns RF Don Lund (Michigan hoops starter in 1943-44 and 1944-45) registered five RBI in a 12-4 win against the Boston Red Sox in the nightcap of a 1948 doubleheader.

  • Chicago White Sox rookie LHP Gary Peters (Grove City PA hooper in mid-1950s) won his 11th straight decision in 1963.

  • Boston Red Sox 3B Pinky Pittenger (set Toledo's single-game scoring standard with 49 points in 1918-19) went 4-for-4 against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1922 game.

  • In 1966, Chicago Cubs RHP Robin Roberts (Michigan State's second-leading scorer in 1945-46 and 1946-47) registered the final of his 286 triumphs during 19-year Hall of Fame career.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers 2B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) hit for the cycle against the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a 1948 twinbill.

  • New York Yankees LHP Marius Russo (member of LIU teams compiling 50-2 record in 1934-35 and 1935-36 under legendary coach Clair Bee) registered his fifth complete-game victory of the month in 1940.

  • RHP Bill Sampen (MacMurray IL MVP in 1984-85 when averaging team-high 14.9 ppg) traded by the Montreal Expos to Kansas City Royals in 1992.

  • New York Giants RHP Hal Schumacher (multiple-sport athlete for St. Lawrence NY in early 1930s) fired his second three-hit shutout in just over a month in 1942.

  • Montreal Expos LF Ken Singleton (Hofstra freshman hoops team in mid-1960s) socked two homers against the Atlanta Braves in a 1972 contest.

  • Chicago Cubs rookie 2B Jimmy Stewart (two-time All-VSAC hoops selection was Austin Peay's third-leading scorer in 1959-60 and 1960-61 when participating in NCAA DII Tournament) supplied back-to-back games with three hits against the New York Mets in 1964.

  • San Diego Padres CF Will Venable (All-Ivy League first-team selection as a junior and second-team choice as a senior averaged 9.3 ppg under Princeton coach John Thompson III from 2001-02 through 2004-05) tripled in his first MLB at-bat in 2008.

  • St. Louis Cardinals RHP Ray Washburn (Whitworth WA scoring leader when All-Evergreen Conference selection in 1958-59 and 1959-60) tossed a shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1968 after hurling two 10-inning no-decisions yielding no earned runs earlier in the month.

  • Detroit Tigers LHP Ed Wells (multi-sport athlete graduated in 1924 from Bethany WV) won his fifth straight decision of the month in 1925.