On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make Mark on June 25 MLB Games

June 25th, 2019 - 7:25

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 Missouri State hoopers Mark Bailey and Norm Siebern each hit two homers as MLB rookies on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 25 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 25

  • Oakland A's rookie RHP Mark Acre (played basketball in 1990 NCAA Tournament with New Mexico State) earned his third relief victory in 11 days in 1994.

  • Houston Astros rookie C Mark Bailey (Southwest Missouri State rebounding and field-goal shooting leader in 1980-81) blasted two homers in an 8-5 win against the Atlanta Braves in 1984.

  • Baltimore Orioles rookie LF Al Bumbry (Virginia State's runner-up in scoring with 16.7 ppg as freshman in 1964-65) banged out five hits and scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th inning of a 4-3 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers in 1973.

  • New York Giants 2B Andy Cohen (Alabama hoops letterman in 1924 and 1925) contributed four hits and scored three runs in a 12-4 triumph against the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a 1928 doubleheader.

  • Chicago White Sox 3B Gene Freese (West Liberty WV hoops captain of 1952 NAIA Tournament team) manufactured four hits against the Boston Red Sox in a 1960 game.

  • New York Giants 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) collected four hits, four runs and three stolen bases against the Philadelphia Phillies in the nightcap of a 1921 twinbill. Eleven years later with the St. Louis Cardinals, Frisch furnished four hits against the Chicago Cubs in a 1932 contest.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (hooper for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) went for the cycle (including two homers) in a 17-10 triumph at Pittsburgh in 1949.

  • Philadelphia Phillies CF Don Lock (led Wichita State in field-goal percentage in 1956-57 and 1957-58 under coach Ralph Miller) went 6-for-8, homering in both ends of a 1967 twinbill sweep against the St. Louis Cardinals.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates SS Johnny Logan (Binghamton hooper in 1948-49) went 4-for-4 in a 5-4 loss against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1963.

  • Rookie RF Bill Nicholson (two-year hoops guard for Washington College MD in mid-1930s) purchased from the Washington Senators by the Chicago Cubs for $35,000 in 1939.

  • Montreal Expos RHP Steve Renko (averaged 9.9 ppg and 5.8 rpg as Kansas sophomore in 1963-64) tossed a one-hit shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1974.

  • Montreal Expos RHP Bill Sampen (MacMurray IL MVP in 1984-85 when averaging team-high 14.9 ppg) posted his first MLB save, lowering rookie's ERA to 1.65 through 26 appearances.

  • Baltimore Orioles DH Larry Sheets (All-ODAC hoops selection in 1981-82 and 1982-83 with Eastern Mennonite VA) hammered two homers against the California Angels in a 1989 contest.

  • New York Yankees rookie LF Norm Siebern (member of Southwest Missouri State squads capturing back-to-back NAIA Tournament hoop titles in 1952 and 1953) socked two homers against the Kansas City Athletics in a 1956 game.

  • In 1995, RHP Lee Smith (averaged 3.4 ppg and 1.9 rpg with Northwestern State in 1976-77) posted a save in 19 straight relief appearances and was scoreless in his first 20 outings for the California Angels.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Eric Stults (hooper for 1999 NAIA D-II Tournament runner-up and 2000 NCCAA Tournament titlist with Bethel IN) fired a four-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox in 2008.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates rookie LHP Bob Veale (scored 1,160 points with Benedictine KS from 1955-56 through 1957-58) didn't allow a run in his first 17 relief appearances in 1963.

  • New York Yankees RF Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) stroked five singles and chipped in with four RBI against the Detroit Tigers in 1984. It was one of three five-hit games for Winfield this month, tying a mark set by legendary Ty Cobb. Two years earlier in 1982 as a LF, Winfield went 4-for-4 against the Cleveland Indians. In 1980 as a San Diego Padres RF, Winfield knocked in five runs in a 7-3 win against the San Francisco Giants.