On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make Mark on June 26 MLB Games

June 26th, 2019 - 7:47

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 college hoopers Joe Ferguson (Pacific), Frank Howard (Ohio State) and Jackie Robinson (UCLA) went deep in a big way for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 26 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 26

  • OF Bob Cerv (ranked fourth on Nebraska basketball career scoring list in 1949-50 when finishing his career) purchased from the New York Yankees by the Houston Colt .45's in 1962.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates 1B Donn Clendenon (four-sport letterman with Morehouse GA) collected four hits against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1965 contest.

  • A pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the ninth inning by Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college crown) propelled the San Francisco Giants to a 6-5 victory against the Atlanta Braves in 1979.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers C Joe Ferguson (hooper in 1967 NCAA playoffs with Pacific) pounded two homers, including a game-tying blast in the bottom of the ninth inning, in a 5-4 win against the Atlanta Braves in 1974.

  • Brooklyn Robins 2B Jake Flowers (member of 1923 "Flying Pentagon" championship hoops squad for Washington College MD) contributed four hits against the Boston Braves in the opener of a 1928 doubleheader.

  • St. Louis Cardinals RHP Bob Gibson (Creighton's leading scorer and rebounder in 1955-56 and 1956-57) hurled his fifth consecutive shutout (3-0 against the Pittsburgh Pirates) in the opener of a 1968 twinbill.

  • San Francisco Giants RHP Ed Halicki (NAIA All-American third-team choice in 1971-72 when leading Monmouth in scoring with 21 ppg after setting school single-game rebounding record with 40 the previous season) hurled a five-hit shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975. Two years later, Halicki spun his second shutout of the month that season.

  • In 1983, San Francisco Giants LHP Atlee Hammaker (averaged 5.3 ppg as freshman in 1976-77 and 4.9 ppg as sophomore in 1977-78 under East Tennessee State coach Sonny Smith) fired a four-hit shutout while fanning 12 San Diego Padres batters.

  • California Angels RHP Paul Hartzell (averaged 5.9 ppg and 3.4 rpg for Lehigh in 1972-73) won both ends of 1977 doubleheader as reliever against the Texas Rangers.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers rookie RF Frank Howard (two-time All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection in 1956-57 and 1957-58 when leading Ohio State in scoring and rebounding) whacked two homers against the Milwaukee Braves in a 1960 contest.

  • In 1966, Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati's freshman hoops squad in 1953-54) matched his N.L. record of seven straight strikeouts in back-to-back nine-inning appearances en route to a 2-1 victory at Atlanta.

  • Detroit Tigers 1B-OF Rick Leach (averaged 15.5 ppg for Michigan's JV hoops squad in 1975-76), mired in a 3-for-35 nosedive, broke up a no-hit bid by Baltimore's Storm Davis with a ninth-inning homer in 1983.

  • Milwaukee Braves SS Johnny Logan (Binghamton hooper in 1948-49) assembled his second 14-game hitting streak of the 1958 campaign.

  • Oakland Athletics CF Billy North (played hoops briefly for Central Washington in 1967-68) stole three bases against the California Angels in a 1974 contest.

  • San Diego Padres LHP Dennis Rasmussen (sixth-man for Creighton averaged 5.1 ppg from 1977-78 through 1979-80) tossed a shutout against the Houston Astros before losing nine of his next 10 decisions in the following two months of the 1990 campaign.

  • RHP Paul Reuschel (Western Illinois' leading rebounder in 1966-67 with 15.2 per game) traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Cleveland Indians in 1978.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) launched two homers against the Chicago Cubs in a 1956 game.