On This Date: Former College Hoopers Providing MLB Headlines on April 22

April 22nd, 2023 - 9:09

Extra! Extra! Unless you're celebrating Earth Day from a zealous climate-change claptrap perspective, you can instead read news all about memorable major league baseball achievements, moments and transactions involving former college basketball players. Numerous ex-college hoopers had front-row seats to many of the most notable games and dates in MLB history.

Former San Diego State hoopers Tony Gwynn and Graig Nettles each went 4-for-4 in a MLB game on this date. Ex-hoopers from three Louisiana colleges - Zeke Bonura (Loyola New Orleans), Lyle Mouton (Louisiana State) and Cecil Upshaw (Centenary) - also made MLB news on this date. Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an April 22 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

APRIL 22

  • Cincinnati Reds OF Ethan Allen (Cincinnati basketball letterman in 1924-25 and 1925-26) provided four hits in a 9-4 triumph against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1929.

  • Seattle Mariners 1B Bruce Bochte (starting forward for Santa Clara's NCAA playoff team in 1969-70) hit safely in first 14 games of 1979 campaign until his streak was snapped by the Minnesota Twins.

  • 1B Zeke Bonura (best basketball forward for Loyola LA in late 1920s and early 1930s) belted two homers and drove in all five runs for the Chicago White Sox in a 6-5 setback against the St. Louis Browns in 1935.

  • Chicago Cubs SS Leon Brinkopf (Southeast Missouri State basketball letterman in 1944-45) scored his lone MLB run in a 1952 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  • Oakland Athletics LF Glenn Burke (averaged 16.3 ppg in six basketball games with Nevada-Reno in 1974-75) scored three runs in a 7-6 win against the California Angels in 1979.

  • Kansas City Athletics LF Bob Cerv (ranked fourth on Nebraska's career scoring list in 1949-50 when finishing college career) clubbed two homers against the Cleveland Indians in a 1958 game.

  • Milwaukee Braves 2B Jack Dittmer (Iowa hooper in 1949-50) jacked a homer in his third consecutive contest in 1953.

  • New York Giants 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) furnished four hits against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a 1923 outing.

  • Houston Astros RHP Dave Giusti (Syracuse hooper in 1959-60) went 3-for-3 at the plate while hurling a shutout against the San Francisco Giants in 1966. A little over seven weeks later, he also went 3-for-3 against the Chicago Cubs.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81 who twice led league in assists) went 4-for-4 against the San Francisco Giants in a 1991 game. It came on the third anniversary of milestone 1,000th of 3,141 MLB career hits (single off Hall of Fame Houston Astros RHP Nolan Ryan).

  • In 1953, New York Giants RHP Jim Hearn (Georgia Tech hoops letterman in 1941-42) posted his 12th consecutive win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  • 2B Tommy Herr (hooper with Delaware's freshman team in 1974-75) traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to Minnesota Twins in 1988.

  • Kansas City Athletics SS Billy Hunter (multi-sport athlete for Indiana PA post-WWII) hammered a three-run homer for the second time in three games in 1958.

  • Chicago Cubs SS Don Kessinger (three-time All-SEC selection for Mississippi from 1961-62 through 1963-64 while finishing among nation's top 45 scorers each year) contributed three hits, including an inside-the-park homer, in a 7-5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970, snapping P Mike Torrez's 11-game winning streak dating back to previous season.

  • Chicago Cubs CF Jerry Martin (1971 Southern Conference MVP after he was Furman's runner-up in scoring the previous season) scored four runs in a 16-12 triumph against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980.

  • OF Lyle Mouton (starter in Louisiana State's backcourt with All-American Chris Jackson for 1989 NCAA playoff team) shipped by the New York Yankees to the Chicago White Sox in 1995 to complete an earlier deal involving P Jack McDowell.

  • New York Yankees 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) went 4-for-4 against the Texas Rangers in a 1979 contest.

  • Reliever Cecil Upshaw (led Centenary in scoring as junior while averaging 13.7 ppg and 6 rpg from 1961-62 through 1963-64) traded by the Atlanta Braves to the Houston Astros in 1973.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers rookie 1B Preston Ward (second-leading scorer for Southwest Missouri State in 1946-47 and 1948-49) went 2-for-5 against the New York Giants in each of his first three MLB games in 1948.

  • Kansas City Royals C John Wathan (averaged 3.7 ppg in 11 games for San Diego in 1968-69) went 4-for-4 with three RBI in 7-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1980.