On This Date: Former College Hoopers Supplying MLB Headlines on May 20

May 20th, 2024 - 9:14

Extra! Extra! Rather than wondering if Plagiarist Biledumb's fake followers on Twitter also voted for fossil fool in 2020, you can read news 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 basketball players Frank Howard (Ohio State) and Jerry Kindall (Minnesota) each hit two homers in an American League game on this date. Four ex-hoopers from Pennsylvania colleges - Glenn Beckert (Allegheny), Al Downing (Muhlenberg), Charlie Gelbert (Lebanon Valley) and Fritz Knothe (Penn) - plus three from Louisiana universities - Zeke Bonura (Loyola New Orleans), Alvin Dark (LSU) and Ed Morgan (Tulane) - also made MLB news on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a May 20 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

MAY 20

  • Chicago Cubs 2B Glenn Beckert (three-year basketball letterman for Allegheny PA) stroked an inside-the-park HR in a 20-3 romp over the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1967. RF Ted Savage (Lincoln MO scoring average leader in 1955-56) rounded out the Cubbies' scoring by stealing home in the seventh inning, prompting Dodgers P Don Drysdale to wave a white handkerchief of surrender.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates LF Carson "Skeeter" Bigbee (Oregon hoops letterman in 1915) provided three extra-base hits among his four safeties against the New York Giants in a 1922 game.

  • Chicago White Sox rookie 1B Zeke Bonura (best basketball forward for Loyola LA in late 1920s and early 1930s) belted two homers in his second consecutive contest in 1934, giving him 10 round-trippers in his first 25 outings.

  • Philadelphia Athletics RHP Jack Coombs (captain and starting hoops center for Colby ME) went 4-for-4 with three RBI and scored three runs in 14-12 win against the Detroit Tigers en route to switch-hitter posting A.L.-leading 28 victories in 1911.

  • SS Alvin Dark (hoops letterman for Louisiana State and Southwestern Louisiana during World War II) traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to Chicago Cubs in 1958.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Al Downing (attended Muhlenberg PA on hoops scholarship but left before ever playing) tossed a two-hit shutout against the Houston Astros in 1972.

  • St. Louis Cardinals SS Charlie Gelbert (scored at least 125 points each of last three seasons in late 1920s for Lebanon Valley PA) collected five RBI against the Chicago Cubs in a 1930 contest.

  • Oakland Athletics rookie 3B Wayne Gross (Cal Poly Pomona hoops leader in assists in 1974-75) contributed five RBI against the Seattle Mariners in a 1977 outing.

  • RHP Rich Hand (averaged 6.2 ppg for Puget Sound WA in 1967-68) traded by the Texas Rangers to the California Angels in 1973.

  • Washington Senators LF Frank Howard (two-time All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection when he led Ohio State in scoring and rebounding in 1956-57 and 1957-58) hammered two homers against the Baltimore Orioles in a 1967 game.

  • Cleveland Indians 2B Jerry Kindall (averaged 6.9 ppg for Minnesota as junior in 1955-56) clubbed two homers against the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a 1962 doubleheader.

  • Boston Braves rookie 3B Fritz Knothe (member of Penn's freshman hoops squad in 1923-24) stroked three doubles among his four hits in a 1932 game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

  • Detroit Tigers LF Don Lund (Michigan hoops starter in 1943-44 and 1944-45) delivered four hits against the New York Yankees in a 1953 contest.

  • St. Louis Cardinals RHP Lindy McDaniel (hooper for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) tossed a shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1958.

  • In the midst of a 14-game hitting streak, Cleveland Indians RF Ed Morgan (Tulane hoops letterman from 1923-24 through 1925-26) manufactured four RBI against the Chicago White Sox in the nightcap of a 1930 doubleheader.

  • Chicago Cubs RHP Claude Passeau (Millsaps MS hooper in late 1920s and early 1930s) saw his record of 273 consecutive errorless chances come to an end in 1946. Four years earlier, Passeau homered for the second time in back-to-back starts in 1942.

  • RHP Jim Perry (averaged more than 20 ppg in late 1950s for former juco Campbell) traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Oakland Athletics in 1975.

  • Detroit Tigers LF Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military juco hooper in 1977-78 as teammate of eventual Drake All-American Lewis Lloyd) banged out four hits and scored four runs in a 10-4 triumph against the Milwaukee Brewers in 1994.

  • RF Ted Tappe (leading scorer in 1949 NJCAA Tournament was Washington State's third-leading scorer following year), batting just before Hall of Famer Ernie Banks in the Chicago Cubs' lineup, ripped a homer in his second straight contest in 1955.

  • C Birdie Tebbetts (Providence hooper in 1932) traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Boston Red Sox in 1947.

  • Cleveland Indians 3B Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) whacked decisive three-run homer in top of eighth inning of 7-5 win against the Boston Red Sox in 1995.

  • In the midst of seven straight seasons hurling more than 200 innings, Pittsburgh Pirates LHP Bob Veale (scored 1,160 points from 1955-56 through 1957-58 for Benedictine KS) won his first six decisions in 1967.

  • Los Angeles Angels LF Leon Wagner (Tuskegee AL hooper in 1952-53) provided two homers and five RBI in a 1963 outing against the Cleveland Indians.

  • Washington Senators RHP Monte Weaver (hoops center for Emory & Henry VA in mid-1920s) hurled a five-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox in 1933.

  • New York Giants rookie 1B Bill White (two-year Hiram OH hooper in early 1950s) went 5-for-7 in 1956 doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals. Three years later as member of Cards, White supplied three hits for the third time in a four-game span in 1959.

  • In the midst of a career-high 20-game hitting streak, San Francisco Giants CF Randy Winn (Santa Clara backcourtmate of eventual two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash in 1993-94) registered his third three-hit outing in a span of six contests in 2007.

  • Boston Braves 3B Chuck Workman (two-time All-MIAA first-five selection was leading hoops scorer in 1937 when Central Missouri won inaugural NAIA Tournament) contributed three hits in both ends of a 1945 doubleheader split against the Cincinnati Reds.

  • Washington Senators 3B Eddie Yost (NYU freshman hooper in 1943-44 under coach Howard Cann) was issued at least one walk in his ninth consecutive contest in 1950 en route to A.L.-leading 141 bases on balls. Nine years later with the Detroit Tigers, Yost homered twice, scored three of his league-leading 115 runs and amassed six RBI in a 1959 game against the New York Yankees.