On This Date: Former College Hoopsters Make Mark on June 22 MLB Games

June 22nd, 2015 - 6:54

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 hoopsters had front-row seats to many of the most notable games, transactions and dates in MLB history.

Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 22 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 22

  • San Diego Padres RHP Mike Adams (played basketball for Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1996-97) surrendered his only run (against Tampa Bay Rays) in a span of 20 relief appearances from mid-May to early July in 2010.

  • Philadelphia Phillies 1B-LF Harry Anderson (averaged 7.7 ppg and 8.9 rpg for West Chester PA in 1951-52) homered in both ends of a 1958 doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants.

  • Cleveland Indians SS Lou Boudreau (leading scorer for Illinois' 1937 Big Ten Conference co-champion) banged out four hits against the Boston Red Sox in 1940.

  • OF Billy Cowan (co-captain of Utah's 1960 NCAA playoff team) traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1966.

  • Cleveland Indians OF Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA titlist) homered in both ends of a 1953 doubleheader against the Washington Senators.

  • St. Louis Browns C Rick Ferrell (played forward for Guilford NC before graduating in 1928) furnished four hits and four RBI against the New York Yankees in 1931.

  • San Francisco Giants RHP Eddie Fisher (played for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) won his MLB debut by allowing only three hits and one run in seven innings in a 4-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959.

  • St. Louis Cardinals 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham captain) stroked three extra-base hits against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1933. The next year, Frisch went 5-for-5 against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1934.

  • SS Dick Groat (NCAA unanimous first-team All-American for Duke in 1951-52 when national runner-up in scoring) purchased from the Philadelphia Phillies by the San Francisco Giants in 1967.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers C Tom Haller (backup forward for Illinois in 1956-57 and 1957-58 under coach Harry Combes) collected four hits against the Cincinnati Reds in 1969.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates 3B Lee Handley (Bradley letterman from 1932-33 through 1934-35) provided four hits against the New York Giants in 1939.

  • In 2003, LHP Mark Hendrickson (two-time All-Pacific-10 Conference selection paced Washington State four straight seasons in rebounding from 1992-93 through 1995-96) became the first Toronto Blue Jays hurler to hit a home run (against Montreal Expos).

  • In the midst of a career-high 11-game hitting streak, Chicago Cubs 2B Jerry Kindall (averaged 6.9 ppg for Minnesota as junior in 1955-56) contributed two doubles against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960.

  • Setting a new record for a night game, Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati's freshman squad in 1953-54) fanned 16 Philadelphia Phillies in a 6-2 triumph in 1959.

  • RHP Dave Leonhard (averaged 4.8 ppg with Johns Hopkins MD in 1961-62), joining the Baltimore Orioles on a weekend leave from the National Guard, tossed a three-hit shutout against the Cleveland Indians in the nightcap of a 1969 doubleheader.

  • Cincinnati Reds CF Greasy Neale (hoopster graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1915) provided three hits in both ends of a 1918 twinbill split against the St. Louis Cardinals.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates rookie 2B Johnny O'Brien (consensus All-American second-team choice as junior and consensus first-team selection as senior averaged 25.8 ppg for Seattle from 1950-51 through 1952-53) manufactured back-to-back three-hit outings to cap off a nine-game hitting streak in 1953.

  • Atlanta Braves RHP Ron Reed (Notre Dame's leading rebounder in 1963-64 and 1964-65) spun a three-hit shutout against the Montreal Expos, igniting a streak where he permitted more than two earned runs only once in a span of nine straight starts.

  • In 1944, Pittsburgh Pirates INF Al Rubeling (played for Towson in early 1930s) ripped his second pinch-hit homer in four-game span.

  • In 1982, St. Louis Cardinals RHP John Stuper (two-time all-conference junior college player in mid-1970s for Butler County PA) surrendered Pete Rose's 3,772nd career hit. The third-inning double moved Rose past Hank Aaron into second place on MLB's all-time list.

  • Chicago White Sox RF Evar Swanson (played all five positions for Knox IL) collected four hits against the Boston Red Sox in 1934.

  • In 1969, Chicago White Sox rookie RHP Billy Wynne (one of prime Pfeiffer NC players in mid-1960s) hurled his lone MLB shutout (1-0 against California Angels).