College Hoopedia

Shatterproof: Loud and Proud NCAA Standards Never to Be Duplicated (#4)

June 30th, 2020 - 13:59

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched, let along exceeded? In ensuing blogs, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #4 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

4. Pete Maravich's career scoring average of 44.2 points per game with a total of 28 contests scoring at least 50 points (for Louisiana State from 1967-68 through 1969-70).

"Pistol Pete" set NCAA single-season records for most points (1,381) and highest average (44.5), finishing his career with NCAA career marks for most points (3,667) and highest average (44.2). He also established an NCAA record for most successful free throws in a game when he converted 30 of 31 foul shots at Oregon State. Maravich, who broke Oscar Robertson's NCAA career scoring mark with 13 regular-season games remaining, is the only player in NCAA Division I history to score more than 1,000 points and average over 40 points per game in each of three seasons.

Maravich's statistics would have been even more staggering if there had been a three-point basket at the time. He had 56 games with at least 40 points in his three-year career, including a school- and SEC-record 69 in a 106-104 post-game brawl-marred defeat at Alabama when he was hampered by leg ailments. No other player has had more than 21 games with a minimum of 40. He averaged more than 50 points per game in a 10-game stretch spanning the last three games of 1968-69 and the first seven games of 1969-70. Incredibly, Maravich improved his field-goal accuracy and assists average each year. Combining scoring and assists, Maravich was responsible for a whopping 59.4% of LSU's offense during his career.

Maravich never scored fewer than 30 points in back-to-back games and tallied under 20 just once (17 at Tennessee as a sophomore) in his three varsity seasons. The son of LSU coach Press Maravich was outscored in just one regular-season game by a teammate.

Maravich tallied more than 50 points in four outings against both SEC power Kentucky and intrastate independent rival Tulane. The Tigers lost all six times to Kentucky by double-digit margins despite his firepower. Here is a breakdown of how he amassed a 44.1-point career scoring average and modest 28-26 record in 54 games against SEC competition:

SEC Opponent	Average	High	Low	W-L
Alabama	48.8 ppg	69	30	4-2
Auburn	49 ppg	55	44	3-3
Florida	44 ppg	52	32	4-2
Georgia	46 ppg	58	37	5-1
Kentucky	52 ppg	64	44	0-6
Mississippi	42.3 ppg	53	31	3-3
Mississippi State	47.3 ppg	58	33	6-0
Tennessee	23 ppg	30	17	1-5
Vanderbilt	44.7 ppg	61	35	2-4

NOTE: LSU guard Chris Jackson is the only player to compile single-game scoring outbursts higher than Maravich in SEC competition against Mississippi (55 points), Florida (53) and Tennessee (50).

Best estimates are that Maravich would have averaged eight three-point goals per game if the arc had been around during his college playing days, which would have increased his scoring average to in excess of 50 ppg. Following is a game-by-game summary of Pistol Pete's career showing how his prolific scoring produced so many records prior to missing his final outing because of ankle and hip injuries:

Sophomore (1967-68)/Record: 14-12; 8-10 in SEC

Date	Opponent	FG-A	FT-A	REB	PTS	LSU-OPP
12-2-67	Tampa	20-50	8-9	16	48	97-81
12-4-67	at Texas	15-34	12-16	5	42	87-74
12-9-67	Loyola (New Orleans)	22-43	7-11	9	51	90-56
12-15-67	at Wisconsin*	16-40	10-13	9	42	94-96
12-16-67	Florida State*	17-41	8-10	5	42	100-130
12-19-67	Mississippi	17-34	12-13	11	46	81-68
12-22-67	Mississippi State	22-40	14-16	8	58	111-87
12-30-67	Alabama	10-30	10-11	6	30	81-70
1-3-68	Auburn	20-38	15-17	9	55	76-72
1-6-68	at Florida	9-22	14-17	10	32	90-97
1-8-68	at Georgia	14-37	14-17	11	42	79-76
1-11-68	at Tulane	20-42	12-15	5	52	100-91
1-24-68	Clemson	14-29	5-6	6	33	104-81
1-27-68	Kentucky	19-51	14-17	11	52	95-121
1-29-68	Vanderbilt	22-57	10-15	6	54	91-99
2-3-68	at Kentucky	16-38	12-15	8	44	96-109
2-5-68	Tennessee	9-34	3-3	6	21	67-87
2-7-68	at Auburn	18-47	13-13	6	49	69-74
2-10-68	Florida (OT)	17-48	13-15	7	47	93-92
2-12-68	Georgia	20-47	11-18	4	51	73-78
2-17-68	at Alabama	24-52	11-13	12	59	99-89
2-19-68	at Mississippi State	13-38	8-12	7	34	94-83
2-21-68	Tulane	21-47	13-15	5	55	99-92
2-24-68	at Mississippi	13-26	14-16	4	40	85-87
3-2-68	at Tennessee	7-18	3-4	3	17	71-74
3-4-68	at Vanderbilt	17-39	8-11	6	42	86-115

*Milwaukee Classic.

Junior (1968-69)/Record: 13-13; 7-11 in SEC

Date	Opponent	FG-A	FT-A	REB	PTS	LSU-OPP
12-2-68	at Loyola (New Orleans)	22-34	8-9	7	52	109-82
12-7-68	at Clemson	10-32	18-22	4	38	86-85
12-14-68	Tulane (2OT)	20-48	15-20	7	55	99-101
12-18-68	Florida (OT)	17-32	11-15	8	45	93-89
12-21-68	Georgia	18-33	11-16	10	47	98-89
12-26-68	Wyoming**	14-34	17-24	6	45	84-78
12-28-68	at Oklahoma City**	19-36	2-5	8	40	101-85
12-30-68	Duquesne**	18-36	17-21	2	53	94-91
1-4-69	at Alabama	19-49	4-4	10	42	82-85
1-9-69	at Vanderbilt	15-30	8-13	4	38	92-94
1-11-69	at Auburn	16-41	14-18	5	46	71-90
1-25-69	Kentucky	20-48	12-14	11	52	96-108
1-27-69	Tennessee	8-18	5-8	4	21	68-81
1-31-69	Pittsburgh	13-34	14-18	8	40	120-79
2-1-69	Mississippi (OT)	11-33	9-13	11	31	81-84
2-3-69	Mississippi State	14-32	5-6	11	33	95-71
2-8-69	Alabama	15-30	8-12	5	38	81-75
2-10-69	at Tulane	25-51	16-20	10	66	94-110
2-12-69	at Florida	14-41	22-27	6	50	79-95
2-15-69	Auburn	20-44	14-15	3	54	93-81
2-17-69	Vanderbilt	14-33	7-8	8	35	83-85
2-22-69	at Kentucky	21-53	3-7	5	45	89-103
2-24-69	at Tennessee	8-18	4-8	3	20	63-87
3-1-69	at Mississippi	21-39	7-11	3	49	76-78
3-3-69	at Mississippi State	20-49	15-19	4	55	99-89
3-8-69	at Georgia (2OT)	21-48	16-25	6	58	90-80

**All-College Tournament at Oklahoma City.

Senior (1969-70)/Record: 22-10; 13-5 in SEC

Date	Opponent	FG-A	FT-A	REB	PTS	LSU-OPP
12-4-69	Oregon State	14-32	15-19	5	43	94-72
12-9-69	Loyola (New Orleans)	17-36	9-10	6	43	100-87
12-11-69	Vanderbilt	26-54	9-10	10	61	109-86
12-13-69	at Tulane	17-42	12-19	4	46	97-91
12-18-69	Southern California	18-43	14-16	6	50	98-101
12-20-69	at Clemson	22-30	5-8	6	49	111-103
12-22-69	at Oregon State	9-23	30-31	1	48	76-68
12-23-69	at UCLA	14-42	10-12	4	38	84-133
12-29-69	St. John's***	20-44	13-16	8	53	80-70
12-30-69	Yale***	13-28	8-11	5	34	94-97
1-3-70	Alabama	22-42	11-18	7	55	90-83
1-10-70	Auburn	18-46	8-11	6	44	70-79
1-24-70	at Kentucky	21-44	13-15	5	55	96-109
1-26-70	Tennessee	12-23	5-7	4	29	71-59
1-31-70	Mississippi	21-46	11-15	5	53	109-86
2-2-70	Mississippi State	21-40	7-9	3	49	109-91
2-4-70	at Florida	20-38	12-16	9	52	97-75
2-7-70	at Alabama	26-57	17-21	5	69	104-106
2-9-70	Tulane	18-45	13-15	4	49	127-114
2-11-70	Florida	16-35	6-10	3	38	94-85
2-14-70	at Vanderbilt	14-46	10-13	5	38	99-89
2-16-70	at Auburn	18-46	10-15	8	46	70-64
2-18-70	Georgia	17-34	3-6	2	37	88-86
2-21-70	Kentucky	23-42	18-22	4	64	105-121
2-23-70	at Tennessee	10-24	10-13	7	30	87-88
2-28-70	at Mississippi	13-43	9-14	9	35	103-90
3-2-70	at Mississippi State	22-44	11-13	5	55	97-87
3-7-70	at Georgia	16-37	9-10	3	41	99-88
3-15-70	Georgetown (NIT)	6-16	8-12	6	20	83-80
3-17-70	Oklahoma (NIT)	14-33	9-13	8	37	97-94
3-19-70	Marquette (NIT)	4-13	12-16	1	20	79-101
3-21-70	Army (NIT)	DNP				68-75

***Rainbow Classic at Honolulu.

Career Scoring Site-of-Game Breakdown

Location (Record)	G.	Pts.	Avg.
Home (25-12)	37	1667	45.1
Neutral (5-3)	8	304	38.0
Road (19-19)	38	1696	44.6

Marks of Ownership

Three different Rhode Island State players in a six-year span set the major-college single-season scoring average record in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Maravich's record of 44.5 ppg in 1969-70 might never be eclipsed. Following is a look at how long players have held the NCAA Division I single-season scoring average standard (through 2017-18):

Player	School	Years	Record (Season)
Hank Luisetti	Stanford	one	17.1 ppg (1936-37)
Chet Jaworski	Rhode Island State	one	22.6 ppg (1938-39)
Stan Modzelewski	Rhode Island State	three	23.1 ppg (1939-40)
George Senesky	St. Joseph's	one	23.4 ppg (1942-43)
Ernie Calverley	Rhode Island State	seven	26.7 ppg (1943-44)
Bill Mlkvy	Temple	two	29.2 ppg (1950-51)
Frank Selvy	Furman	15	41.7 ppg (1953-54)
Pete Maravich	Louisiana State	50	44.5 ppg (1969-70)

5. Bill Walton's NCAA Tournament championship game field-goal accuracy of 95.5% (21 of 22 for UCLA vs. Memphis State in 1973).

6. UCLA's streak of 13 consecutive undisputed conference championships in a power league (from 1967 through 1979 in Pacific-8/Pacific-10).

7. Artis Gilmore's career rebounding average of 22.7 per game (for Jacksonville in 1969-70 and 1970-71).

8. Centenary's Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955.)

10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953.).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on July 6 MLB Games

June 30th, 2020 - 12:53

Extra! Extra! If spittin' mad regarding COVID-19 season postponement and prolonged negotiations commencing campaign, you have time to read news 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.

Several small-college hoopers from North Carolina - Jim Bibby (Fayetteville State), Dick Culler (High Point) and Rick Ferrell (Guilford) - supplied significant MLB performances on this date. Ditto ex-juco hoopers Garth Iorg (Redwoods CA), Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military) and Jim Thome (Illinois Central). Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a July 6 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JULY 6

San Diego Padres RHP Mike Adams (Texas A&M-Kingsville hooper in 1996-97) fanned the side against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008, triggering streak of 12 consecutive relief appearances without yielding a run.
Milwaukee Braves 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading scorer in 1945-46) collected five RBI against the Chicago Cubs in a 1954 game.
San Diego Padres RHP Steve Arlin (played two basketball games for Ohio State in 1964-65 under coach Fred Taylor) surrendered only one hit in 10 shutout innings in a 1972 game they won in 14th against the New York Mets.
Pittsburgh Pirates RHP Jim Bibby (Fayetteville State NC backup hooper and brother of UCLA All-American Henry Bibby) improved his record to 11-1 with three scoreless innings of relief in a 20-inning, 5-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs in 1980.
Seattle Mariners DH Bruce Bochte (starting forward for Santa Clara's NCAA playoff team in 1969-70 when averaging 7.4 ppg and 4 rpg) banged out four hits in a 5-3 win against the Kansas City Royals in 1980.
Cleveland Indians SS Lou Boudreau (leading scorer for Illinois' 1937 Big Ten Conference co-champion) led off the 1942 All-Star Game with a homer to help the A.L. defeat the N.L., 3-1.
Boston Braves SS Dick Culler (#9 jersey retired by High Point for Little All-American in 1935 and 1936) went 5-for-9 and scored six runs in a 1945 doubleheader sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
New York Giants SS Alvin Dark (hoops letterman for LSU and USL in mid-1940s) homered in the first of five contests in a six-game span in 1954.
CF Taylor Douthit (California hoops letterman from 1922 through 1924) contributed five hits and two walks at Philadelphia to help the St. Louis Cardinals snap an 11-game losing streak with a 28-6 triumph over the Phillies in the nightcap of a 1929 doubleheader.
Washington Senators C Rick Ferrell (Guilford NC hoops forward before graduating in 1928) went 4-for-4, including three doubles, against the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a 1947 twinbill.
A six-hit shutout against the Detroit Tigers was one of six straight complete-game wins in 1977 by Baltimore Orioles LHP Mike Flanagan (averaged 13.9 ppg for UMass' freshman squad in 1971-72). Flanagan also closed out the campaign with six triumphs in a row.
St. Louis Cardinals 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) supplied a homer in 1933 All-Star Game. Eight years earlier in the midst of a 19-game hitting streak with the New York Giants, Frisch furnished four safeties against the Philadelphia Phillies in the nightcap of a 1925 doubleheader.
Detroit Tigers rookie RHP Floyd Giebell (four-year hoops letterman for Salem College WV in mid-1930s) secured his first MLB victory with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief in a 9-5 verdict over the St. Louis Browns in 1939.
Brooklyn Robins 3B Wally Gilbert (hoops captain for Valparaiso from 1918-19 through 1920-21) went 4-for-4 in a 10-4 win against the Boston Braves in 1930.
California Angels 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 previous season) hurled a two-hit shutout against the Milwaukee Brewers in 1980 (infield single in first inning and bloop double in ninth).
San Francisco Giants LHP Atlee Hammaker (averaged 5.3 ppg as freshman in 1976-77 and 4.9 as sophomore in 1977-78 under ETSU coach Sonny Smith) yielded seven earned runs to A.L. in 2/3 of an inning in the third frame of 1983 All-Star Game.
Pittsburgh Pirates 3B Lee Handley (Bradley hoops letterman from 1932-33 through 1934-35) lashed out four hits against the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a 1940 doubleheader.
Mike Hargrove (Northwestern Oklahoma State hoops letterman) replaced John McNamara as Cleveland Indians manager in 1991.
St. Louis Cardinals rookie RHP Jim Hearn (Georgia Tech hoops letterman in 1941-42) tossed his first MLB shutout (three-hitter against Cincinnati Reds in opener of 1947 twinbill).
Washington Senators 1B Frank Howard (two-time All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection in 1956-57 and 1957-58) homered in both ends of a 1971 doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles, giving him round-trippers in four straight outings.
Toronto Blue Jays 3B Garth Iorg (juco hooper with College of the Redwoods CA in mid-1970s) supplied three extra-base hits in a 1984 game against the Seattle Mariners.
Toronto Blue Jays DH Tony Johnson (All-VSAC hoops selection in 1976-77 and 1979-80 for LeMoyne-Owen TN) supplied his second 2-for-3 performance in three days in 1982.
In his first MLB start, Brooklyn Dodgers LHP Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati's freshman hoops squad in 1953-54) toiled 4 1/3 innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1955, striking out four batters while yielding three hits and eight walks.
Oakland Athletics 2B Davey Lopes (NAIA All-District 15 selection for Iowa Wesleyan averaged 16.9 ppg as freshman in 1964-65 and 12.1 ppg as sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring with his coach to Washburn KS) launched two homers against the Cleveland Indians in a 1982 contest.
Kansas City Athletics 2B Jerry Lumpe (member of Southwest Missouri State's 1952 NAIA Tournament championship hoops team) supplied a double and triple in the second of back-to-back games against the Chicago White Sox in 1961.
Chicago Cubs RHP Claude Passeau (Millsaps MS hooper in late 1920s and early 1930s) fired two innings of scoreless relief for the National League in 1942 All-Star Game.
Oakland Athletics INF Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military juco hooper in 1977-78 as teammate of eventual Drake All-American Lewis Lloyd) scored four runs in a 7-6 triumph against the Milwaukee Brewers in opener of 1984 doubleheader.
Only hit in his four games as a member of New York Yankees for RF Curtis Pride (led William & Mary in steals three times and assists twice while averaging 5.6 ppg and 3.1 apg from 1986-87 through 1989-90) was a homer against the Boston Red Sox in 2003.
Oakland Athletics RHP Jeff Shaver (averaged 2.4 ppg for SUNY-Fredonia in 1983-84 and 1984-85) hurled a hitless inning of relief against the Cleveland Indians in his only MLB appearance in 1988.
Cleveland Indians 1B Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) collected three homers and six RBI in a 2001 game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Five years later as Chicago White Sox DH, Thome contributed two round-trippers and six RBI in 2006 contest against the Baltimore Orioles.
Boston Red Sox 3B Billy Werber (first Duke hoops All-American in 1929-30) banged out four hits and scored five runs against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1934 outing.
New York Yankees RF Dave Winfield (starting forward with Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) went 3-for-3 as the A.L. smothered the N.L., 13-3, in the 1983 All-Star Game.
Boston Braves 3B Chuck Workman (two-time All-MIAA first-five hoops selection was leading scorer when Central Missouri won inaugural NAIA Tournament in 1937) manufactured four hits against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the nightcap of a 1945 twinbill.

Shatterproof: Loud and Proud NCAA Standards Never to Be Duplicated (#5)

June 30th, 2020 - 12:44

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched, let along exceeded? In ensuing blogs, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #5 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

5. Bill Walton's NCAA Tournament championship game field-goal accuracy of 95.5% (21 of 22 for UCLA vs. Memphis State in 1973).

Walton, aided by Greg Lee's tourney-high 14 assists, erupted for a championship game-record 44 points in an 87-66 triumph over Memphis State in the 1973 NCAA Tournament final at St. Louis. Walton's 21 baskets were two more by himself than what Connecticut managed en route to winning the 2011 NCAA final against Butler. Walton had been outscored by fellow center Steve Downing, 26-14, in UCLA's 70-59 victory against Indiana in the national semifinals. Following is the box score of the game:

UCLA (87)	Min.	FG-A	FT-A	Reb.	A.	PF	Pts.
Keith Wilkes	39	8-14	0-0	7	1	2	16
Larry Farmer	33	1-4	0-0	2	0	2	2
Bill Walton	33	21-22	2-5	13	2	4	44
Greg Lee	34	1-1	3-3	3	14	2	5
Larry Hollyfield	30	4-7	0-0	3	9	4	8
Tommy Curtis	11	1-4	2-2	3	0	1	4
Dave Meyers	10	2-7	0-0	3	0	1	4
Swen Nater	7	1-1	0-0	3	0	2	2
Gary Franklin	1	1-2	0-1	1	0	0	2
Vince Carson	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0
Bob Webb	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0
Totals	200	40-62	7-11	40	26	18	87

FG% - .645. FT% - .636. Blocks - 5. Turnovers - 17 (Walton 6, Wilkes 4). Steals - 2. Team Rebounds - 2.

Memphis State (66)	Min.	FG-A	FT-A	Reb.	A.	PF	Pts.
Billy Buford	38	3-7	1-2	3	1	1	7
Larry Kenon	34	8-16	4-4	8	3	3	20
Ronnie Robinson	33	3-6	0-1	7	1	4	6
Bill Laurie	21	0-1	0-0	0	2	0	0
Larry Finch	38	9-21	11-13	1	2	2	29
Wes Westfall	10	0-1	0-0	0	0	5	0
Bill Cook	18	1-4	2-2	0	2	1	4
Doug McKinney	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0
Clarence Jones	4	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0
Jerry Tetzlaff	1	0-0	0-2	0	0	1	0
Jim Liss	1	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0
Ken Andrews	1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0
Totals	200	24-57	18-24	21	11	17	66

FG% - .421. FT% - .750. Blocks - 1. Turnovers - 8. Steals - 0. Team Rebounds - 2.

Halftime: Tied 39-39.

6. UCLA's streak of 13 consecutive undisputed conference championships in a power league (from 1967 through 1979 in Pacific-8/Pacific-10).

7. Artis Gilmore's career rebounding average of 22.7 per game (for Jacksonville in 1969-70 and 1970-71).

8. Centenary's Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955.)

10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953.).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on July 5 MLB Games

June 30th, 2020 - 12:33

Former Creighton hoopers Bob Gibson and Dennis Rasmussen delivered memorable moments in their MLB pitching careers on this date. Ditto for ex-college hoopers Jack Coombs (Colby ME) and Chubby Dean (Duke) connected as coach and player with the Blue Devils in 1936. Coombs and Dean each contributed significant performances for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Washington Senators on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a July 5 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JULY 5

California Angels 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) homered in his third consecutive contest in 1966.
In his MLB debut, Philadelphia Athletics RHP Jack Coombs (captain and starting hoops center for Colby ME) hurled a shutout against the Washington Senators in 1906.
1B Chubby Dean (reserve guard for Duke in 1936) stroked two doubles and scored both of the Philadelphia Athletics' runs, including one with two outs in the bottom of the ninth of an 11-inning, 2-2 tie against the Washington Senators, in the nightcap of a 1937 doubleheader.
Cleveland Indians OF Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA hoops titlist) became the first African-American player in the American League, striking out as a pinch-hitter against the Chicago White Sox in 1947.
San Francisco Giants 3B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college hoops crown) furnished three extra-base hits in a 1979 game against the Atlanta Braves.
Boston Red Sox C Rick Ferrell (hoops forward for Guilford NC before graduating in 1928) amassed four hits against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1936 game.
St. Louis Cardinals 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) tied a N.L. record with 16 chances in a 6-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds in 1930.
St. Louis Cardinals RHP Bob Gibson (Creighton's leading scorer and rebounder in 1955-56 and 1956-57) belted his first of 24 MLB career homers (off Los Angeles Dodgers' Johnny Podres in 1961).
Detroit Tigers 1B Hank Greenberg (enrolled at NYU on hoops scholarship in 1929 but attended college only one semester) went 4-for-4, including four runs, two homers and five RBI, against the St. Louis Browns in a 1935 contest.
Baltimore Orioles RHP Dick Hall (averaged 13.5 ppg from 1948-49 through 1950-51 for Swarthmore PA Southern Division champions in Middle Atlantic States Conference) hurled a four-hit shutout against the Washington Senators in 1961.
In 1965, New York Yankees LHP Steve Hamilton (All-OVC hoops selection was Morehead State's leading scorer and rebounder in 1956-57 and 1957-58) yielded his only earned run in a span of 21 relief appearances from the end of May to late July.
Cleveland Indians RHP Oral Hildebrand (Butler hoops All-American in 1928-29 and 1929-30) hurled a shutout against the Chicago White Sox for one of his five victories this month in 1934.
Washington Senators LF Frank Howard (two-time All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection in 1956-57 and 1957-58) hammered two homers against the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a 1969 doubleheader.
New York Yankees LF Charlie Keller (Maryland three-year hoops letterman from 1934-35 through 1936-37) cracked two homers against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1941 game.
Detroit Tigers SS Harvey Kuenn (played five hoops games for Wisconsin in 1951-52) provided the game's only tally with an 11th-inning homer against the Cleveland Indians in the nightcap of a 1954 twinbill.
Chicago Cubs LF Les Mann (Springfield MA hooper in 1913 and 1914) cracked two triples against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 1919 game.
Philadelphia Athletics LHP Pete Naktenis (Duke hoops letterman in 1934-35), yielding 10 earned runs in first 1 2/3 innings, lost his lone MLB decision (16-2 rout by Boston Red Sox in opener of 1936 doubleheader).
New York Yankees CF Irv Noren (hoops player of year for California community college state champion Pasadena City in 1945) collected a pair of homers and five RBI against the Philadelphia Athletics in the nightcap of a 1954 twinbill.
New York Yankees RHP Cecil Perkins (All-WVIAC hoops selection in 1961-62 with Salem International WV) lost his lone MLB decision and start (against Minnesota Twins in 1967).
In the midst of winning seven straight decisions in 1986, New York Yankees LHP Dennis Rasmussen (sixth-man for Creighton averaged 5.1 ppg from 1977-78 through 1979-80) tossed a three-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox.
In 1953, Philadelphia Phillies RHP Robin Roberts (Michigan State's second-leading scorer in 1945-46 and 1946-47) blanked the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0, for his 28th consecutive complete game.
Chicago Cubs RHP Lee Smith (averaged 3.4 ppg and 1.9 rpg for Northwestern State in 1976-77) lost fourth straight game as a starter in 1982 before making his final 927 MLB appearances as a reliever.
Detroit Tigers RF Champ Summers (led SIUE in scoring in 1969-70 after doing same for Nicholls State in 1964-65) socked a decisive homer in the bottom of the eighth inning of a 3-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1979.
In 1969, Montreal Expos 2B Gary Sutherland (averaged 7.4 ppg with USC in 1963-64) stroked four hits in an outing against his original team (Philadelphia Phillies).
Cincinnati Reds CF Evar Swanson (played all five hoops positions for Knox IL) supplied four hits against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1930 contest.
Pittsburgh Pirates LHP Bob Veale (scored 1,160 points for Benedictine KS from 1955-56 through 1957-58) won his fifth straight start with a two-hit shutout against the Chicago Cubs in 1968. The whitewash capped off a streak of seven starts where Veale allowed fewer than three earned runs.
St. Louis Cardinals 1B Bill White (two-year Hiram OH hooper in early 1950s) collected three homers and a double in 1961 game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Boston Red Sox C Sammy White (All-PCC Northern Division first-five selection for Washington in 1947-48 and 1948-49) knocked in five runs against the Baltimore Orioles in the opener of a 1959 twinbill.
In 1998, Tampa Bay Devil Rays LF Randy Winn (Santa Clara backcourtmate of eventual two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash in 1993-94) became the 3,000th career strikeout victim of Roger Clemens.

Shatterproof: Loud and Proud NCAA Standards Never to Be Duplicated (#6)

June 30th, 2020 - 12:27

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched, let along exceeded? In ensuing blogs, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #6 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

6. UCLA's streak of 13 consecutive "undisputed" conference championships in a power league (from 1966-67 through 1978-79 in Pacific-8/Pacific-10).

The key factor in this equation is "undisputed." Coach Bill Self assembled an impressive run of 14 consecutive Big 12 Conference regular-season championships with Kansas, but the streak included four ties prior to ending last season. The Bruins' composite conference record while capturing 13 straight "undisputed" regular-season league titles was an amazing 171-15 (.919). They were undefeated in conference competition five times in the first seven years of that streak. UCLA had three different coaches during the last five seasons of its domination.

Oregon, was the only school to win a home-and-home series against the Bruins during this streak (under coach Dick Harter in 1976-77). UCLA's league losses during the 13 seasons came against the Ducks (five), Washington (three), Oregon State (two), Southern California (two), Stanford (two) and Arizona (one).

Season	League Mark	UCLA's Head Coach	Scoring Leader	Rebounding Leader
1966-67	14-0	John Wooden	Lew Alcindor (29 ppg)	Lew Alcindor (15.5)
1967-68	14-0	John Wooden	Lew Alcindor (26.2)	Lew Alcindor (16.5)
1968-69	13-1	John Wooden	Lew Alcindor (24)	Lew Alcindor (14.6)
1969-70	12-2	John Wooden	Sidney Wicks (18.6)	Sidney Wicks (11.9)
1970-71	14-0	John Wooden	Sidney Wicks (21.3)	Sidney Wicks (12.8)
1971-72	14-0	John Wooden	Bill Walton (21.1)	Bill Walton (15.5)
1972-73	14-0	John Wooden	Bill Walton (20.4)	Bill Walton (16.9)
1973-74	12-2	John Wooden	Bill Walton (19.3)	Bill Walton (14.7)
1974-75	12-2	John Wooden	David Meyers (18.3)	David Meyers (7.9)
1975-76	12-2	Gene Bartow	Richard Washington (20.1)	Marques Johnson (9.4)
1976-77	11-3	Gene Bartow	Marques Johnson (21.4)	Marques Johnson (11.1)
1977-78	14-0	Gary Cunningham	David Greenwood (17.5)	David Greenwood (11.4)
1978-79	15-3	Gary Cunningham	David Greenwood (19.9)	David Greenwood (10.3)

7. Artis Gilmore's career rebounding average of 22.7 per game (for Jacksonville in 1969-70 and 1970-71).

8. Centenary's Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955.)

10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953.).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on July 4 MLB Games

June 30th, 2020 - 12:22

Former Maryland hoopers Bosey Berger and Charlie Keller provided the fireworks by manufacturing significant American League performances on this date. Ex-juco hoopers Darrell Evans (Pasadena City CA), Bob Oliver (American River CA), Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military) and Carl Reynolds (Lon Morris TX) also had outstanding offensive outings. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a July 4 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JULY 4

Cleveland Indians 2B Bosey Berger (Maryland's first basketball All-American led Southern Conference in scoring in league competition in 1930-31) banged out four hits against the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a 1935 doubleheader.
1B-OF Larry Biittner (runner-up in scoring and rebounding for Buena Vista IA in 1966-67) hurled the final 1 1/3 innings for the Chicago Cubs in the opener of a 1977 doubleheader against the Montreal Expos.
Cleveland Indians SS Lou Boudreau (leading scorer for Illinois' 1937 Big Ten Conference co-champion) contributed four hits against the Detroit Tigers in nightcap of a 1946 twinbill.
Pittsburgh Pirates 1B Donn Clendenon (four-sport letterman with Morehouse GA) cracked two homers against the Chicago Cubs in nightcap of a 1966 doubleheader. Clendenon also homered each of next two days against the Cubs.
Philadelphia Athletics C Mickey Cochrane (Boston University hooper in early 1920s) went 4-for-4, including three doubles and a homer, against the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a 1929 doubleheader. Six years later with the Detroit Tigers, Cochrane stroked four hits for the second time in a four-game span in 1935.
RHP Jack Coombs (captain and starting hoops center for Colby ME) overcame seven Brooklyn Dodgers errors to nip the New York Giants, 4-3, in the nightcap of a 1918 twinbill. Coombs scored the winning run after drilling a 10th-inning triple (his third hit of contest).
In 1957, Cincinnati Reds 1B George Crowe (four-year letterman from 1939-40 through 1942-43 for Indiana Central after becoming first high schooler named state's "Mr. Basketball") went 5-for-5, driving in six runs, but it wasn't enough to prevent a 10-7 loss against his original team (Milwaukee Braves).
New York Giants SS Alvin Dark (hoops letterman for LSU and USL during World War II) homered in each end of a 1950 doubleheader split with the Brooklyn Dodgers, extending his streak of games with a round-tripper to four in a row.
St. Louis Cardinals CF Taylor Douthit (California hoops letterman from 1922 through 1924) went 5-for-7 and scored five runs in a 1928 twinbill split against the Chicago Cubs.
Baltimore Orioles 1B Walt Dropo (first player in Connecticut history to average 20 ppg in single season with 21.7 in 1942-43) homered twice in a 1959 game against the Boston Red Sox.
Washington Senators LHP Joe Engel (hooper for Mount St. Mary's in 1910-11 and 1911-12) hurled a complete game but lost, 1-0, against the Boston Red Sox on an unearned run in the opener of a 1914 doubleheader.
Detroit Tigers 1B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college hoops crown) homered in his third consecutive contest for the second time in less than two weeks in 1987.
Chicago Cubs LHP Darcy Fast (all-conference hooper for Warner Pacific OR in 1965-66 and 1966-67) lost his lone MLB decision (7-4 against Philadelphia Phillies in nightcap of 1968 twinbill).
Boston Red Sox C Rick Ferrell (hoops forward for Guilford NC before graduating in 1928) went 4-for-4 against the Philadelphia Athletics in the nightcap of a 1933 doubleheader.
RHP Bob Garibaldi (starting forward for Santa Clara in 1961-62 when averaging 10.6 ppg and 5.6 rpg) signed with the San Francisco Giants for a $150,000 bonus in 1962 after receiving award as College World Series Most Outstanding Player.
Pittsburgh Pirates SS Dick Groat (two-time All-American with Duke in 1950-51 and 1951-52 when finishing among nation's top five scorers each season) provided three hits in each game of a 1956 twinbill split against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Cincinnati Reds RHP Jay Hook (Northwestern's third-leading scorer as sophomore in 1955-56) hurled a four-hit shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960.
Los Angeles Dodgers RF Frank Howard (two-time All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection in 1956-57 and 1957-58) furnished five RBI against the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a 1962 twinbill.
Atlanta Braves 2B Davey Johnson (averaged 1.7 ppg with Texas A&M in 1961-62) laced two homers against the Houston Astros in the nightcap of a 1973 doubleheader.
New York Yankees RF Charlie Keller (Maryland three-year hoops letterman from 1934-35 through 1936-37) clobbered two homers against the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a 1940 twinbill.
Cleveland Indians SS Jerry Kindall (averaged 6.9 ppg for Minnesota as junior in 1955-56) cracked a homer in both ends of a 1963 doubleheader sweep against the Boston Red Sox. Kindall collected a walk-off round-tripper in the bottom of the 14th inning in the opener.
Chicago Cubs OF Hank Leiber (Arizona hooper in 1931) hammered three homers against the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a 1939 twinbill.
Cleveland Indians RHP Dutch Levsen (Iowa State hoops letterman in 1918-19) tossed a two-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a 1927 doubleheader.
Chicago White Sox 1B Tony Lupien (Harvard hoops captain in 1938-39) went 7-for-10 in a 1948 doubleheader split against the Detroit Tigers.
Cleveland Indians rookie CF Ed Morgan (Tulane hoops letterman from 1923-24 through 1925-26), raising his batting average to .378, manufactured four hits against the Detroit Tigers in the opener of a 1928 twinbill.
Chicago Cubs RF Bill Nicholson (Washington College MD hoops guard for two years in mid-1930s) whacked two homers against the Boston Braves in the nightcap of a 1945 doubleheader.
Oakland Athletics CF Billy North (played hoops briefly for Central Washington in 1967-68) stole three bases against the California Angels in a 1973 game.
Detroit Tigers RF Jim Northrup (second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder for Alma MI in 1958-59) collected two homers, a triple and five RBI in a 13-10 victory over the California Angels in 1968.
Rookie 3B Bob Oliver (All-Valley Conference basketball choice for American River Community College CA in 1962) supplied the expansion Kansas City Royals' first grand slam in franchise history in the opener of a 1969 twinbill (off Jim Bouton of Seattle Pilots).
Chicago White Sox RF Carl Reynolds (Southwestern TX hoops MVP and captain in mid-1920s) went 5-for-5 in the opener of a 1929 doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. It was the second straight contest for Reynolds with three doubles.
LHP Preacher Roe (Harding AR hooper in late 1930s) and RHP Ralph Branca (sixth-leading scorer for NYU in 1943-44) are the winning hurlers as the Brooklyn Dodgers sweep a 1951 twinbill against the New York Giants.
RHP Jeff Shaw (freshman guard for 31-5 Rio Grande OH team participating in 1985 NAIA Tournament) traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968. He became the first reliever in MLB history to lead two different clubs in saves in the same season (23 with Reds and 25 with Dodgers).
New York Yankees LF Norm Siebern (member of Southwest Missouri State squads capturing back-to-back NAIA Tournament hoops titles in 1952 and 1953) went 5-for-5 against the Washington Senators in the nightcap of a 1958 doubleheader.
Boston Red Sox rookie 3B Jim Tabor (Alabama hoops letterman in 1936-37) socked four homers in a 1939 twinbill against the Philadelphia Athletics, collecting 19 total bases and 11 RBI. Three of Tabor's round-trippers came in the nightcap, including a record-tying two grand slams in back-to-back innings.
Pittsburgh Pirates CF Bill Virdon (Drury MO hooper in 1949) doubled and homered in both ends of a 1958 doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds.
New York Yankees LHP Ed Wells (multi-sport athlete graduated in 1924 from Bethany WV) incurred his lone defeat in the midst of 10 victories from the end of May to early August in 1930.
Philadelphia Phillies 1B Bill White (two-year Hiram OH hooper in early 1950s) stroked two triples in the opener of a 1966 twinbill against the New York Mets.
Boston Braves LF Ab Wright (Oklahoma A&M hoops etterman in 1928-29) went hitless for the only time in a 14-game span in 1944.
Washington Senators 3B Eddie Yost (NYU freshman hooper in 1943-44 under coach Howard Cann) homered in both ends of a 1953 doubleheader split against the Boston Red Sox.

Shatterproof: Loud and Proud NCAA Standards Never to Be Duplicated (#7)

June 30th, 2020 - 12:19

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched, let along exceeded? In ensuing blogs, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #7 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

7. Artis Gilmore's career rebounding average of 22.7 per game (for Jacksonville in 1969-70 and 1970-71) while also averaging more than 22 points per contest.

Gilmore, a junior college transfer, led NCAA Division I in rebounding in 1969-70 and 1970-71 en route to becoming the only player in major-college history to average more than 22 points and 22 rebounds per game in his career (minimum of two seasons). He finished with 24.3 points and 22.7 rebounds per outing in powering the Dolphins to a 49-6 record during his tenure.

The only time when Gilmore retrieved fewer than 10 missed shots for JU was in New Orleans against Loyola (La.) at the end of a streak of four consecutive road games in his junior season. He averaged 19.4 rpg in a total of 17 contests against schools currently members in power conferences. Marshall's recently-deceased Charlie Slack averaged 23.8 rpg from 1953-54 through 1955-56 while chipping in with 18.7 ppg. Kermit Washington, two years after Gilmore's eligibility expired, became the last major-college player to average more than 20 rebounds per game in a single season (20.4 rpg for American University in 1972-73). Following is a game-by-game summary of Gilmore's scoring and rebounding totals:

Junior (27-2 in 1969-70)

Date	Opponent	Pts.	Reb.
D. 1	East Tennessee State	35	18
D. 2	Morehead State	31	26
D. 9	Mercer	34	32
D. 13	Biscayne (Fla.)	24	30
D. 18	Georgetown*	11	21
D. 22	Harvard	29	26
D. 26	vs. Arizona	32	17
D. 27	at Evansville	37	22
J. 2	at Hawaii	23	28
J. 5	at Hawaii	13	21
J. 9	Richmond	38	29
J. 10	Miami (Fla.)	13	23
J. 16	Virgin Islands	18	26
J. 27	at Florida State	21	19
J. 30	St. Peter's	46	30
F. 2	Iona	29	26
F. 5	at East Carolina	27	19
F. 6	at Richmond	27	21
F. 13	at Oklahoma City	27	15
F. 14	at Loyola (La.)	16	8
F. 18	Florida State	19	21
F. 24	Oklahoma City	25	18
F. 26	at Georgia Tech	27	10
M. 4	at Miami (Fla.)	19	10
M. 7	vs. Western Kentucky	30	19
M. 12	vs. Iowa	30	17
M. 14	vs. Kentucky	24	20
M. 19	vs. St. Bonaventure	29	21
M. 21	vs. UCLA	19	16

*Forfeit at 1:26 of first half.

Senior (22-4 in 1970-71)

Date	Opponent	Pts.	Reb.
D. 1	Biscayne (Fla.)	50	29
D. 3	at St. Peter's	28	34
D. 7	George Washington	40	29
D. 8	Florida State	31	26
D. 12	at Richmond	28	19
D. 23	at Western Kentucky	29	18
D. 29	vs. Creighton	15	23
D. 30	vs. Wake Forest	13	21
J. 9	Miami (Fla.)	21	22
J. 11	Oklahoma City	15	17
J. 13	Manhattan	12	16
J. 20	Furman	18	18
J. 23	at Mercer	19	20
J. 25	South Alabama	15	19
J. 27	Florida State	15	28
F. 4	at South Alabama	25	17
F. 6	at Oklahoma City	18	19
F. 8	Loyola (La.)	24	28
F. 11	at William & Mary	2	14
F. 13	at Bradley	24	20
F. 15	at Florida State	22	25
F. 20	Valdosta (Ga.) State	26	24
F. 22	East Carolina	25	28
F. 27	at Houston	22	15
M. 2	at Miami (Fla.)	21	10
M. 13	vs. Western Kentucky	12	22

8. Centenary's Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955)

10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on July 3 MLB Games

June 30th, 2020 - 12:16

A couple of small-college players from Michigan - Roger Mason (Saginaw Valley State) and Jim Northrup (Alma) - made MLB news on this date. Ditto ex-SEC hoopers Ray Blemker (Georgia Tech), Harvey Hendrick (Vanderbilt), Mike Smithson (Tennessee) and Riggs Stephenson (Alabama). Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a July 3 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JULY 3

In 1960, LHP Ray Blemker (two-time All-SEC second-team guard led Georgia Tech in scoring each basketball season from 1956-57 through 1958-59) made his lone MLB appearance with the Kansas City Athletics.
Kansas City Athletics LF Bob Cerv (ranked fourth on Nebraska's career scoring list in 1949-50 when finishing his career) cracked a grand slam before P Herb Score settled down and fanned 14 in the Cleveland Indians' 8-4 triumph in 1959.
In 1994, the Cleveland Indians retired the uniform number of OF Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA hoops titlist). Doby broke the A.L. color barrier in 1947.
Detroit Tigers 1B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college crown) homered in third consecutive contest in 1986.
California Angels RHP Dave Frost (averaged 10.5 ppg and 4 rpg for Stanford from 1971-72 through 1973-74) tossed a four-hit shutout against the Oakland Athletics in 1979.
Cincinnati Reds 1B Harvey Hendrick (Vanderbilt hoops letterman in 1918) went 4-for-4 in a 4-2 win against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1932.
Cleveland Indians CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record) went 4-for-4 against the Minnesota Twins in a 1994 game.
Boston Braves rookie CF Les Mann (Springfield MA hooper in 1913 and 1914) went 5-for-5 against the Brooklyn Superbas in a 1913 game.
RHP Roger Mason (multiple-year hoops letterman for Saginaw Valley State MI in late 1970s) traded by the San Diego Padres to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993.
In the midst of smacking six homers in a six-game span in 1974, Detroit Tigers RF Jim Northrup (second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder for Alma MI in 1958-59) deposited two balls over the outfield fence against the New York Yankees.
In 1956, Pittsburgh Pirates 2B Johnny O'Brien (two-time All-American with Seattle was first college player to crack 1,000-point plateau in single season by scoring 1,051 in 37 games in 1951-52) became the last N.L. position player in the 20th Century to earn a victory on the mound.
Philadelphia Phillies RHP Ron Reed (Notre Dame's leading rebounder in 1963-64 and 1964-65) permitted an earned run for the only time in a span of 14 relief appearances in 1976.
In 1949, Philadelphia Phillies RHP Robin Roberts (Michigan State's second-leading scorer in 1945-46 and 1946-47) tossed his third shutout in less than a month.
Montreal Expos RF Ken Singleton (Hofstra freshman hoops squad in mid-1960s) knocked in five runs in a 1973 game against his original team (New York Mets).
Minnesota Twins RHP Mike Smithson (teammate of Tennessee All-American Ernie Grunfeld averaged 1.9 ppg and 1.6 rpg under coach Ray Mears in 1974-75 and 1975-76) hurled a five-hit shutout against the Cleveland Indians in 1985. It was the first of five victories in as many decisions for him in July of this year.
Chicago Cubs LF Riggs Stephenson (Alabama hoops letterman in 1920) contributed five RBI against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1928 contest. The next day, Stephenson supplied five hits against the Cards in the nightcap of a doubleheader.
Cleveland Indians 1B Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) clobbered a homer in his seventh consecutive contest in 2002. Eight years later as DH for the Minnesota Twins, he smacked two round-trippers in 2010 game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Boston Red Sox rookie RHP Jim Wilson (hoops letterman for San Diego State's 1942 NAIA Tournament participant) tossed a five-hit shutout against the Detroit Tigers. The whitewash was first of four complete games for him during the month in 1945 when yielding fewer than two earned runs.
Tampa Devil Rays rookie OF Randy Winn (Santa Clara backcourtmate of eventual two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash in 1993-94) went 4-for-4 against the Toronto Blue Jays in 1998. Eleven years later with the San Francisco Giants, Winn registered his sixth two-hit outing in a seven-game span in 2009.

Shatterproof: Loud and Proud NCAA Standards Never to Be Duplicated (#8)

June 30th, 2020 - 12:12

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched, let along exceeded? In ensuing blogs, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #8 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

8. Robert Parish finished among nation's top five in rebounding all four seasons with more than 15 rpg each year.

Parish, attending Centenary College in his hometown of Shreveport, La., finished his career (1972-73 through 1975-76) as the only Division I player ever to rank among the national top five in rebounding for four seasons. He averaged more than 15 rpg each campaign, a figure no one has surpassed since 1979-80 when Alcorn State's Larry "Mr. Mean" Smith led the country with 15.1 rpg.

How in the name of James Naismith did no outlet acknowledge Parish as a first-team All-American? He had 33 games grabbing a minimum of 20 rebounds en route to retrieving an average of 16.9 missed shots per contest. Centenary de-emphasized its program early last decade but Parish's prolific performances won't be forgotten despite the NCAA overlooking them as part of probation sanctions against the Gentlemen. Following is a list of Parish's eight contests with at least 25 rebounds and his game-by-game totals:

33 -- vs. Southern Mississippi (January 27, 1973)
30 -- at Lamar (December 22, 1972)
29 -- vs. Texas-Arlington (February 5, 1973)
27 -- vs. Lamar (February 7, 1973)
27 -- vs. Northwestern State (December 9, 1974)
27 -- at Northeast Louisiana (January 15, 1976)
26 -- vs. Houston (January 17, 1974)
25 -- vs. LSU-New Orleans (January 15, 1973)

1972-73 (Freshman/18.7 rpg)

Game	Opponent	Reb.
1.	Southwestern TX	21
2.	*Houston Baptist	8
3.	*Louisiana Tech	15
4.	East Texas Baptist	7
5.	Indiana State	8
6.	Northern Colorado	20
7.	at Lamar	30
8.	at Arkansas	21
9.	Texas	16
10.	at Southern Mississippi	16
11.	at Northwestern State	22
12.	LSU-New Orleans	25
13.	at Texas-Arlington	9
14.	Virginia Commonwealth	12
15.	at Indiana State	16
16.	Southern Mississippi	33
17.	at Houston	22
18.	Arkansas State	20
19.	Texas-Arlington	29
20.	Lamar	27
21.	at Arizona State	20
22.	at Hawaii	23
23.	at Hawaii	14
24.	at Arkansas State	23
25.	at LSU-New Orleans	17
26.	Northwestern State	14
27.	Houston	17

*Sports Foundation Tournament.

1973-74 (Sophomore/15.3 rpg)

Game	Opponent	Reb.
1.	McNeese State	17
2.	Louisiana Tech	8
3.	Dallas Baptist TX	10
4.	Henderson State AR	21
5.	Northwestern State	23
6.	at Texas	14
7.	at Arkansas	16
8.	at Southern Mississippi	23
9.	Northeast Louisiana	8
10.	at Northwestern State	16
11.	Houston	26
12.	at Lamar	11
13.	at Virginia Commonwealth	12
14.	Southern Mississippi	16
15.	at Hardin-Simmons TX	14
16.	at Arizona	14
17.	at Indiana State	18
18.	at Southern Illinois	10
19.	Portland	15
20.	at Loyola of Chicago	13
21.	Houston Baptist	13
22.	Lamar	13
23.	at Houston	13
24.	at Houston Baptist	18
25.	Hardin-Simmons TX	20

1974-75 (Junior/15.4 rpg)

Game	Opponent	Reb.
1.	*UNC Charlotte	16
2.	*Dartmouth	18
3.	at Lamar	17
4.	Texas	10
5.	Northwestern State	27
6.	McNeese State	19
7.	at Virginia Commonwealth	15
8.	&Pacific	21
9.	&North Texas State	15
10.	&Oklahoma City	10
11.	Wabash College IN	9
12.	East Texas Baptist	13
13.	Arkansas	17
14.	Hawaii	19
15.	Lamar	14
16.	at Southern Mississippi	8
17.	at Indiana State	16
18.	at Houston Baptist	16
19.	Virginia Commonwealth	16
20.	Southern Mississippi	17
21.	at Northwestern State	21
22.	Houston Baptist	18
23.	at Hardin-Simmons TX	9
24.	Indiana State	15
25.	Southern Illinois	20
26.	at Hawaii-Hilo	16
27.	at Hawaii	15
28.	at Hawaii	11
29.	Hardin-Simmons TX	9

*Hall of Fame Tournament.
&All-College Tournament.

1975-76 (Senior/18.0 rpg)

Game	Opponent	Reb.
1.	at South Alabama	19
2.	Northwestern State	21
3.	at McNeese State	23
4.	at Southwestern Louisiana	14
5.	South Alabama	12
6.	Texas	19
7.	Virginia Commonwealth	19
8.	at Northern Illinois	24
9.	at Illinois State	15
10.	*Bowling Green State	14
11.	*Utah State	14
12.	*Long Island	21
13.	at Texas	14
14.	UNC Charlotte	19
15.	Hawaii	19
16.	Louisiana Tech	23
17.	at Northeast Louisiana	27
18.	at Northwestern State	14
19.	East Texas Baptist	23
20.	at Houston Baptist	6
21.	Hardin-Simmons TX	19
22.	Southern Mississippi	20
23.	at Nevada-Las Vegas	11
24.	at Hardin-Simmons TX	22
25.	Houston Baptist	17
26.	at UNC Charlotte	17
27.	at Virginia Commonwealth	20

*All-College Tournament.

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from Jan. 4, 1943, to Jan. 8, 1955)

10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on July 2 MLB Games

June 30th, 2020 - 12:10

Former college hoopers Dale Alexander (Milligan TN) and Dave Winfield (Minnesota) each hit two homers in a single American League game on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a July 2 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JULY 2

Milwaukee Braves 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) homered in his fourth consecutive contest in 1955.
Detroit Tigers rookie 1B Dale Alexander (starting hoops center in mid-1920s for Milligan TN) collected two homers and six RBI in a 10-4 win against the St. Louis Browns in 1929.
St. Louis Browns rookie RF Red Badgro (first-five hoops pick on All-Pacific Coast Conference team in 1926-27 as USC's MVP) went hitless for the only time in an 18-game game span from mid-June to mid-July in 1929.
INF Jack Barry (hoops letterman for Holy Cross in 1908) purchased from the Philadelphia Athletics by the Boston Red Sox in 1915.
Brooklyn Dodgers RHP Ray Benge (multi-year hoops letterman for Sam Houston State first half of 1920s) hurled a three-hit shutout against the Boston Braves in 1935.
Pittsburgh Pirates 1B Donn Clendenon (four-sport letterman with Morehouse GA) went 4-for-4 against the San Francisco Giants in a 1964 game.
OF Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA hoops titlist) signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1947, becoming the first black player in the A.L. and second in MLB history.
New York Yankees rookie LHP Al Downing (attended Muhlenberg PA on hoops scholarship but left before ever playing) hurled a one-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox in 1963. Downing won his first four starts of the month, fanning at least 10 batters in each contest.
Montreal Expos rookie SS Rich Hacker (member of Southern Illinois' freshman basketball squad in 1965-66) stroked his lone MLB extra-base hit (double off Woodie Fryman) in nightcap of a 1971 doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Texas Rangers rookie 1B Mike Hargrove (Northwestern Oklahoma State hoops letterman) went 4-for-4 against the Minnesota Twins in a 1974 contest.
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), CF Don Lock (led Wichita State in field-goal percentage in 1956-57 and 1957-58) and teammate Ken McMullen hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the sixth inning to power the Washington Senators to a 10-4 victory over the New York Yankees in 1966. Lock went 5-for-5.
SS Keith Kessinger (averaged 2.7 ppg for Mississippi in 1985-86 and 1986-87) purchased from the Baltimore Orioles by Cincinnati Reds in 1991.
Chicago Cubs 3B Davey Lopes (NAIA All-District 15 selection for Iowa Wesleyan averaged 16.9 ppg as freshman in 1964-65 and 12.1 ppg as sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring with his coach to Washburn KS) delivered a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Montreal Expos in 1986.
Los Angeles Dodgers LF Wally Moon (averaged 4.3 ppg with Texas A&M in 1948-49 and 1949-50) went 4-for-4 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a 1960 game.
A two-run pinch homer by RF Bill Nicholson (Washington College MD hoops guard for two years in mid-1930s) propelled the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 win against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952.
Detroit Tigers RHP Joe Niekro (averaged 8.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg for West Liberty WV from 1963-64 through 1965-66) had his no-hit bid ended in the ninth inning in a 5-0 triumph against the New York Yankees in 1970. Fifteen years later, Niekro posted his 200th career victory when the Houston Astros edged the San Diego Padres.
New York Giants RHP Roy Parmelee (hoops letterman for Eastern Michigan in 1924-25 and 1925-26) tossed a 1-0 shutout to beat the St. Louis Cardinals' Dizzy Dean in nightcap of 1933 doubleheader. Teammate Carl Hubbell hurled an 18-inning whitewash for the Giants in the opener.
Boston Red Sox LHP Gary Peters (Grove City PA hooper in mid-1950s) fired the second of back-to-back shutouts in 1970.
Anaheim Angels LF Tony Phillips (New Mexico Military juco hooper in 1977-78 as teammate of eventual Drake All-American Lewis Lloyd) banged out four hits in a 1997 contest against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 1983, OF Gary Redus (J.C. hooper for Athens AL and father of Centenary/South Alabama guard) ripped a leadoff homer for the second consecutive game against the Atlanta Braves. Seven years later as a Pittsburgh Pirates 1B, Redus extended his career-high hitting streak to 12 straight outings in 1990.
Chicago White Sox LF Carl Reynolds (Southwestern TX hoops MVP and captain in mid-1920s) manufactured five hits (including three homers), eight RBI and four runs scored in the nightcap of a 1930 twinbill.
Chicago White Sox C Leo Tankersley (Texas Christian hoops letterman in 1922-23 and 1923-24) appeared in his lone MLB game (against St. Louis Browns in 1925).
San Diego Padres OF Will Venable (All-Ivy League first-team selection as junior and second-team choice as senior averaged 9.3 ppg under Princeton coach John Thompson III from 2001-02 through 2004-05) whacked a decisive two-run pinch homer against the St. Louis Cardinals in the top of the 11th inning in 2015.
Fourth safety for LF John Wathan (averaged 3.7 ppg in 11 games for San Diego in 1968-69) knocked in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning of a 4-3 win against the Minnesota Twins in 1980.
San Diego Padres RF Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) went 5-for-5 with four RBI against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1980 contest. Two years later as a New York Yankees LF, Winfield smacked two homers against the Cleveland Indians, igniting a streak of six round-trippers in a six-game span in 1982.

Shatterproof: Loud and Proud NCAA Standards Never to Be Duplicated (#9)

June 30th, 2020 - 12:05

What are the school and individual records that will never come close to being matched, let along exceeded? In ensuing blogs, CollegeHoopedia.com will designate the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #9 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

9. Kentucky's 129-game homecourt winning streak (under coach Adolph Rupp from January 4, 1943, to January 8, 1955).

Kentucky, two nights after losing to Ohio State, 45-40, in its first game in calendar year 1943, started a streak that went 11 years without dropping a homecourt game until bowing to Georgia Tech, 59-58, on January 8, 1954. Tech had dropped its previous 10 outings at UK during the streak by an average margin of 35.2 points. The setback also snapped a 70-game winning streak in SEC competition. The first 84 of the Wildcats' 129 consecutive homecourt victories were in Alumni Gym. The remainder were in Memorial Coliseum.

UK's average margin of victory during the streak was 31 points. Vanderbilt was involved in two of the three closest games - one-point loss in '43 and four-point setback in '50. The only other contest settled by fewer than five points during the streak was a 38-35 verdict against DePauw (Ind.) in 1944.

Date/Home Game	UK	Visiting Team	Pts.
Jan. 4, 1943	64	Ft. Knox	43
Jan. 26, 1943	39	Vanderbilt	38
Feb. 6, 1943	67	Alabama	41
Feb. 8, 1943	48	Xavier	36
Feb. 13, 1943	53	Tennessee	29
Feb. 15, 1943	58	Georgia Tech	31
Dec. 1, 1943	51	Ft. Knox	18
Dec. 4, 1943	54	Berea (Naval V-12)	40
Dec. 18, 1943	58	Cincinnati	30
Jan. 15, 1944	61	Wright Field	28
Jan. 31, 1944	76	Ft. Knox A.R.C.	48
Feb. 5, 1944	38	DePauw (Ind.)	35
Feb. 7, 1944	51	Illinois	40
Feb. 26, 1944	51	Ohio University	35
Dec. 2, 1944	56	Ft. Knox	23
Dec. 4, 1944	56	Berea (Ky.)	32
Dec. 9, 1944	66	Cincinnati	24
Dec. 23, 1944	53	Ohio State	48
Jan. 6, 1945	59	Ohio University	46
Jan. 8, 1945	75	Arkansas State	6
Jan. 13, 1945	66	Michigan State	35
Jan. 29, 1945	73	Georgia	37
Feb. 3, 1945	51	Georgia Tech	32
Feb. 17, 1945	40	Tennessee	34
Dec. 1, 1945	59	Ft. Knox	36
Dec. 7, 1945	51	Western Ontario	42
Dec. 8, 1945	71	Western Ontario	28
Dec. 15, 1945	67	Cincinnati	31
Dec. 18, 1945	67	Arkansas	42
Dec. 21, 1945	43	Oklahoma	33
Jan. 5, 1946	57	Ohio University	48
Jan. 7, 1946	81	Ft. Benning	25
Jan. 28, 1946	54	Georgia Tech	26
Feb. 5, 1946	59	Michigan State	51
Feb. 16, 1946	54	Tennessee	34
Feb. 23, 1946	83	Xavier	40
Nov. 28, 1946	78	Indiana Central	36
Nov. 30, 1946	64	Tulane	35
Dec. 2, 1946	68	Ft. Knox	31
Dec. 9, 1946	65	Idaho	35
Dec. 14, 1946	83	Texas A&M	18
Dec. 16, 1946	62	Miami (Ohio)	49
Dec. 23, 1946	75	Baylor	34
Dec. 28, 1946	96	Wabash (Ohio)	24
Jan. 4, 1947	46	Ohio University	36
Jan. 11, 1947	70	Dayton	29
Jan. 25, 1947	71	Xavier	34
Jan. 27, 1947	86	Michigan State	36
Feb. 10, 1947	81	Georgia	40
Feb. 15, 1947	61	Tennessee	46
Feb. 17, 1947	63	Alabama	33
Feb. 22, 1947	83	Georgia Tech	46
Nov. 9, 1947	80	Indiana Central	41
Dec. 1, 1947	80	Ft. Knox	41
Dec. 5, 1947	72	Tulsa	18
Dec. 6, 1947	71	Tulsa	22
Dec. 17, 1947	79	Xavier	37
Jan. 3, 1948	98	Western Ontario	41
Jan. 24, 1948	70	Cincinnati	43
Feb. 14, 1948	69	Tennessee	42
Feb. 16, 1948	63	Alabama	33
Feb. 20, 1948	79	Vanderbilt	43
Feb. 21, 1948	78	Georgia Tech	54
Nov. 29, 1948	74	Indiana Central	38
Dec. 10, 1948	81	Tulsa	27
Dec. 13, 1948	76	Arkansas	39
Feb. 8, 1949	71	Tennessee	56
Feb. 12, 1949	96	Xavier	50
Feb. 14, 1949	74	Alabama	32
Feb. 16, 1949	85	Mississippi	31
Feb. 19, 1949	78	Georgia Tech	32
Feb. 21, 1949	95	Georgia	40
Feb. 26, 1949	70	Vanderbilt	37
Dec. 3, 1949	84	Indiana Central	61
Dec. 10, 1949	90	Western Ontario	18
Jan. 9, 1950	83	North Carolina	44
Jan. 28, 1950	88	Georgia	56
Feb. 11, 1950	79	Tennessee	52
Feb. 13, 1950	77	Alabama	57
Feb. 15, 1950	90	Mississippi	50
Feb. 18, 1950	97	Georgia Tech	62
Feb. 23, 1950	58	Xavier	53
Feb. 25, 1950	70	Vanderbilt	66
Dec. 1, 1950	73	West Texas State	43
Dec. 9, 1950	70	Purdue	52
Dec. 14, 1950	85	Florida	37
Dec. 16, 1950	68	Kansas	39
Jan. 5, 1951	79	Auburn	35
Jan. 8, 1951	63	DePaul	55
Jan. 13, 1951	65	Alabama	48
Jan. 15, 1951	69	Notre Dame	44
Feb. 9, 1951	75	Georgia Tech	42
Feb. 13, 1951	78	Xavier	51
Feb. 17, 1951	86	Tennessee	61
Feb. 23, 1951	88	Georgia	41
Feb. 24, 1951	89	Vanderbilt	57
Mar. 13, 1951	97	Loyola of Chicago	61
Dec. 8, 1951	96	Washington & Lee (Va.)	46
Dec. 17, 1951	81	St. John's	40
Dec. 20, 1951	98	DePaul	60
Dec. 26, 1951	84	UCLA	53
Jan. 5, 1952	57	Louisiana State	47
Jan. 7, 1952	83	Xavier	50
Jan. 12, 1952	99	Florida	52
Feb. 4, 1952	103	Tulane	54
Feb. 6, 1952	81	Mississippi	61
Feb. 9, 1952	93	Georgia Tech	42
Feb. 11, 1952	110	Mississippi State	66
Feb. 16, 1952	95	Tennessee	40
Feb. 21, 1952	75	Vanderbilt	45
Dec. 5, 1952	86	Temple	59
Dec. 14, 1952	101	Wake Forest	69
Dec. 21, 1952	85	Duke	69
Dec. 22, 1952	73	La Salle	60
Dec. 28, 1952	74	Minnesota	59
Jan. 4, 1953	77	Xavier	71
Jan. 9, 1953	105	Georgia Tech	53
Jan. 11, 1953	81	DePaul	63
Jan. 16, 1953	94	Tulane	43
Feb. 4, 1953	106	Georgia	55
Feb. 13, 1953	88	Mississippi	62
Feb. 15, 1953	81	Mississippi State	49
Feb. 18, 1953	90	Tennessee	63
Feb. 22, 1953	100	Vanderbilt	64
Dec. 4, 1953	74	Louisiana State	58
Dec. 18, 1953	79	Temple	61
Dec. 21, 1953	70	Utah	65
Dec. 22, 1953	63	La Salle	54
Dec. 30, 1953	82	St. Louis	65

NOTE: Kentucky was barred from playing competitive basketball during the 1952-53 season because of NCAA probation.

10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on Feb. 14, 1953).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on July 1 MLB Games

June 30th, 2020 - 12:01

Extra! Extra! If spittin' mad regarding COVID-19 season postponement and prolonged negotiations commencing campaign, you have to read news 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 hoopers Frank Howard (Ohio State), Buddy Myer (Mississippi State) and Irv Noren (Pasadena City Community College) each supplied multiple extra-base hits in a single game for the Washington Senators on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a July 1 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JULY 1

Chicago Cubs rookie 2B Glenn Beckert (three-year basketball letterman for Allegheny PA) belted two homers against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1965 game.
Pittsburgh Pirates LF Carson "Skeeter" Bigbee (Oregon hoops letterman in 1915) collected four hits against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1919 contest.
Brooklyn Dodgers RHP Roger Craig (forward with North Carolina State's 1949-50 freshman hoops team) collected his sixth straight win in 1956 (4-1 nod over Philadelphia Phillies).
In 1943, Chicago White Sox LF Guy Curtright (two-time All-MIAA selection led Northeast Missouri State in scoring each of four seasons in early 1930s) set a MLB rookie record (subsequently broken) with a 26-game hitting streak as a 30-year-old newcomer in his only season as a regular.
Boston Red Sox C Gene Desautels (Holy Cross hoops letterman in 1929 and 1930) contributed three hits and four runs against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1938 game.
Cleveland Indians CF Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA hoops titlist) walked five times in a 19-inning, 4-3 victory against the St. Louis Browns in 1952.
C-OF Joe Ferguson (hooper for Pacific's 1967 NCAA playoff team) traded by the Houston Astros with cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1978.
St. Louis Cardinals 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) scored four runs for the first of two times in a three-game span in 1930.
In his first game back following four years serving in the U.S. military during WWII, Detroit Tigers LF Hank Greenberg (enrolled at NYU on hoops scholarship in 1929 but attended college only one semester) pounded a homer against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1945 contest.
2B Howdy Groskloss (five-sport participant voted most outstanding Amherst MA athlete of first half of 20th Century) scored the Pittsburgh Pirates' first run in a 4-1 win against the Boston Braves in 1931 but had his only hitless outing in a 12-game span from June 27 to July 11.
Washington Senators LF 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) homered in both ends of a 1969 doubleheader sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
Cleveland Indians LF "Sweet" Lou Johnson (Kentucky State hoops teammate of legendary coach Davey Whitney averaged 5.7 ppg and 2 rpg in 1951-52) whacked back-to-back homers against the Minnesota Twins in 1968.
Cleveland Indians CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record) provided three hits and three stolen bases against the Milwaukee Brewers in a 1998 game.
Boston Red Sox 3B Buddy Myer (Mississippi State hoops letterman in 1923-24) supplied multiple hits in seventh consecutive contest, including three extra-base safeties in the opener of a 1928 twinbill against the Washington Senators. Eleven years later as a 2B with the Senators, Myer went 4-for-4 against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1939 contest.
Atlanta Braves rookie RHP Gary Neibauer (collected 13 points and 9 rebounds in 16 games for Nebraska in 1964-65 under coach Joe Cipriano) won his first MLB decision after hurling a 1-2-3 top of the 10th inning against the Cincinnati Reds in 1969.
Washington Senators CF Irv Noren (hooper of year for California community college state champion Pasadena City in 1945) collected a homer and two doubles but his output wasn't enough to prevent a 1951 doubleheader loss against the Philadelphia Athletics. The extra-base hits triggered a streak of four games in a row with three safeties.
RHP Elmer Ponder (Oklahoma hoops letterman in 1914 and 1916) traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Chicago Cubs in 1921.
St. Louis Cardinals rookie C Dave Ricketts (three-year starter led Duquesne in scoring senior season with 17.9 ppg in 1956-57) contributed a career-high three hits against the New York Mets in a 1967 game.
OF Dave Robertson (one of two reserves on North Carolina State's first basketball team in 1911) traded by the Chicago Cubs to Pittsburgh Pirates in 1921.
Montreal Expos RF Ken Singleton (Hofstra freshman hoops squad in mid-1960s) homered in both ends of a 1973 doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
LHP Paul Splittorff (runner-up in scoring and rebounding for Morningside IA in 1967-68) retired in 1984. His 166 victories in 13 seasons are the most in Kansas City Royals history.

Shatterproof: Loud and Proud NCAA Standards Never to Be Duplicated (#10)

June 30th, 2020 - 11:57

The NCAA Tournament commenced in 1939, which was one year after the NIT triggered national postseason competition. An overlooked "versatile athlete" feat occurring in 1938 that never will be duplicated took place at Arkansas, where the quarterback for the football squad (Jack Robbins) repeated as an All-SWC first-team basketball selection, leading the Razorbacks (19-3) to the SWC title. After the season, Robbins became an NFL first-round draft choice by the Chicago Cardinals (5th pick overall) and senior football/basketball teammates Jim Benton (11th pick) and Ray Hamilton (41st pick) went on to become wide receivers for at least six years in the NFL. Yes, three members of a league championship basketball squad promptly were among the top 41 selections in the NFL draft.

What are other school and individual records that will never come close to being matched, let along exceeded? CollegeHoopedia.com is acknowledging an "Untouchables" list regarding the ultimate team and individual standards of excellence. Records were made to be broken, but perhaps not always in our lifetime. Following is #10 in the countdown of most illustrious NCAA achievements:

10. Bill Chambers' 51 rebounds in a single game (for William & Mary vs. Virginia on February 14, 1953).

Chambers, standing a mere 6-4, grabbed an NCAA-record 51 rebounds for William & Mary in a 105-84 victory against Virginia on Valentine's Day. He finished third in the nation in 1952-53 in retrieving missed shots with 21.8 rpg, finishing behind Fordham's Ed Conlin (23.5 rpg) and Seton Hall's Walter Dukes (22.2 rpg). Chambers, who passed away earlier this decade, later became his alma mater's all-time winningest coach in a nine-year coaching career with the Tribe from 1957-58 through 1965-66 (modest win total could be surpassed in 2012-13).

No individual has grabbed more than 35 rebounds in a single NCAA Division I game since Pacific's Keith Swagerty (39 vs. UC Santa Barbara) and East Tennessee State's Tommy Woods (38 vs. Middle Tennessee State) in 1964-65. The last 37 teams leading the nation in rebounding margin averaged 42 rebounds per contest. Following is the line score of Chambers' performance:

WILLIAM & MARY (105): Mahoney 5 6-11 16, Savage 0 0-4 0, Berry 1 1-2 3, Harris 10 0-1 20, Chambers 16 5-6 37 51, Hume 6 4-7 16, Drake 0 0-0 0, Hoitsma 4 5-6 13. Team 42 21-37 (.568) 105.
VIRGINIA (84): Roach 2 2-5 6, Burlage 1 3-4 5, Cooke 2 1-1 5, Esckilsen 6 1-5 13, Gamble 2 5-6 9, Wilkinson 10 8-8 28, Dohner 7 2-2 16, Casey 1 0-0 2. Team 31 22-31 (.710) 84.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on June 30 MLB Games

June 30th, 2020 - 10:42

Two former hoopers from small colleges in Virginia - Larry Doby (Virginia Union) and Larry Sheets (Eastern Mennonite) - made American League news on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 30 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 30

Cincinnati Reds LF Morrie Arnovich (Wisconsin-Superior hooper in early 1930s) went 4-for-4 in a 7-6 win against the Chicago Cubs in nightcap of 1940 doubleheader.
Chicago Cubs CF Frankie Baumholtz (MVP in 1941 NIT and first player in Ohio University history to score 1,000 career points) banged out four hits against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1953 game.
In 1960, Detroit Tigers 2B Frank Bolling (averaged 7.3 ppg for Spring Hill AL in 1950-51) had a streak of seven straight two-hit games, with an extra-base safety in all but one of them, halted by going hit-less against the Boston Red Sox.
Cleveland Indians SS Lou Boudreau (leading scorer for Illinois' 1937 Big Ten Conference co-champion) went 4-for-4 against the Chicago White Sox in a 1942 contest.
Minnesota Twins 3B John Castino (medical redshirt for Rollins FL in 1973-74 under coach Ed Jucker) contributed four hits and five RBI in 12-3 win against the Kansas City Royals in 1980.
Philadelphia Athletics C Mickey Cochrane (Boston University hooper in early 1920s) went 4-for-4 against the Detroit Tigers in a 1930 game.
In 1978, Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA hoops titlist) became the second black MLB manager, succeeding Bob Lemon as skipper of the Chicago White Sox.
Boston Red Sox C Rick Ferrell (hoop forward for Guilford NC before graduating in 1928) contributed three extra-base hits and four RBI against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1935 contest.
St. Louis Cardinals 3B Jake Flowers (member of 1923 "Flying Pentagon" championship hoops squad for Washington College MD) capped off the month with five straight multiple-hit games in 1932.
In 1940, Washington Senators SS Charlie Gelbert (scored at least 125 points each of last three seasons in late 1920s for Lebanon Valley PA) closed out the month hitting .474 in 11 games (18-of-38).
En route to hitting .303 in 1970, St. Louis Cardinals RHP Bob Gibson (Creighton's leading scorer and rebounder in 1955-56 and 1956-57) supplied his fifth multiple-hit game of the month while winning seven starts during that span.
San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) and two teammates each socked a three-run homer in a 15-6 rout of the Oakland A's in 1997.
Commencing the game by fanning the side on nine pitches in the opening inning, Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati's freshman hoops squad in 1953-54) hurled a no-hitter against the New York Mets in 1962.
Minnesota Twins LHP Bill Krueger (led WCAC in free-throw percentage as freshman en route to averaging 5.1 ppg for Portland from 1975-76 through 1979-80) tossed a two-hit shutout against the California Angels in 1992.
In 1938, New York Giants CF Hank Leiber (Arizona hooper in 1931) launched the final homer at Philadelphia's Baker Bowl before the Phillies moved to Shibe Park. Leiber finished the contest with three extra-base hits and five RBI.
Los Angeles Dodgers 2B Davey Lopes (NAIA All-District 15 selection for Iowa Wesleyan averaged 16.9 ppg as freshman in 1964-65 and 12.1 ppg as sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring with his coach to Washburn KS) went 4-for-4 against the San Diego Padres in a 1975 game.
In the midst of a 10-game hitting streak, Philadelphia Athletics C Ed Madjeski (Seton Hall letterman from 1928-29 through 1930-31) manufactured five safeties in a 1933 doubleheader split against the St. Louis Browns.
RHP Nels Potter (leading scorer during two years attending Mount Morris IL in early 1930s) purchased from the Philadelphia Athletics by the Boston Red Sox in 1941.
A two-run, inside-the-park homer by RF Dave Robertson (one of two reserves on North Carolina State's first basketball team in 1911) lifted the New York Giants to a 4-3 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1916.
Baltimore Orioles LF Larry Sheets (All-ODAC hoops selection in 1981-82 and 1982-83 with Eastern Mennonite VA) collected four RBI in a 1987 game against the Boston Red Sox, triggering a career-high 10-game hitting streak.
SS Roy Smalley Jr. (one of top scorers for Drury MO in 1942-43 and 1943-44) knocked in all of the Chicago Cubs' runs in a 5-4 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1952.
New York Mets LHP George Stone (averaged 14.7 ppg and 6.5 rpg for Louisiana Tech in 1964-65 and 1965-66) hurled his final MLB complete game when defeating the Chicago Cubs, 5-1, in 1975.
OF Kite Thomas (averaged 5.1 ppg for Kansas State in 1946-47) awarded on waivers from the Philadelphia Athletics to the Washington Senators in 1953.
DH-1B Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to Baltimore Orioles in 2012.
In 2005, Seattle Mariners LHP Matt Thornton (averaged 5.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg for Grand Valley State MI from 1995-96 through 1997-98) charged with a run for the first time after 14 scoreless relief appearances.
RHP Rusty Yarnall (Vermont hoops letterman in first half of 1920s) lost decision in his lone MLB appearance with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1926.

Happy Birthday! July Celebration Dates for All-Americans and HOF Coaches

June 30th, 2020 - 10:31

July 11 is the day to celebrate the most birthdays this month for former All-Americans. Two Indiana All-Americans were born on the same day this month (17th) but Oklahoma and UCLA have the most A-As born in July with four apiece. Following are birth dates in July for All-American players and Hall of Fame coaches:

JULY

1: All-Americans George Bon Salle (born in 1935/Illinois), Lee Guttero (1913/Southern California) and Art Quimby (1933/Connecticut).
2: All-Americans Bob Dille (1917/Valparaiso), Clark Kellogg (1961/Ohio State), Curtis Rowe (1949/UCLA) and Jon Sundvold (1961/Missouri).
3: All-Americans Derrick Chievous (1967/Missouri) and Charlie Sitton (1962/Oregon State) plus Hall of Fame coach John Kundla (1916/Minnesota).
4: All-Americans Harvey Grant (1965/Oklahoma), Horace Grant (1965/Clemson), Tony Guy (1959/Kansas) and Ed Koffenberger (1926/Duke) plus Hall of Fame coaches Henry "Doc" Carlson (1894/Pittsburgh), Howard Hobson (1903/Oregon and Yale) and Arad McCutchan (1912/Evansville).
5: All-American Eddie Miles (1940/Seattle).
6: All-Americans Jae Crowder (1990/Marquette) and Zion Williamson (2000/Duke).
7: All-Americans Myles Powell (1997/Seton Hall), Brandon Rush (1985/Kansas) and Ralph Sampson (1960/Virginia).
8: All-Americans Dave Sorenson (1948/Ohio State) and Hakim Warrick (1982/Syracuse).
9: All-Americans Jim Paxson (1957/Dayton) and Urgel "Slim" Wintermute (1917/Oregon).
10: All-Americans Chuck Chuckovits (1912/Toledo), Jared Dudley (1985/Boston College), Cliff Meely (1947/Colorado) and Kevin O'Shea (1925/Notre Dame) plus Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril (1930/Lehigh and Princeton).
11: All-Americans Lou Hudson (1944/Minnesota), Wesley Johnson (1987/Syracuse), Tony Lavelli (1926/Yale), Eduardo Najera (1976/Oklahoma), John Pilch (1925/Wyoming) and Rod Strickland (1966/DePaul).
12: All-American Paul Silas (1943/Creighton).
13: All-Americans Bob Kauffman (1946/Guilford NC), Frank Ramsey (1931/Kentucky) and David Thompson (1954/North Carolina State).
14: All-Americans Wallace "Wah Wah" Jones (1926/Kentucky), Shabazz Napier (1991/Connecticut), Lou Roe (1972/Massachusetts) and Bernard Toone (1956/Marquette).
15: All-Americans Damian Lillard (1990/Weber State), Allen Murphy (1952/Louisville), Khalid Reeves (1972/Arizona) and Richard Washington (1955/UCLA).
16: All-American Chris Mihm (1979/Texas).
17: All-Americans Calbert Cheaney (1971/Indiana), Johnny "Red" Kerr (1932/Illinois), Bob "Slick" Leonard (1932/Indiana) and Nick Werkman (1942/Seton Hall).
18: All-Americans Jerry Chambers (1943/Utah), Donnie Freeman (1944/Illinois), Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway (1971/Memphis State), York Larese (1938/North Carolina) and Wally Walker (1954/Virginia).
19: All-Americans Alvan Adams (1954/Oklahoma), LaMarcus Aldridge (1985/Texas), Alfredrick Hughes (1962/Loyola of Chicago) and Adam Morrison (1984/Gonzaga).
20: All-Americans Ray Allen (1975/Connecticut), Mel Daniels (1944/New Mexico), Roy Hamilton (1957/UCLA), Ron Johnson (1938/Minnesota) and Ben Simmons (1996/Louisiana State) plus Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly (1930/Boston College and Penn).
21: All-American Fred Hetzel (1942/Davidson).
22: All-Americans Alva "Allie" Paine (1919/Oklahoma), Bobby Rascoe (1940/Western Kentucky), Alvin Robertson (1962/Arkansas) and Bryan Warrick (1959/St. Joseph's).
23: All-Americans Deandre Ayton (1998/Arizona), Antoine Carr (1961/Wichita State), Chris Clemons (1997/Campbell), Gary Payton (1968/Oregon State) and Brandon Roy (1984/Washington).
24: All-Americans Walt Bellamy (1939/Indiana), Harry Boykoff (1922/St. John's), Joe Barry Carroll (1958/Purdue), Karl Malone (1963/Louisiana Tech) and Charles "Cotton" Nash (1942/Kentucky).
25: All-Americans Nolan Smith (1988/Duke), Kenny Thomas (1977/New Mexico) and Nate Thurmond (1941/Bowling Green State).
26: All-Americans Gary Bradds (1942/Ohio State), Walker Kessler (2001/Auburn), Todd Mitchell (1966/Purdue), Joe Smith (1975/Maryland), Earl Tatum (1953/Marquette) and Delonte West (1983/St. Joseph's).
27: All-Americans Marvin Barnes (1952/Providence) and James Ray (1957/Jacksonville).
28: All-Americans Bill Bradley (1943/Princeton) and Doug Collins (1951/Illinois State).
29: All-Americans Dick Boushka (1934/St. Louis), Arnie Ferrin (1925/Utah), Mike McGee (1959/Michigan), Ansu Sesay (1976/Mississippi) and Neal Walk (1948/Florida).
30: All-Americans Bill Cartwright (1957/San Francisco), John Green (1940/UCLA), Chris Mullin (1963/St. John's) and Kevin Pittsnogle (1984/West Virginia).
31: All-American Walt Torrence (1937/UCLA).

Birthdays in April for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in May for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches
Birthdays in June for All-Americans and Hall of Fame Coaches

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on June 29 MLB Games

June 29th, 2020 - 8:28

Former North Carolina State hoopers Dave Robertson and Tim Stoddard made MLB news on this date. Former Mississippi State hoopers Boo Ferriss and Buddy Myer also had significant American League performances on this date. Additional ex-SEC hoopers making MLB news on this date included Joe Adcock (LSU), Andy Cohen (Alabama), Harvey Hendrick (Vanderbilt) and Mike Smithson (Tennessee). Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 29 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 29

Milwaukee Braves 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) smashed two homers in a 3-1 win against the Chicago Cubs in the nightcap of 1960 twinbill.
RHP Jim Bibby (Fayetteville State NC backup hooper and brother of UCLA All-American Henry Bibby) secured his first win with the Texas Rangers by hurling a one-hit shutout against the Kansas City Royals in 1973.
New York Giants 2B Andy Cohen (Alabama hoops letterman in 1924 and 1925) had an 11-game hitting streak snapped by the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a 1929 twinbill.
Boston Red Sox rookie RHP Boo Ferriss (Mississippi State hoops letterman in 1941) contributed a run-scoring single and two-run, ninth-inning homer in a 4-2 decision over the Chicago White Sox in 1945.
Washington Senators SS Charlie Gelbert (scored at least 125 points each of last three seasons in late 1920s for Lebanon Valley PA) collected three hits for the third consecutive contest in 1940.
San Francisco Giants rookie 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 his first MLB shutout, a four-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds in 1982.
Chicago Cubs LF Harvey Hendrick (Vanderbilt hoops letterman in 1918) stroked three extra-base hits against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a 1933 outing.
Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (played for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) smacked two homers against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 1956 game.
In the midst of 13 straight scoreless relief appearances covering 21 innings in 1954, Cincinnati Reds RHP Howie Judson (Illinois' third-leading scorer in 1944-45) earned a victory against the St. Louis Cardinals.
OF David Justice (Thomas More KY assists leader in 1984-85 while averaging 9.3 ppg and 3.5 rpg), acquired by the New York Yankees from the Cleveland Indians in 2000, went on to become the first player to garner more than 50 RBI in a single season with two different clubs.
OF Charlie Keller (three-year hoops letterman with Maryland from 1934-35 through 1936-37) homered in the nightcap of a 1941 doubleheader sweep of the Washington Senators by the New York Yankees, extending the Bronx Bombers' streak to a MLB-record 25 consecutive contests with a round-tripper.
In 1931, Philadelphia Phillies rookie RF Fred Koster (four-year starting forward from 1923-24 through 1926-27 was Louisville's leading scorer as sophomore and senior) contributed three hits for the second time in three games.
First MLB hit for Cleveland Indians rookie OF Stu Locklin (played one basketball game for Wisconsin in 1947-48 under coach Bud Foster) was his only extra-base safety (pinch-hit double) in a 1955 game against the Kansas City Athletics.
Texas Rangers CF Kenny Lofton (Arizona's leader in steals for 1988 Final Four team compiling 35-3 record) went 4-for-4 against the Boston Red Sox in a 2007 contest.
St. Louis Cardinals RHP Lindy McDaniel (hooper for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) registered his ninth save of the month en route to a league-high 27 in 1960.
Cleveland Indians rookie CF Ed Morgan (Tulane hoops letterman from 1923-24 through 1925-26) manufactured fifth outing of the month with at least three hits in his last 13 games.
On the heels of three consecutive holds, New York Yankees RHP Bobby Munoz (scored 35 points for Polk Community College FL in game against Palm Beach in mid-November 1986) hurled 3 1/3 innings of hitless relief in a 4-3 win against the Detroit Tigers in 1993.
Washington Senators 2B Buddy Myer (Mississippi State hoops letterman in 1923-24) provided multiple hits in seven consecutive contests in 1930.
Detroit Tigers RF Jim Northrup (second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder for Alma MI in 1958-59) set a MLB mark with his third grand slam in a week in 1968. Three years later, Northrup smacked two homers against the Baltimore Orioles in a 1971 outing.
In the midst of a 10-game hitting streak after returning to the Chicago Cubs, 2B Paul Popovich (teammate of Jerry West for West Virginia's 1960 NCAA playoff team) scored four runs against the St. Louis Cardinals in the nightcap of a 1969 twinbill.
Philadelphia Phillies LHP Eppa Rixey (Virginia hoops letterman in 1912 and 1914) fired a four-hit shutout against the New York Giants. The whitewash was one of 11 straight starts in 1916 where Rixey yielded fewer than three earned runs.
Chicago Cubs LF Dave Robertson (one of two reserves on North Carolina State's first basketball team in 1911) went 7-for-10 with seven RBI in 1920 doubleheader split against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Brooklyn Dodgers 2B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) whacked two homers against the New York Giants in a 1950 game.
Minnesota Twins RHP Mike Smithson (teammate of Tennessee All-American Ernie Grunfeld averaged 1.9 ppg and 1.6 rpg under coach Ray Mears in 1974-75 and 1975-76) yielded only one hit in 8 1/3 innings in a 1-0 triumph against the Chicago White Sox in 1985.
Baltimore Orioles RHP Tim Stoddard (starting forward opposite All-American David Thompson for North Carolina State's 1974 NCAA champion) finished the month with 10 consecutive scoreless relief appearances. Five years later in 1987 with the New York Yankees, Stoddard allowed his only earned run in a 14-game span until mid-July.
New York Yankees RF Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) collected two homers and six RBI in a 1987 contest against the Toronto Blue Jays.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on June 28 MLB Games

June 28th, 2020 - 8:55

Former Drury MO hoopers Roy Smalley Jr. and Bill Virdon delivered dynamic MLB performances on this date. Ditto for ex-hoopers Lee Smith (Northwestern State) and Champ Summers (Nicholls State) from Louisiana colleges. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 28 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 28

Chicago Cubs RF George Altman (appeared in 1953 and 1954 NAIA Basketball Tournament with Tennessee State) furnished five extra-base hits, including a homer in each game, in 1961 doubleheader split against the Cincinnati Reds.
Detroit Tigers RHP Elden Auker (All-Big Six Conference first-five selection with Kansas State in 1931-32) won for the fifth time in as many decisions during the month in 1934.
In the midst of a career-high 23-game hitting streak, Pittsburgh Pirates LF Carson "Skeeter" Bigbee (Oregon hoops letterman in 1915) went 7-for-10 against the Chicago Cubs in a 1921 twinbill.
Detroit Tigers 1B Tony Clark (San Diego State's leading scorer in WAC games in 1991-92) homered in his third consecutive contest in 2000.
Brooklyn Robins 3B Wally Gilbert (hoops captain played for Valparaiso from 1918-19 through 1920-21) supplied four hits in a 10-4 win against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1931.
First MLB victory for Philadelphia Phillies rookie RHP Dallas Green (Delaware's second-leading scorer and rebounder in 1954-55) was a three-hit shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1960.
Detroit Tigers 1B Hank Greenberg (enrolled at NYU on hoops scholarship in 1929 but attended college only one semester) blasted three homers in a 1935 doubleheader sweep of the St. Louis Browns.
LHP Steve Hamilton (All-OVC selection was Morehead State's leading scorer and rebounder in 1956-57 and 1957-58) allowed his only run in first 14 relief appearances with the Chicago Cubs in 1972.
In 1951, New York Giants OF Monte Irvin (Lincoln PA hooper 1 1/2 years in late 1930s) swatted two homers off Brooklyn Dodgers RHP Ralph Branca (sixth-leading scorer for NYU in 1943-44) in same game.
LF "Sweet" Lou Johnson (Kentucky State hoops teammate of legendary HBCU coach Davey Whitney averaged 5.7 ppg and 2 rpg in 1951-52) traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Cleveland Indians in 1968.
Chicago White Sox RHP Howie Judson (Illinois' third-leading scorer in 1944-45) lost his sixth decision of the month in 1949.
Detroit Tigers CF Harvey Kuenn (played hoops briefly for Wisconsin in 1951-52 after competing on JV squad previous season) provided four hits against the Boston Red Sox in a 1958 game.
Toronto Blue Jays RHP Dave Lemanczyk (averaged 4.5 ppg and 3.5 rpg for Hartwick NY teams compiling 51-21 record from 1969-70 through 1971-72) posted his fifth triumph of the month in 1977.
OF Don Lund (two-year hoops starter for Michigan in mid-1940s) awarded on waivers from the Brooklyn Dodgers to the St. Louis Browns in 1948.
St. Louis Cardinals RHP Lindy McDaniel (hooper for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) saved both ends of a 1959 doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds, giving him six saves and three victories in his last 12 relief appearances of the month.
New York Yankees SS Gene Michael (Kent State's leading scorer with 14 ppg in 1957-58) pulled hidden-ball trick against the Cleveland Indians in a 1969 contest.
Igniting a career-long 13-game hitting streak, New York Giants RF Red Murray (played hoops for Lock Haven PA in early 1900s) went 5-for-9 in a 1912 doubleheader sweep of the Boston Braves. The next year, he went 4-for-4 in a 1913 outing against the Braves.
Chicago Cubs RF Bill Nicholson (Washington College MD hoops guard for two years in mid-1930s) collected two homers and five RBI against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the opener of a 1944 twinbill.
St. Louis Cardinals RHP Dick Ricketts (Duquesne's all-time leading scorer was second-team consensus All-American choice as junior in 1953-54 and first-five consensus selection as senior in 1954-55) registered his lone MLB victory (against Cincinnati Reds in 1959).
Cincinnati Reds LHP Eppa Rixey (Virginia hoops letterman in 1912 and 1914) banged out four hits, including a homer and two doubles, in a 5-2 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a 1924 doubleheader.
Chicago Cubs SS Roy Smalley Jr. (one of top scorers for Drury MO in 1942-43 and 1943-44) went for the cycle and chipped in with four RBI in a 15-3 romp over the St. Louis Cardinals in 1950.
St. Louis Cardinals RHP Lee Smith (averaged 3.4 ppg and 1.9 rpg with Northwestern State in 1976-77) posted a save in all 15 relief appearances of the month and 17th in a row in 1993.
In 2014, San Diego Padres LHP Eric Stults (hooper for 1999 NAIA D-II Tournament runner-up and 2000 NCCAA Tournament titlist with Bethel IN) lost for the sixth time in as many starts during the month.
Detroit Tigers RF Champ Summers (led SIUE in scoring in 1969-70 after doing same with Nicholls State in 1964-65) socked a homer in his third consecutive contest in 1979.
Chicago White Sox LHP Matt Thornton (averaged 5.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg for Grand Valley State MI from 1995-96 through 1997-98) posted his third relief victory during a span going unscored upon in last 12 appearances of the month in 2008.
Pittsburgh Pirates CF Bill Virdon (Drury MO hooper in 1949) notched his fifth straight multiple-hit outing in 1963.

Thankless Task: Who Succeeded "M Boys" (Maravich, Mount and Murphy)?

June 27th, 2020 - 19:50

The 2019-20 season marked the 50th anniversary of perhaps the most dominant senior class in college basketball history. In 1969-70, Bob Lanier (St. Bonaventure), Mike Maloy (Davidson), Pete Maravich (Louisiana State), Jim McMillian (Columbia), Rick Mount (Purdue), Calvin Murphy Sr. (Niagara) and Charlie Scott (North Carolina) concluded their careers as three-time All-Americans. Two-time first-team All-American Dan Issel (Kentucky) was among the following sterling senior crop supplementing the seven three-time All-Americans: Tiny Archibald (Texas-El Paso), Dennis Awtrey (Santa Clara), Jimmy Collins (New Mexico State), Dave Cowens (Florida State), John Johnson (Iowa), Sam Lacey (New Mexico State), Geoff Petrie (Princeton), Dave Sorenson (Ohio State) and Rudy Tomjanovich (Michigan).

There has never been anything close to the marvelous perimeter showmanship of the "M Boys" - guards Maravich, Mount and Murphy. The combination of their influences dictated that college hoops would never be the same again. It's staggering to contemplate how many points Maravich (career scoring average of 44.2 ppg), Mount (32.3 ppg) and Murphy (33.1 ppg) would have scored if there had been a three-point arc during their college days. Incredibly, the explosive trio still boasts three of the seven top career scoring averages in NCAA Division I history.

We had an idea of what was in store at the varsity level after their freshman team scoring averages in 1966-67: Maravich (43.6 ppg), Mount (35 ppg) and Murphy (48.9 ppg). We didn't know what was ahead for their respective team successors.

Fifty years ago, who were the individuals under the microscope facing thankless task of moving up from 1969-70 freshman squads to try to fill gigantic shoes of "M Boys" in 1970-71? Despite significant contributions as sophomores, their long-forgotten names were Gary Simpson, Dennis Gamauf and Al Williams.

Simpson, after averaging 34.6 ppg for LSU's freshman team, averaged 14.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 4 apg in 1970-71 before hitch in U.S. Army in wake of encountering grade problems and losing his 2S draft deferment. Simpson, a native of Granite City, Ill., returned to St. Louis Metro East area but was a shell of himself, averaging 4.1 ppg for St. Louis in 1974-75 before dying of cancer at age 29 in 1980. In 1970-71, Purdue's Gamauf averaged 6.4 ppg and 2.3 rpg while Niagara's Williams averaged 12.1 ppg and 4.9 rpg.

Years later, sons of the "M Boys" had infinitely more difficulty evoking memories of legendary fathers at their alma maters. Josh Maravich scored four points in 13 games for LSU from 2002-03 through 2004-05. Rich Mount scored 14 points in 19 games for Purdue in 1989-90 and 1990-91 before transferring and scoring 14 points in 10 games for Virginia Commonwealth in 1992-93. Calvin Murphy Jr. scored 128 points in 28 games for Niagara in 1996-97 before transferring and scoring 16 points in 14 games for Houston in 1999-00 and 2000-01.

For pure entertainment, watch old college-game videos of Maravich, Mount and Murphy. Amid one-and-done era, there never will be anything like this threesome again over a three-year period.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on June 27 MLB Games

June 27th, 2020 - 8:29

Extra! Extra! If spittin' mad regarding COVID-19 season postponement and prolonged negotiations for commencing campaign, you have time to read news 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 San Diego State hoopers Tony Gwynn and Graig Nettles supplied significant MLB hitting performances on this date. Ditto ex-juco hoopers Darrell Evans (Pasadena City CA) and Jim Thome (Illinois Central) in American League contests. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 27 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 27

In first starting assignment, Cleveland Indians rookie LHP Rick Austin (member of Washington State's freshman basketball team in 1965-66) hurled his lone MLB complete game and shutout (3-0 win against Detroit Tigers in 1970).
INF Jack Barry (basketball letterman for Holy Cross in 1908) traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Philadelphia Athletics in 1919.
Seattle Mariners 1B Bruce Bochte (starting forward for Santa Clara's NCAA playoff team in 1969-70) supplied his ninth multiple-hit outing during an 11-game hitting streak in 1979.
2B Marv Breeding (hooper for Samford in mid-1950s) traded by the Houston Astros to the Chicago Cubs in 1967.
Oakland Athletics RHP Ben Callahan (two-time All-Carolinas Conference selection for Catawba NC averaged 16.7 ppg from 1976-77 through 1978-79) bagged his lone MLB victory, 7-1, by restricting the Kansas City Royals to three hits and one run over six innings in 1983.
Detroit Tigers 1B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college crown) registered his 2,000th career hit with a first-inning, two-run homer against the Baltimore Orioles in 1987.
St. Louis Cardinals 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) stroked three doubles against the Brooklyn Dodgers in nightcap of a 1931 doubleheader.
San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) went 3-for-4 against the Atlanta Braves, raising his batting average in 1987 to .387 en route to finishing at .370.
LHP Mark Hendrickson (two-time All-Pacific-10 Conference selection paced Washington State four straight seasons in rebounding from 1992-93 through 1995-96) traded by the Tampa Devil Rays to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a five-player swap in 2006.
LHP Bill Henry (hoops letterman for Houston's 1947 NAIA Tournament team featuring co-captain Guy Lewis) purchased from the San Francisco Giants by Pittsburgh Pirates in 1968.
Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (hooper for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) smacked two homers against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1954 game.
New York Mets C Jay Kleven (averaged 2.4 ppg for California State-Hayward in 1968-69) stroked a two-run, pinch-hit single off Chicago Cubs reliever Bruce Sutter in a 1976 game. It was Kleven's lone MLB safety.
St. Louis Cardinals LF Danny Litwhiler (member of JV hoops squad with Bloomsburg PA in mid-1930s) cracked two homers in a 3-2 win against the Chicago Cubs in opener of a 1943 twinbill.
Chicago White Sox RHP Ted Lyons (two-time All-SWC first-team selection for Baylor in early 1920s) notched his eighth consecutive complete-game victory in 1939.
In the midst of a career-high 14-game hitting streak, Chicago Cubs CF Jerry Martin (1971 Southern Conference MVP after finishing as Furman's scoring runner-up in previous season) smashed a homer in fourth consecutive contest in 1979.
Cleveland Indians 2B Dutch Meyer (Texas Christian hoops letterman in 1934-35 and 1935-36) collected four hits against the Philadelphia Athletics in a 1945 contest.
3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) belted a 14th-inning, two-run homer to give the New York Yankees a 6-4 victory against the Boston Red Sox in 1978. Two years earlier, Nettles went 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBI against the Milwaukee Brewers in a 1976 game.
Chicago Cubs RF Bill Nicholson (Washington College MD hoops guard for two years in mid-1930s) provided his seventh straight two-hit game in 1942.
LHP Garry Roggenburk (Dayton scoring leader from 1959-60 through 1961-62 grabbed school-record 32 rebounds in his third varsity game en route to pacing Flyers in rebounding first two years) won his Seattle Pilots debut in 1969 by yielding only four hits and one run in 5 2/3 innings of relief against the California Angels.
Montreal Expos RHP Bill Sampen (MacMurray IL MVP in 1984-85 when averaging team-high 14.9 ppg) supplied his seventh straight scoreless relief appearance covering 11 1/3 innings in 1992.
Cleveland Indians RHP Jack Spring (freshman hooper for Washington State in 1951-52) earned a victory by hurling five innings of scoreless relief against the Kansas City Athletics in opener of 1965 doubleheader.
Cleveland Indians 1B Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two homers and four RBI in a 2000 game against the Kansas City Royals.
LHP Matt Thornton (averaged 5.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg for Grand Valley State MI from 1995-96 through 1997-98) made his MLB debut in 2004, toiling four scoreless innings of relief with the Seattle Mariners against the San Diego Padres.
Philadelphia Phillies CF Cy Williams (Notre Dame forward in 1909-10) went 4-for-4 against the New York Giants in a 1921 contest.

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

June 26th, 2020 - 9:23

Extra! Extra! If spittin' mad regarding COVID-19 season postponement and prolonged campaign commencement, you have time to read news 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.
New York Giants RF Dave Robertson (one of two reserves on North Carolina State's first basketball team in 1911) went 4-for-4 in opener of 1916 twinbill against the Brooklyn Robins.
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.

Black Magic: Discriminating Study of HBCU Worth More Than Hill of Beans

June 25th, 2020 - 12:22

After integration finally swung open the doors of higher education to everyone with any modicum of intellectual motivation, enrollment at HBCUs (Historically-Black Colleges and Universities) steadily declined and athletic programs nosedived nearly into oblivion. Understandably, the vast majority of the premier African-American athletes follow the alluring money trail to superior facilities and greater exposure rather than enroll any longer at HBCUs. Actually, most HBCU institutions currently are imprisoned at the NCAA DI level, where collectively the Washington Generals of college entertainment are little more than indentured servants doing the bidding of their major-university masters; almost always getting whipped on the road as sacrificial lambs during non-conference competition. HBCUs also suffer from substandard scholastic standards typified by nine of their institutions having athletic programs failing to reach Academic Progress Rate threshold required to compete in the 2020-21 postseason.

It's not a Trumped-up "go back to where you came from" but, if anything, the MEAC and SWAC should simply return to DII significance. Seven different historically-black colleges and universities advancing to the NCAA DI level captured a total of nine NAIA and NCAA College Division Tournament championships in a 21-year span from 1957 through 1977 (Tennessee State from 1957 through 1959, Grambling '61, Prairie View '62, Winston-Salem State '67, Morgan State '74, Coppin State '76 and Texas Southern '77). Coppin State is the lone school in this group to go on and post a triumph in the NCAA Division I playoffs. Thus, anyone making mistaken assumption premier players such as Makur Maker (Howard University) picking a HBCU to attend, rather than a power-conference member, will become trendy is simple perpetually-perplexed victim of poor public-school education emphasizing ebonics. Patronizing Plagiarist Bi-dumb pretends he attended Delaware State, but HBCUs don't have access to $400,000 to consistently reel in regal recruits. There is more of a chance MEAC/SWAC members will depart similar to Hampton and North Carolina A&T for league resembling Big South Conference.

With that historical background yielding a mite more perspective than diversity demonstrated by "open-minded" bloc voting for one party more than 90% of the time, let's also proclaim the political acumen part of journalistic jackal Jemelle Hill's brain couldn't fill an identity-politics thimble worthy of toppling any riot-worthy statue. The savvy shortfall is akin to another Michigan misfit, Odd Squad Congresswoman Tlaib, and fellow ultra-liberal Dimorats #MadMaxine, Sheila #Jackass-Lee and Ayanna "Don't Need Black Faces That Don't Want to Be Black Voice" Pressley. Exhibit A for jaded viewpoint of Hill, the sports world's progressive press puke playpen equivalent of NPR freedom-of-the-press hypocrite April Ryan, is her genius admonition imploring African-American "supremacist" athletes to abandon attending PWIs (Predominantly White Institutions) for HBCUs. Does Hill really believe hoopdom can go back to her "good old days" when a total of 23 products from HBCU schools presently at the NCAA Division I level were among top 22 NBA draft choices in 20-year span from 1957 through 1976. Such a ploy doesn't quite seem to be a sweet "art of the deal" insofar as Norfolk State's Kyle O'Quinn (2012) is the only HBCU product chosen in last 15 NBA drafts and no HBCU school over four decades has reached a Sweet 16 in the NCAA DI Tournament while winning an anemic 10% of their postseason games.

What do you have to lose accepting Hill's repulsive racial profiling resembling throwing buckets of water on policemen? Can you say dignity? Her HBCU thesis is an affront to the many courageous hoopers who broke the color barrier 50 and 60 years ago. By wandering off progressive plantation, they are looked upon by her ilk similar to life in womb in NYC, where thousands more black babies are aborted than born alive each year (a/k/a black genocide advocated by Planned Murderhood founder Margaret Sanger). In a nutshell, Hill is a do-as-I-provocatively-say; not-as-I-do-before-lecturing-you huckster. Why didn't ivory-tower social engineer attend TSU or a MEAC/SWAC member rather than a power-conference affiliate (Michigan State) to achieve her personal goals? While perhaps having a valid point if restricted to Trump University (no athletic program), the doltish former ESPN shrew shouldn't get critical welfare after showing how unfit and unqualified she was by failing to unearth the Larry Nassar predator scandal at her alma mater while managing editor at the State News or as a writer for the Detroit Free Press. Perhaps she should have been as aggressive with story as when we witnessed content of her character via fake NASCAR noose for driver Bubba Wallace-Smollett. Assessing the mental gymnastics exhibited by Hill and her equally-inept colleagues, the derelicts in duty need to don some enabler shame stemming from incompetence virtually allowing Nassar's sexual-abuse atrocities before, after and during six years she covered MSU. Prior to abusing our sensibilities about what an athlete is worth to a university, failed-at-my-job Hill should pay reparations by purchasing and reading abuse survivor gymnast Rachael Denhollander's memoir What is a Girl Worth? Unless, of course, her life didn't matter; let alone numerous other female gymnasts due to color of their skin. Blame game can go both ways.

Value wasn't much when all but two of the 25 HBCUs had at least one season with 20 defeats in a six-year span from 2003-04 through 2008-09 while Hill toiled for the Free Press and Orlando Sentinel prior to securing spot for her political pap at the Extra Sensitive Pious Network (ESPN). The pair of HBCU institutions emerging unscathed during that stretch were Hampton (worst record was 13-17 in 2003-04) and Norfolk State (11-19 in 2006-07). But in an attempt by someone who actually met the real G-Man "White Tiger" firsthand (not actor Bruce Jenner who played QB role in movie) to avoid being levied a $4.5 million fine by the U.S. Department of Education for withholding handout to lame-stream #MessMedia maven "needing a history lesson," following are additional relevant HBCU basketball historical nuggets for Hubris Hill to utilize in any way the genuine racist and bigot sees fit. Perhaps she and chest-pounding #Dimorat operative #DonnaBrazilla will pass this inside Basketball Jones intel on to certain "Dem(wit)" presidential candidates for an edge in any debate. At a bare minimum, maybe know-it-all Hill can help #Brazilla secure direct access for the FBI to investigate hacked DNC computer server.

A computer database isn't necessary to know there has been only two HBCU regulars on NBA rosters the last half of past decade (O'Quinn and Tennessee State undrafted free agent Robert Covington). O'Quinn is one of only three HBCU products (all second-rounders) picked in an NBA draft over the past 23 years (a/k/a length of time since Not Worth a Hill of Beans graduated from college). That's a stark contrast to average of three HBCU draftees annually selected in first two rounds in five-year span from 1974 through 1978 after a total of 10 different HBCU schools produced players among the top 69 picks in 1969. The next season (1969-70), Southern schools Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina crossed the color barrier by featuring an African-American on their freshman basketball squad for the first time. As a further means of comparison, 17 straight NBA drafts from 1969 through 1985 had an HBCU product selected in first two rounds (total of 37 such players) despite the league not having more than 18 franchises until absorbing four ABA teams in 1976.

We presume Hill is referring to a HBCU school such as Grambling, which never has appeared in the NCAA DI playoffs. Success wasn't so difficult to find for the Tigers at the small-college level where they belong in order to thrive again. Beginning with third-rounder Charles Hardnett in 1962, they supplied one of the top 21 NBA draft choices four consecutive years through 1965. The majority of them didn't perform at the NCAA DI level, but following at the top of the hill is a ranking of the all-time top 25 HBCU players (a dozen from Grambling if include alphabetical list of honorable mention selections acknowledged below):

Rank	HBCU Player	Pos.	HBCU School
1.	Earl "The Pearl" Monroe	G	Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 64-67
2.	Willis Reed	C	Grambling (La.) 61-64
3.	Elmore Smith	C	Kentucky State 69-71
4.	Dick Barnett	G	Tennessee A&I 56-59
5.	Travis "Machine Gun" Grant	F	Kentucky State 69-72
6.	Zelmo Beaty	C	Prairie View A&M (Tex.) 59-62
7.	Marvin "The Human Eraser" Webster	C	Morgan State (Md.) 72-75
8.	Sam Jones	G	North Carolina Central 52-57 (missed two seasons serving in military)
9.	Lindsey Hunter	G	Alcorn State (Miss.)/Jackson State (Miss.) 89-93
10.	Purvis Short	F	Jackson State (Miss.) 75-78
11.	Cleo Hill	G	Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 58-61
12.	Bob "Butterbean" Love	F	Southern (La.) 62-65
13.	Bob Dandridge	F	Norfolk State (Va.) 66-69
14.	Leonard "Truck" Robinson	F	Tennessee State 71-74
15.	Anthony Mason	F	Tennessee State 85-88
16.	Larry Smith	F	Alcorn State (Miss.) 77-80
17.	Ben Wallace	F	Virginia Union 95-96
18.	Marques Haynes	G	Langston (Okla.) 43-46
19.	Charles Oakley	F	Virginia Union 82-85
20.	Larry Wright	G	Grambling (La.) 74-76
21.	Rick Mahorn	F-C	Hampton Institute (Va.) 77-80
22.	Woodrow "Woody" Sauldsberry	F	Texas Southern 54-55
23.	Ted "Hound" McClain	G	Tennessee State 68-71
24.	James Jones	G	Grambling (La.) 64-67
25.	Bob Hopkins	F	Grambling (La.) 53-56

Honorable Mention
Johnnie Allen, Bethune-Cookman (Fla.)
Al Attles, North Carolina A&T
Ken Bannister, St. Augustine's (N.C.)
John Barnhill, Tennessee A&I
Billy Ray Bates, Kentucky State
Joe Binion, North Carolina A&T
Hal Blevins, Arkansas A&M
Tom Boswell, South Carolina State*
Alonzo Bradley, Texas Southern
Frank Card, South Carolina State
John Chaney, Bethune-Cookman (Fla.)
Bob Christian, Grambling (La.)
Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton, Xavier (La.)
Emanual Davis, Delaware State
Mike Davis, Virginia Union
Monti Davis, Tennessee State
Terry Davis, Virginia Union
Warren Davis, North Carolina A&T
Charles Edge, LeMoyne-Owen (Tenn.)
Alphonso Ford, Mississippi Valley State
Jake Ford, Maryland State
Wilbert Frazier, Grambling (La.)
Mike Gale, Elizabeth City State (N.C.)
Earl Glass, Mississippi Industrial College
Charles Hardnett, Grambling (La.)
Fred Hilton, Grambling (La.)
Harold Hunter, North Carolina College
Lewis Jackson, Alabama State
Aaron James, Grambling (La.)
Jerome James, Florida A&M
Ben Jobe, Fisk (Tenn.)
Avery Johnson, Southern (La.)
Clemon Johnson, Florida A&M
Ed Johnson, Tennessee A&I
George T. Johnson, Dillard (La.)
Rich Johnson, Grambling (La.)
Caldwell Jones, Albany State (Ga.)
Charles Jones, Albany State (Ga.)
Earl Jones, District of Columbia
Major Jones, Albany State (Ga.)
Wil Jones, Albany State (Ga.)
Arvesta Kelly, Lincoln (Mo.)
Harry "Machine Gun" Kelly, Texas Southern
Julius Keye, Alcorn A&M (Miss.)
Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland, Norfolk State (Va.)
Bobby Lewis, South Carolina State
Earl Lloyd, West Virginia State
Johnny Lloyd, Southern (La.)
Kevin Loder, Kentucky State/Alabama State
Ed Manning, Jackson State (Miss.)
Bob McCoy, Grambling (La.)
Maurice McHartley, North Carolina A&T
Porter Merriweather, Tennessee A&I
Tony Murphy, Southern (La.)
Ronald "Flip" Murray, Shaw (N.C.)
Lloyd Neal, Tennessee State
Audie Norris, Jackson State (Miss.)
Sylvester Norris, Jackson State (Miss.)
Willie Norwood, Alcorn A&M
Kyle O'Quinn, Norfolk State
Joe Pace, Maryland-Eastern Shore/Coppin State
Bobby Phills, Southern (La.)
Timothy Pollard, Mississippi Valley State
Willie Porter, Tennessee A&I
Marlbert "Spider" Pradd, Dillard (La.)
Carlos Rogers, Tennessee State
Frankie Sanders, Southern (La.)
Bruce Seals, Xavier (La.)
Willie Shaw, Lane (Tenn.)
Eugene Short, Jackson State (Miss.)
Tal Skinner, Maryland-Eastern Shore
Larry Spriggs, Howard (D.C.)
Larry Stewart, Coppin State (Md.)
Bennie Swain, Texas Southern
Carlos Terry, Winston-Salem State (N.C.)
Willis Thomas, Tennessee A&I
Henry Ward, Jackson State (Miss.)
Ben Warley, Tennessee A&I
Cornell Warner, Jackson State (Miss.)
Thomas "Trooper" Washington, Cheyney State (Pa.)
Donald "Slick" Watts, Xavier (La.)
Hershell West, Grambling (La.)
Earl Williams, Winston-Salem State (N.C.)
Kenny Williams, Elizabeth City State (N.C.)
Milt Williams, Lincoln (Mo.)
*Transferred with coach Ben Jobe to South Carolina and played for the Gamecocks in 1974-75 before becoming a first-round NBA draft choice as an undergraduate.

Perhaps Hill's bruised ego can (first) take time away from petty feud with former ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith, who played sparingly for Winston-Salem State in the late 1980s under legendary coach Clarence "Bighouse" Gaines because of a knee ailment. For what it's black-privilege worth to someone as conceited as Hill, following is an assortment of additional trivia tidbits if grievance-industry huckster is interested in becoming an authentic HBCU expert rather than mob-rule associate:

Football coaching legend Eddie Robinson won more than 70% of his games as Grambling's basketball bench boss from 1942-56.
North Carolina College's Rocky Roberson scored 58 points in a game against Shaw (N.C.) during the 1942-43 season for what was believed to be a college record at the time.
CIAA champion West Virginia State was the nation's only undefeated college team in 1947-48, finishing with a 23-0 record. The squad, coached by Mark Cardwell, included future NBA players Bob Wilson and Earl Lloyd.
Tennessee A&I, coached by Henry A. Kean, was the nation's only undefeated team in 1948-49 with a 24-0 record. The Tigers' leading scorers, Clarence Wilson and Joshua Grider, were both eventually longtime standouts with the Harlem Globetrotters.
Florida A&M won the 1952 SIAC Tournament final against host Alabama State, 71-67, despite having just four players on the court the final 13-plus minutes (including two overtimes) because of players fouling out.
The first predominantly black college to take the floor in an integrated national collegiate tournament was Tennessee State (then Tennessee A&I) in 1953. Hall of Famer John McLendon coached Tennessee State to three consecutive national titles (1957-59). Oddly, the '53 Tennessee State team defeated McLendon-coached North Carolina College for the opportunity to go to Kansas City. Seven years earlier, McLendon led North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central) to a 64-56 triple-overtime victory over Virginia Union in the final of the first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament. The CIAA Tournament blossomed into one of the premier postseason events in the country, including major-college tourneys.
The governor of Louisiana threatened McNeese State to pull out of 1956 NAIA Tournament if HBCU institutions were allowed to participate. The Cowboys ultimately defied the governor's wishes and defeated HBCU powerhouse Texas Southern in national final.
Western Illinois missed an opportunity to become the nation's only undefeated college team in 1957-58 when it lost to Tennessee State, 85-73, in the NAIA Tournament championship game. Western had defeated Tennessee State, 79-76, earlier in the season. It was one of three consecutive NAIA titles won by Tennessee State, which boasted future pros Dick Barnett, John Barnhill and Ben Warley.
In 1959, North Carolina A&T became the first predominantly black institution to participate in NCAA Division II national playoff competition. The Aggies finished third in the tourney.
The 1961-62 All-SWAC first-team selections included three frontcourters who later played at least 10 seasons in the pros - Prairie View's Zelmo Beaty, Southern's Bob Love and Grambling's Willis Reed. Grambling finished in the top 10 of the first 76 weeks of College Division/Division II polls from January 5, 1961 through the end of the 1966-67 campaign. The Tigers, coached by Fred Hobdy, placed in the top five 40 consecutive weeks from March 2, 1961, through January 28, 1965. Grambling supplied seven top 20 NBA draft choices in a 20-year span from 1957 through 1976 before moving up to the NCAA Division I level - Bob McCoy (10th in 1957), Hershell West (16th in 1963), Reed (10th in 1964), Wilbert Frazier (12th in 1965), Jimmy Jones (13th in 1967), Fred Hilton (19th in 1971) and Larry Wright (14th in 1976).
North Carolina A&T's Hugh Evans, a 12th-round draft choice by the St. Louis Hawks in 1963, went on to become a long-time NBA referee. Evans, a high school teammate in New York with Connie Hawkins and a college teammate of Al Attles, spent three years in the San Francisco Giants' minor league system.
Longtime Harlem Globetrotter Fred "Curly" Neal was an All-CIAA selection for Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) in 1962-63.
The first family of small-college basketball, if not all of hoopdom, could be the six brothers Jones from McGehee, Ark., all 6-8 or taller, who became the top six rebounders in Albany (Ga.) State history during the 1960s and 1970s. Oliver and Melvin were borderline pro prospects before Wil (nine), Caldwell (17), Major (six) and Charles (15) each played a minimum of six ABA/NBA seasons. Major Jones, 6-9, led NCAA Division II rebounders in 1974-75 with an average of 22.5 per game. He is the last Division I or Division II player to average at least 20 per game.
Elmore Smith, a 7-0 center for 1970 NAIA champion Kentucky State, was called for goal tending 12 times in a 116-98 defeat against Eastern Michigan.
Louisiana College is the first predominantly white school to play a home-and-home season series against a HBCU (Grambling in 1971-72). Center Clarence Hall, who broke the color barrier for LC, was the first African-American hooper for a predominantly white institution to compete at Grambling.
In 1970, with an enrollment under 650 students, three Maryland State College players from a 29-2 team were selected in the NBA draft - Jake Ford (2nd round), Levi Fontaine (5th) and James "Bones" Morgan (7th). Four years later, the school (now known as Maryland-Eastern Shore) featured three more players chosen from a 27-2 squad - Rubin Collins (2nd), Talvin Skinner (3rd) and William "Billy" Gordon (4th).
Tennessee State edged Oglethorpe (Ga.), 7-4, on February 16, 1971, in what is believed to be the lowest-scoring college game since the center jump was eliminated prior to the 1937-38 season. Tennessee State had overwhelmed Oglethorpe, 82-43, earlier in the season.
Less than seven hours after returning to campus following a quarterfinal defeat against eventual 1971 NAIA champion Kentucky State, Grambling's Charlie Anderson died as a result of injuries suffered in a hit-and-run auto accident. Anderson, who averaged 18.3 ppg and 17.8 rpg, provided the game-winning basket in the Tigers' overtime win against Glassboro State (N.J.) in second round.
Kentucky State's Travis "Machine Gun" Grant set the single-game NAIA Tournament scoring record with 60 points against Minot State in 1972. Grant finished his four-year college career with 4,045 points and a 33.4-point average.
Dave Robbins, who is white, became coach at Virginia Union in 1978-79 in the predominantly black CIAA. Robbins went on to win more CIAA Tournaments than any coach in league history. VUU finished in the Top 10 of final national rankings nine consecutive seasons from 1987-88 through 1995-96 and 12 of 13 beginning in 1983-84.
Alcorn State, competing in the Braves' second season at NCAA Division I level in 1978-79, went unbeaten during the regular season. They won at Mississippi State, 80-78, in first round of NIT before bowing at Indiana, 73-69, in second round. Bob Knight-coached IU went on to capture the championship.
Texas Southern's Aaric Murray is the only HBCU player to crack the 30-point plateau in an NCAA Division I playoff game (38 against Cal Poly in 2014 First Four). Murray is one of 10 different HBCU players to score more than 25 points in a single NCAA DI Tournament contest after Prairie View's Gary Blackston tallied 26 in 2019 First Four. Texas Southern transfer Zach Lofton set New Mexico State's existing NCAA playoff single-game scoring record with 29 against Clemson in 2018 first round.
Numerous HBCU hoopers were so versatile they eventually excelled professionally in other major sports. Earning acclaim as MLB All-Stars were: George Altman (Tennessee State), Al Bumbry (Virginia State), Larry Doby (Virginia Union), Chuck Hinton (Shaw NC) and Monte Irvin (Lincoln PA). Ex-hoopers among NFL/AFL Pro Bowl selections included: Buck Buchanan (Grambling), Harold Carmichael (Southern LA), Ben Coates (Livingstone NC), Len Ford (Morgan State), Too Tall Jones (Tennessee State), Jacoby Jones (Lane TN), Cy McClairen (Bethune-Cookman FL), Zeke Moore (Lincoln MO), Art Shell (Maryland-Eastern Shore), Otis Taylor (Prairie View A&M) and Rayfield Wright (Fort Valley State GA).
Former ABA/NBA players who went on to coach HBCUs at the NCAA Division I level include Butch Beard (Howard University/Morgan State), Juan Dixon (Coppin State), Jerry Eaves (North Carolina A&T), Tommy Green (Southern LA), Bob Hopkins (Southern LA/Grambling/Maryland-Eastern Shore), Lindsey Hunter (Mississippi Valley State), Aaron James (Grambling), Clemon Johnson (Florida A&M), Gene Littles (North Carolina A&T), Larry Smith (Alcorn State), Mo Williams (Alabama State) and Larry Wright (Grambling).

Hill's hackneyed handiwork isn't exactly a novel concept. Doubt she realizes "trend," but the following alphabetical list of HBCU players such as Howard's Nojel Eastern (transfer from Purdue) didn't need her "tunnel-vision" encouragement to shift from a power-conference member:

Transfer	Pos.	Power-League Member	HBCU Destination
Galen Alexander	F	Louisiana State 18/Georgetown 20	Texas Southern 21
Andre Allen	F	Arizona State 20	Southern 21
Richard Anderson	G	Oklahoma 17	Florida A&M 19
Ebuka Anyaorah	G	Georgia 10	North Carolina Central 12-14
Wayne Arnold	G	Georgia 03	Tennessee State 05-06
A.J. Astroth	F-G	Vanderbilt 13	Hampton 17-18
Kent Auslander	G	Maryland 16	Coppin State 18-19
Carl Blair	G	Oklahoma 11-12	Prairie View 13
Brandon Bolden	C-F	Georgetown 13/Kansas State 15	Southern 17
Christian Brown	F	Georgia 20-21	Tennessee State 22
Jimmy Brown	G	Southern California 81	North Carolina A&T 83-85
Jon Brown	F	Georgia Tech 18	Tennessee State 20
Derrick Bruce	G	Oregon State 16	Texas Southern 18-19
Stanley Caldwell	F-C	Tennessee 93-95	Tennessee State 96
Arthur Carlisle	F	South Carolina 96-97	South Carolina State 99-00
Jason Carter	F	Alabama 11	Texas Southern 15
Darryl Cheeley	G	Wake Forest 89	North Carolina A&T 92-93
Quinton Chievous	G	Tennessee 13-14	Hampton 15-16
Adrien Coleman	G	Nebraska 10	Bethune-Cookman 12-13
Jeremy Combs	F	Louisiana State 18	Texas Southern 19
Aric Dickerson	G	West Virginia 13	Delaware State 15-16
Kris Douse	F	Nebraska 07	Delaware State 08-10
Emmanuel Dowuona	C	Purdue 20	Tennessee State 22
Nojel Eastern	G-F	Purdue 18-20	Howard 21
Moses Edun	F	Auburn 04-06	Alabama State 07
Eden Ewing	F	Purdue 18	Texas Southern 19-20
Jamal Ferguson	G	Marquette 13	North Carolina Central 15-16
Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey	G	Mississippi 16-17	Tennessee State 19
Kevin Galloway	F	Southern California 07/Kentucky 09	Texas Southern 11
John Gilmore	C	Oklahoma State 99	Tennessee State 01
Calvin Godfrey	F	Iowa State 11	Southern 14
Carte'are Gordon	C	DePaul 20	Grambling 21
Ty Graves	G	Boston College 17	North Carolina Central 20
Blake Harris	G	Missouri 18/North Carolina State 19	North Carolina A&T 21
Wesley Harris	F	West Virginia 18-19	Tennessee State 20
Marvin Haynes	G-F	Florida State 80	South Carolina State 82-84
Harrison Henderson	C	Southern California 17-18	Southern 21
Darius Hicks	F	North Carolina State 17-18	Jackson State 21
Willie High	G	Louisiana State 76	Alabama State 77
Elijah Holifield	G	St. John's 16-17	Prairie View 19
Joell Hopkins	F	Florida State 14	Southern 15
Demetrius Houston	F	Mississippi State 15-16	Alabama State 17-18
Jerrell Houston	F	Mississippi State 06	Tennessee State 07-09
LaSean Howard	F-G	Syracuse 97-98	Hampton 00-01
Jimmy Hudson	F	Clemson 04-05	Bethune-Cookman 07-08
Ron Jackson	F	Wisconsin 61-62	Clark GA 65-66
Wesley Jones	F	Mississippi 08	Alabama State 09
Marquise Kately	F	California 04-05	Morgan State 08-09
Eric King	F	St. John's 02-03	Tennessee State 05
Ben Kone	F	Oregon State 17-18	Tennessee State 20
Justin Leemow	G	South Florida 10	North Carolina Central 11-12
Troy Lewis	G	Baylor 94-95	Coppin State 97-98
Wendell Lewis	C	Mississippi State 10-13	Alabama State 15
Gerald Liddell	F	Texas 19-21	Alabama State 22
Samarr Logan	F	Miami (Fla.) 90-92	Bethune-Cookman 94
Cam Mack	G	Nebraska 20	Prairie View A&M 21
Leonel Marquetti	F	Southern California 79-80	Hampton 81
Jerron Martin	G	Mississippi 14	Texas Southern 16-17
Dundrecous Massey	G	Mississippi 11-12	Jackson State 13
Aaron Matthews	F	Villanova 00-01	Delaware State 03-04
Josh "Cookie" Miller	G	Nebraska 08-09	West Virginia State 10
Mike Milligan	G-F	Florida 79-81	Tennessee State 83
Kris Monroe	F	Providence 19-21	North Carolina Central 22
Bill Moody	G	Florida 73	Dillard LA
Brandon Moore	C	Arkansas 09	Southern 13
Christian Morris	C	Rutgers 09	Norfolk State 10
Victor Morris	F	Georgetown 83-86	Alcorn State 87
Bawa Muniru	C	Indiana 10	Tennessee State 12
Aaric Murray	C	West Virginia 13	Texas Southern 14
Leon Murray	F	Pittsburgh 97	Tennessee State 99
Zach Naylor	F	Mississippi 19	Texas Southern 21
Julysses Nobles	G	Arkansas 10-12	Jackson State 14
Shawn Olden	G	Texas Christian 18	Texas Southern 19
Jordan Omogbehin	C	South Florida 13	Morgan State 15
Derrick Patterson	F-G	Georgetown 92-93	South Carolina State 95-96
James Ratiff	F	Tennessee 78	Howard University 80-82
Trayvon Reed	C	Auburn 15	Texas Southern 18-19
Quincy Roberts	G-F	St. John's 09-11	Grambling 12
Eric Sanders	F	Virginia Tech 87-89	South Carolina State 91
Maurice Searight	G	Michigan 01	Grambling 04-05
Sam Sibert	F	Texas Tech 71	Kentucky State 72
Al Smith	G-F	Florida State 73	Jackson State 75-77
Harrison Smith	G	Texas 07-09	Texas Southern 11
Shaun Smith	G	Mississippi State 11-12	Alcorn State 14
Chris Sodom	C	Georgetown 18	Delaware State 20
Howard Spencer	F	Auburn 84-85	Howard University 87-88
Elijah Staley	F-G	Mississippi State 16	Morgan State 18
Dimingus Stevens	G	Seton Hall 21	Florida A&M 22
Dominique Sutton	F	Kansas State 08-10	North Carolina Central 12
A.J. Taylor	F	North Carolina State 20	Grambling State 22
Vandale Thomas	F	Mississippi State 93-95	Southern 96-97
Malachi Thurston	G	Southern California 00	Prairie View 03
Malique Trent	G	Texas Christian 16-17	Hampton 18
Jethro Tshisumpa	F-C	Arizona State 17	Texas Southern 20
Larry Turner	C	Oklahoma 03-05	Tennessee State 06-07
Keith Valentine	G	North Carolina 76	Virginia Union 78-80
John Walker III	F	Texas A&M 19	Texas Southern 20
Steve Walston	C	Arizona State 96	Tennessee State 97
Michael Weathers	G	Oklahoma State 19	Texas Southern 21
Vincent Whitt	G	Clemson 97-99	South Carolina State 01
Brian Williams	G	Oregon 95-96	Tennessee State 98-99
Ray Willis	G	Oklahoma 09-10	North Carolina Central 12-13
Mohamed Woni	F-C	Clemson 97-99	Hampton 00
Terrence Woods	G	Tennessee 00-01	Florida A&M 03-04

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

June 25th, 2020 - 7:35

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.
Chicago White Sox RHP Johnny Rigney (top hoops center for St. Thomas MN in mid-1930s) hurled a 13-inning shutout against the Washington Senators in 1941.
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.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on June 24 MLB Games

June 24th, 2020 - 7:19

Former Morehead State hoopers Steve Hamilton and Denny Doyle made MLB news on this date. Ditto hoopers from Commonwealth of Virginia universities Leo Burke (Virginia Tech), Bud Metheny (William & Mary) and Eppa Rixey (Virginia). Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 24 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 24

INF-OF Leo Burke (averaged 9.2 ppg for Virginia Tech basketball teams in 1952-53 and 1953-54) traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Chicago Cubs for knuckle-ball reliever Barney Schultz in 1963.
Detroit Tigers RHP Ownie Carroll (Holy Cross hoops letterman in 1922), hurling his second shutout, allowed a total of four earned runs in his first eight victories of the 1928 campaign en route to leading the team with 16 triumphs.
Boston Braves SS Dick Culler (#9 jersey retired by High Point for Little All-American in 1935 and 1936) went 6-for-7 in a 1945 doubleheader split against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Philadelphia Phillies 2B Denny Doyle (averaged 2.7 ppg for Morehead State in 1962-63) delivered his third three-hit outing in a 12-game span in 1972.
1B Walt Dropo (Connecticut's first hooper ever to average 20 points in single season with 21.7 ppg in 1942-43) awarded on waivers from the Chicago White Sox to the Cincinnati Reds in 1958.
Houston Astros C Joe Ferguson (hooper in 1967 NCAA playoffs with Pacific) walked five times, including three intentional bases on balls, against the San Diego Padres in a 1978 game.
RHP Eddie Fisher (hooper for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) surrendered his only run in first 12 relief appearances with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966.
New York Giants 2B Frankie Frisch (Fordham hoops captain) went 5-for-5 and scored four runs against the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a 1926 doubleheader.
St. Louis Cardinals RHP Bob Gibson (Creighton's leading scorer and rebounder in 1955-56 and 1956-57) ended a personal five-game losing streak with his final of 56 career shutouts (four-hitter against Pittsburgh Pirates in nightcap of 1974 twinbill).
Atlanta Braves rookie RHP Kevin Gryboski (backup hooper for Wilkes PA in 1991-92 and 1992-93) collected his second relief victory in four-day span, lowering his ERA to 1.19 through 28 appearances in 2002.
New York Yankees LHP Steve Hamilton (Morehead State's leading scorer and rebounder in 1956-57 and 1957-58) struck out Cleveland Indians 1B Tony Horton with a couple of "Folly Floaters" as a reliever in the nightcap of a 1970 doubleheader.
Philadelphia Athletics 1B Tom Hamilton (member of Texas' 1947 Final Four team was SWC's leading scorer in league competition in 1949-50) supplied a career-high two hits in a 6-3 setback against the Detroit Tigers in 1953.
Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (hooper for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) homered three times in a 1951 doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Seven years later, Hodges hammered a round-tripper in both ends of a 1958 twinbill sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
St. Louis Browns SS Billy Hunter (multi-sport athlete for Indiana PA post-WWII) went 4-for-4 in a 1953 game against the Washington Senators.
In 1944, Cincinnati Reds rookie RHP Jim Konstanty (member of 1937-38 and 1938-39 Syracuse hoop teams) tossed a shutout in his second MLB start (1-0 against Chicago Cubs).
In 1958, New York Yankees INF Jerry Lumpe (member of Southwest Missouri State's 1952 NAIA Tournament championship hoops team) smacked his first MLB homer (at Chicago off Early Wynn of White Sox).
New York Yankees RF Bud Metheny (William & Mary hoops letterman from 1935-36 through 1937-38) amassed two homers and six RBI in a 13-5 win against the Philadelphia Athletics in the opener of a 1945 twinbill.
Detroit Tigers RF Jim Northrup (second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder for Alma MI in 1958-59) powered a grand slam in back-to-back innings (fifth and sixth) against the Cleveland Indians in 1968.
Cincinnati Reds LHP Eppa Rixey (Virginia hoops letterman in 1911-12 and 1913-14) went into the eighth inning with a perfect game but wound up losing to the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-3, in 1924.
In 1947, Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in PCC both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) swiped home in the fifth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was the first of 19 times in Robinson's career he pilfered home. The next year, he went 7-for-9 in a 1948 doubleheader sweep of the Pirates.
Brooklyn Dodgers LHP Preacher Roe (Harding AR hooper in late 1930s) twirled a shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals in the opener of a 1952 twinbill, giving him 30 victories in his last 33 decisions going back to the end of the 1950 campaign.
RHP Jack Spring (freshman hooper for Washington State in 1951-52) traded by the Boston Red Sox to Cleveland Indians in 1958. He was returned to Red Sox the next month. Four years later with the Los Angeles Angels, Spring notched a victory via eighth straight relief appearance without yielding earned run, lowering his ERA to 1.94 through 32 games.
New York Giants C Wes Westrum (hooper for Bemidji State MN one season before serving in military) contributed a career game, hitting three homers plus a triple and scoring five runs in a 12-2 triumph against the Cincinnati Reds in 1950.
In 1991, California Angels RF-DH Dave Winfield (starting forward with Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) went 5-for-5 with three extra-base hits against the Kansas City Royals to become the oldest player in MLB history to go for the cycle (39).

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on June 23 MLB Games

June 23rd, 2020 - 8:59

Extra! Extra! If spittin' mad regarding COVID-19 season postponement and ineffectual negotiations commencing campaign, you have time to read news 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.

Current SEC members Alabama (Jim Tabor), LSU (Al Dark), Texas A&M (Beau Bell) and Vanderbilt (Harvey Hendrick) had former hoopers provide significant MLB performances on this date. Ditto ex-juco hoopers Darrell Evans (Pasadena City CA), Rusty Kuntz (Cuesta CA) and Jim Thome (Illinois Central). Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 23 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 23

Pittsburgh Pirates RF Clyde Barnhart (played basketball for Shippensburg PA predecessor Cumberland Valley State Normal School prior to World War I) went 4-for-4 against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1923 game.
St. Louis Browns RF Beau Bell (two-year hoops letterman for Texas A&M in early 1930s) banged out four hits in a 6-3 win against the New York Yankees in 1937.
In 1975, Chicago Cubs RHP Ray Burris (two-sport standout in Southwestern Oklahoma State Hall of Fame) tossed his first MLB shutout (against Montreal Expos).
Cincinnati Reds 1B George Crowe (four-year letterman from 1939-40 through 1942-43 for Indiana Central after becoming first high school player named state's Mr. Basketball) went 4-for-4 with four RBI in a 5-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a 1957 doubleheader.
SS Alvin Dark (hoops letterman for LSU and USL during World War II) traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the Milwaukee Braves in 1960.
OF Larry Doby (reserve guard for Virginia Union's 1943 CIAA hoops titlist), retired from the Cleveland Indians, joined P Don Newcombe in 1962 as the first former MLB players to compete for a Japanese team. Doby's season batting average overseas will be a modest .225.
1B Walt Dropo (Connecticut's first player ever to average 20 points in season with 21.7 ppg in 1942-43) and C Sammy White (All-PCC Northern Division first-five selection for Washington in 1947-48 and 1948-49) each homered when 12 consecutive Boston Red Sox players reached base in an 11-run, fourth-inning outburst at Detroit in 1952. Seven years later, Dropo was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Baltimore Orioles in 1959.
San Francisco Giants 1B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college crown) homered in both ends of a 1976 doubleheader sweep against the San Diego Padres.
INF Howard Freigau (Ohio Wesleyan hooper) purchased from the Brooklyn Robins by the Boston Braves in 1928.
St. Louis Cardinals SS Charlie Gelbert (scored at least 125 points each of last three seasons in late 1920s for Lebanon Valley PA) went 5-for-5 against the Boston Braves in a 1930 game.
New York Mets OF Jimmy Piersall celebrated by running around the bases backwards in 1963 after the free spirit pounded the 100th homer of his MLB career and only one in the N.L. The round-tripper was yielded by Philadelphia Phillies RHP Dallas Green (Delaware's second-leading scorer and rebounder in 1954-55).
Cleveland Indians rookie 2B Jack Hammond (four-year hoops letterman for Colgate from 1909-10 through 1912-13) supplied a career-high three hits against the Chicago White Sox in the nightcap of a 1915 doubleheader.
Boston Red Sox rookie RHP Herb Hash (three-year letterman averaged 6.4 ppg as junior center for Richmond's undefeated team in 1934-35) hurled his lone MLB shutout (2-0 against Cleveland Indians in 1940).
Chicago Cubs INF-OF Harvey Hendrick (Vanderbilt hoops letterman in 1918) hammered a game-winning, pinch-hit grand slam in the 10th inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a 1933 doubleheader.
Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (hooper for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) homered twice against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1956 contest.
LHP Bill Krueger (led WCAC in free-throw percentage as Portland freshman in 1975-76) traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1987.
In the midst of hitting safely in six of first eight contests with the Minnesota Twins in 1983, CF Rusty Kuntz (played J.C. hoops for Cuesta CA) led off the game against his original team (Chicago White Sox) with first MLB homer.
OF Sam Mele (NYU's leading scorer in 1943 NCAA playoffs) purchased from the Boston Red Sox by the Cincinnati Reds in 1955. Six years later, Mele became manager of the Minnesota Twins.
Boston Red Sox 1B Ed Morgan (Tulane hoops letterman from 1923-24 through 1925-26) collected three hits and scored four runs in a 10-2 win against the Chicago White Sox in 1934.
Jim Riggleman (two-year hoops letterman for Frostburg State MD averaged 7.2 ppg in early 1970s) resigned as Washington Nationals manager in 2011 on the heels of them winning 11 of 12 games when the franchise failed to give him a contract extension.
LHP Garry Roggenburk (Dayton scoring leader from 1959-60 through 1961-62 grabbed school-record 32 rebounds in third varsity game en route to pacing Flyers in rebounding his first two years) purchased from the Boston Red Sox by the Seattle Pilots in 1969.
Boston Red Sox 3B Jim Tabor (Alabama hoops letterman in 1936-37) blasted two homers against the Cleveland Indians in the nightcap of a 1940 twinbill.
Cleveland Indians 3B Jim Thome (played junior college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) jacked two taters in a 1997 game contest against the Minnesota Twins. Fifteen years later, he smacked a game-winning, pinch-hit homer in bottom of ninth inning to give the Philadelphia Phillies a 7-6 win against the Tampa Bay Rays in 2012.
Washington Senators 3B Eddie Yost (NYU freshman hooper in 1943-44 under coach Howard Cann) scored four runs in a 1956 game against the Cleveland Indians.

On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make News on June 22 MLB Games

June 22nd, 2020 - 10:21

Former Guilford NC hoopers Rick Ferrell and Tom Zachary supplied significant MLB games on this date. Ditto ex-Duke hoop teammates Dick Groat and Dick "Footer" Johnson plus ex-Minnesota hoopers Jerry Kindall and Dave Winfield. 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.
Brooklyn Dodgers RHP Ray Benge (multi-year hoops letterman for Sam Houston State first half of 1920s) hurled a four-hit shutout against the Chicago Cubs in 1933. Whitewash was one of his six complete-game victories during the month.
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 a 1940 contest.
Minnesota Twins 3B John Castino (medical redshirt for Rollins FL in 1973-74 under coach Ed Jucker) contributed multiple hits for fourth time in five-game span in 1980.
OF Billy Cowan (hoops co-captain for Utah's 1960 NCAA playoff team) traded by the Chicago Cubs to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1966.
Cleveland Indians OF Larry Doby (reserve hoops 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 (forward for Guilford NC before graduating in 1928) furnished four hits and four RBI against the New York Yankees in a 1931 game.
San Francisco Giants RHP Eddie Fisher (hooper 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 hoops captain) stroked three extra-base hits against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 1933 outing. The next year, Frisch went 5-for-5 against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a 1934 contest.
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 a 1969 contest.
Pittsburgh Pirates 3B Lee Handley (Bradley hoops letterman from 1932-33 through 1934-35) provided four hits against the New York Giants in a 1939 game.
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).
Chicago Cubs rookie OF/1B Dick "Footer" Johnson (averaged 3.4 ppg for Duke in 1950-51 and 1951-52 under coach Harold Bradley) scored his only MLB tally as pinch-runner in a 1958 game against the Cincinnati Reds.
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 a 1960 contest.
Setting a new record for a night game, Los Angeles Dodgers LHP Sandy Koufax (Cincinnati's freshman hoops 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 (hooper 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.
In 1971, 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 starts to early August.
In 1944, Pittsburgh Pirates INF Al Rubeling (Towson hooper in early 1930s) ripped his second pinch-hit homer in a four-game span.
Montreal Expos rookie RHP Bill Sampen (MacMurray IL MVP in 1984-85 when averaging team-high 14.9 ppg) won his first six decisions in 1990 en route to leading team in victories with 12 despite starting only four times in 59 games.
In 1982, St. Louis Cardinals RHP John Stuper (two-time all-conference junior college hooper 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 (five-position hooper for Knox IL) collected four hits against the Boston Red Sox in a 1934 game.
Cleveland Indians 3B Jim Thome (played junior-college hoops for Illinois Central in 1988-89) hit two homers in a 1994 game against the Detroit Tigers. Twelve years later as DH, the Chicago White Sox's only hit off Anthony Reyes of the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1-0 victory was seventh-inning round-tripper by Thome in 2006.
Toronto Blue Jays DH Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) knocked in five runs in a 1992 outing against the Texas Rangers.
In 1969, Chicago White Sox rookie RHP Billy Wynne (one of prime Pfeiffer NC hoopers in mid-1960s) hurled his lone MLB shutout (1-0 against California Angels).
Washington Senators 3B Eddie Yost (NYU freshman hooper in 1943-44 under coach Howard Cann) stroked a triple in his third consecutive contest in 1948.
Washington Senators LHP Tom Zachary (Guilford NC hoops letterman in 1916) notched his first of eight consecutive complete games in 1920.

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