On This Date: Former College Hoopsters Make Mark on August 9 MLB Games
Extra! Extra! Read all about memorable major league baseball achievements and moments involving former college basketball players! Baseball is portrayed as a thinking man's game but only 4% of active MLB players earned college diplomas. Nonetheless, numerous ex-college hoopsters had front-row seats to many of the most notable games, transactions and dates in MLB history.
Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an August 9 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:
AUGUST 9
Milwaukee Braves 1B Joe Adcock (Louisiana State's leading basketball scorer in 1945-46) drilled two homers in an 8-3 setback against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961.
Detroit Tigers C Mickey Cochrane (played for Boston University in early 1920s) collected four hits and five RBI against the St. Louis Browns in 1934.
New York Mets RHP Roger Craig (forward with North Carolina State's 1949-50 freshman team) ended his N.L. record-tying 18-game losing streak by beating the Chicago Cubs, 7-3, thanks to OF Jim Hickman's ninth-inning grand slam off RHP Lindy McDaniel (played for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad). Craig was on the losing end of a shutout nine times in 1963.
New York Giants SS Alvin Dark (letterman for LSU and USL during World War II) extended his hitting streak to 17 games in 1951.
Chicago White Sox RHP Eddie Fisher (played for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) tossed a three-hit shutout against the Los Angeles Angels in 1962, igniting a personal streak of five straight triumphs.
New York Giants 3B Frankie Frisch (Fordham captain) secured three extra-base hits against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1923. Nine years later as a Cards 2B, Frisch contributed four hits and four runs against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1932.
St. Louis Cardinals SS Charlie Gelbert (scored at least 125 points each of last three seasons in late 1920s for Lebanon Valley PA) generated four hits against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1932.
Cincinnati Reds 1B Harvey Hendrick (Vanderbilt letterman in 1918) delivered four hits in a 9-8 win against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932.
Cleveland Indians DH David Justice (led Thomas More KY in assists in 1984-85) smacked two homers against the Texas Rangers in the nightcap of a 1997 doubleheader.
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) set new MLB record by stealing his 32nd consecutive base without being caught in 1975.
Cleveland Indians 2B Dutch Meyer (TCU letterman in 1934-35 and 1935-36) manufactured four hits in a 3-2 loss against the New York Yankees in 1945.
RF Bill Nicholson (played for Washington College MD in mid-1930s) traded by the Philadelphia Athletics to the Washington Senators in 1938.
Kansas City Athletics LF Norm Siebern (member of Southwest Missouri squads capturing back-to-back NAIA Tournament titles in 1952 and 1953) homered in both ends of a 1960 twinbill against the Washington Senators. Siebern stroked four hits and scored four runs the previous day against the Senators.
Boston Braves rookie C Ebba St. Claire (Colgate letterman in 1941-42) tied a N.L. backstop standard by participating in three double plays in a single game in 1951.
Atlanta Braves LHP George Stone (averaged 14.7 ppg and 6.5 rpg for Louisiana Tech in 1964-65 and 1965-66) hurled a six-hit shutout against the Houston Astros in 1972.
Detroit Tigers 2B Gary Sutherland (averaged 7.4 ppg with USC in 1963-64) had his sixth straight multiple-hit outing in the midst of a career-high 15-game hitting streak.