On This Date: Former College Hoopsters Make Mark on August 25 MLB Games

August 25th, 2015 - 6:17

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 25 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

AUGUST 25

  • Cleveland Indians SS Lou Boudreau (leading basketball scorer for Illinois' 1937 Big Ten Conference co-champion) contributed four hits against the Boston Red Sox in 1947.

  • New York Mets 1B Donn Clendenon (four-sport letterman with Morehouse GA) knocked in five runs against the Atlanta Braves in 1970.

  • New York Yankees Hall of Fame LF Earle Combs (three-year captain for Eastern Kentucky) incurred a severe shoulder injury colliding with a teammate, contributing to Combs' retirement following the 1935 campaign. He had two three-hit outings in his previous four starts.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers C Joe Ferguson (played in 1967 NCAA playoffs with Pacific) collected two homers and four RBI in a 6-4 win against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1973.

  • Boston Red Sox C Rick Ferrell (played forward for Guilford NC before graduating in 1928) furnished four hits and four RBI in a 5-4 victory against the Cleveland Indians in the opener of a 1935 doubleheader.

  • Boston Red Sox RHP Boo Ferriss (Mississippi State letterman in 1941) topped the visiting Cleveland Indians, 2-1, to improve his 1946 Fenway Park mark to 13-0.

  • Philadelphia Athletics starting RHP Stu Flythe (North Carolina State letterman from 1932-33 through 1934-35) walked 11 Chicago White Sox batters in three innings in 1936.

  • In 1982, San Diego Padres rookie LF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) broke his wrist diving for a fly ball en route to falling short of a .300 batting average for the only time in his 20-year career (.289).

  • Brooklyn Dodgers 1B Gil Hodges (played for St. Joseph's IN in 1943 and Oakland City IN in 1947 and 1948) homered twice and doubled against the Cincinnati Reds in 1954.

  • Washington Senators 1B Frank Howard (two-time All-Big Ten Conference first-team selection when leading Ohio State in scoring and rebounding in 1956-57 and 1957-58) went 4-for-4 against the Minnesota Twins in 1969.

  • RF David Justice (led Thomas More KY in assists in 1984-85) and Atlanta Braves teammate Fred McGriff whacked back-to-back homers for the second time in 10 days in 1993. Justice jacked two circuit clouts in the game against the San Francisco Giants as he secured six round-trippers in his last six contests of the month.

  • Washington Senators SS Doc Lavan (played for Hope MI from 1908 through 1910) went 4-for-4 against the Chicago White Sox in the nightcap of a 1918 twinbill.

  • New York Giants RHP Christy Mathewson (played for Bucknell at turn of 20th Century) reached the 20-win plateau for the seventh straight season in 1909.

  • New York Yankees RHP Lindy McDaniel (played for Oklahoma's 1954-55 freshman squad) retired 32 consecutive batters covering four relief appearances in 1968.

  • New York Yankees 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) cracked two homers against the Minnesota Twins in 1982.

  • Chicago White Sox LHP Gary Peters (played for Grove City PA in mid-1950s) had his personal streak of 14 straight starts allowing fewer than four earned runs snapped by the Boston Red Sox in 1967.

  • In 1989, Pittsburgh Pirates 1B Gary Redus (J.C. player for Athens AL and father of Centenary/South Alabama guard with same name) hit for the cycle against his original team (Cincinnati Reds).

  • Brooklyn Dodgers 3B Jackie Robinson (highest scoring average in Pacific Coast Conference both of his seasons with UCLA in 1939-40 and 1940-41) ripped two homers against the Chicago Cubs in the nightcap of a 1953 twinbill.

  • New York Yankees 3B Red Rolfe (played briefly with Dartmouth in 1927-28 and 1929-30) extended his streak of scoring at least one run to 18 straight contests in 1939.

  • Baltimore Orioles RF Ken Singleton (Hofstra freshman team in mid-1960s) stroked three extra-base hits against the Seattle Mariners in 1981.

  • Chicago Cubs LF Riggs Stephenson (Alabama letterman in 1920) went 7-for-10 in a 1933 doubleheader split against the Philadelphia Phillies.