On This Date: Former College Hoopers Make Mark on August 24 MLB Games

August 24th, 2019 - 7:00

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

Former college hoopers Harry Craft (Mississippi College), Bill White (Hiram OH) and Cy Williams (Notre Dame) each contributed three extra-base hits in a MLB game on this date. Ex-California juco hoopers Darrell Evans and Garth Iorg also had major offensive performances on this date. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is an August 24 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

AUGUST 24

  • Baltimore Orioles 2B Jerry Adair (one of Oklahoma State's top three basketball scorers in 1956-57 and 1957-58 while ranking among nation's top 12 free-throw shooters each season) collected eight hits in a 1962 doubleheader sweep of the New York Yankees.

  • Brooklyn Dodgers RHP Ralph Branca (sixth-leading scorer for NYU in 1943-44) hurled a three-hit shutout against the Chicago Cubs in 1951, striking out 10 and walking none.

  • Baltimore Orioles CF Al Bumbry (Virginia State's runner-up in scoring with 16.7 ppg as freshman in 1964-65) went 4-for-4 against the Chicago White Sox in a 1977 game.

  • Cincinnati Reds CF Harry Craft (four-sport letterman with Mississippi College in early 1930s) contributed two homers, a double and six RBI in a 13-9 win against the New York Giants in 1941.

  • Atlanta Braves rookie 3B Darrell Evans (member of Jerry Tarkanian-coached Pasadena City CA club winning 1967 state community college crown) went 4-for-4 in a 1971 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

  • Cleveland Indians RHP Johnson Fry (Marshall hoops letterman in 1921-22) made his lone MLB appearance in 1923.

  • San Francisco Giants RHP Ed Halicki (set Monmouth's single-game rebounding record with 40 as junior in 1970-71 before leading Hawks in scoring with 21 ppg as senior) fired a no-hitter against the New York Mets in 1975.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers rookie RF 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) hammered two homers against the Milwaukee Braves in a 1960 contest.

  • RHP Bobby Humphreys (four-year hoops letterman graduated from Hampden-Sydney VA in 1958) won his third game in relief in six days for the Washington Senators in 1966.

  • Toronto Blue Jays INF Garth Iorg (juco hooper with College of the Redwoods CA in mid-1970s) delivered a decisive two-out, two-run single in the top of 10th inning of a 7-5 win against the Minnesota Twins in 1986.

  • New York Yankees rookie RF Charlie Keller (Maryland hoops letterman from 1934-35 through 1936-37) knocked in five runs against the St. Louis Browns in a 1939 game the day after going 6-for-10 and scoring five runs in a doubleheader sweep of the Chicago White Sox. Two years later, Keller cracked two homers against the White Sox in the nightcap of a 1941 twinbill.

  • SS Doc Lavan (Hope MI hooper from 1908 through 1910) purchased from the St. Louis Browns by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1919.

  • New York Giants OF Hank Leiber (Arizona hooper in 1931) tied a MLB single-inning record by lashing two homers during an eight-run uprising in the second frame against the Chicago Cubs in 1935.

  • 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 as sophomore in 1965-66 before transferring with his coach to Washburn KS) stole five bases in a 3-0 triumph against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1974. The next year, Lopes extended his MLB record streak to 38 consecutive successful steal attempts before he was thrown out by Montreal Expos C Gary Carter in the 12th inning.

  • Cleveland Indians 1B Ed Morgan (Tulane hoops letterman from 1923-24 through 1925-26) collected five RBI in an 11-7 win against the Boston Red Sox in 1931.

  • Philadelphia Phillies RHP Robin Roberts (Michigan State's second-leading scorer in 1945-46 and 1946-47) had a streak of 13 consecutive complete games against the Milwaukee Braves snapped in 1954.

  • In 1952, Brooklyn Dodgers LHP Preacher Roe (Harding AR hooper in late 1930s) registered his 10th straight victory against the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-4.

  • 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 six-hit shutout against the Boston Red Sox in 1985.

  • Chicago Cubs 2B Rob Sperring (averaged 8.7 ppg and 2.9 rpg for Pacific from 1968-69 through 1970-71) had his career-high 11-game hitting streak snapped by the Houston Astros in 1976.

  • Atlanta Braves LHP George Stone (averaged 14.7 ppg and 6.5 rpg for Louisiana Tech in 1964-65 and 1965-66) tossed a three-hit shutout against the Montreal Expos in 1970.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates 1B Preston Ward (second-leading scorer for Southwest Missouri State in 1946-47 and 1948-49) pounded a three-run homer off Joe Nuxhall in a 4-2 triumph against the Cincinnati Reds in 1955.

  • Kansas City Royals C John Wathan (averaged 3.7 ppg in 11 games for San Diego in 1968-69) delivered a tie-breaking double in the top of 15th inning before scoring eventual decisive run in 4-3 verdict over the Milwaukee Brewers in 1977.

  • Homering in his fourth game in a row, St. Louis Cardinals 1B Bill White (two-year hooper with Hiram OH in early 1950s) stroked three extra-base hits against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1961.

  • Philadelphia Phillies CF Cy Williams (Notre Dame forward in 1909-10) contributed three extra-base hits in a 1922 game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.