On This Date: Former College Hoopers Made News in June 29 MLB Contests

June 29th, 2021 - 7:50

Extra! Extra! Instead of debating whether the Man Upstairs is disinfecting pestilent Pacific Northwest liberal laboratories/riot repositories Portland and Seattle with historic heat wave featuring 100-plus-degree temperatures, you can read news 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 North Carolina State hoopers Dave Robertson and Tim Stoddard made MLB news on this date while former Mississippi State hoopers Boo Ferriss and Buddy Myer also had significant American League performances. Additional ex-SEC hoopers making MLB news on this date included Joe Adcock (Louisiana State), 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 outing. Three years earlier as rookie 1B in midst of a 21-game hitting streak, Robinson swiped three of his N.L.-high 29 stolen bases in 1947 twinbill split against the Giants.

  • Cleveland Indians LHP Joe Shaute (hooper for Mansfield PA in early 1920s) won his seventh straight decision in 1926.

  • 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 in 1982 with 10 consecutive scoreless relief appearances covering 11 1/3 innings. 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 RHP Ralph Terry (juco hooper averaged 22 ppg for Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in mid-1950s) tossed his second shutout in last four starts of the month in 1963.

  • 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.