On This Date: Former College Hoopers Providing MLB Headlines on June 10

June 10th, 2023 - 8:54

Extra! Extra! Instead of cursing NY Senator Chuck "Schmucky" Schumer for previous screed threatening Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and ex-Speaker Nanny Pathetic for delaying security bill in House to expand court security, 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 college hoopers Dick Gernert (Temple), Wayne Gross (Cal Poly Pomona), Frank Howard (Ohio State) Vance Law (Brigham Young), Wally Moon (Texas A&M), Graig Nettles (San Diego State), Bill White (Hiram OH) and Dave Winfield (Minnesota) each whacked two homers in a MLB game on this date. Ex-NYU hoopers Hank Greenberg and Eddie Yost also supplied significant offensive outputs. Unless you habitually pore over the content at baseballlibrary.com, baseballreference.com and nationalpastime.com, following is a June 10 calendar focusing on such versatile MLB athletes:

JUNE 10

  • A pinch-hit single by Houston Colts .45s 2B Joey Amalfitano (played basketball for Loyola Marymount in 1952-53) triggered a 12-game hitting streak for him in 1962.

  • Pittsburgh Pirates LF Carson "Skeeter" Bigbee (Oregon hoops letterman in 1915) provided four hits for the third time in a 19-game span in 1922.

  • Boston Braves SS Dick Culler (#9 jersey retired by High Point for Little All-American in 1935 and 1936) contributed four hits in a 10-5 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946.

  • New York Giants SS Alvin Dark (hoops letterman for Louisiana State and Southwestern Louisiana in mid-1940s) stroked a double in his fourth consecutive contest in 1950.

  • Chicago Cubs RHP Mark Freeman (LSU center averaged 3.6 ppg as senior in 1950-51) notched his only MLB complete game with a four-hit, 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Phillies in 1960.

  • Chicago White Sox 3B Gene Freese (West Liberty WV hoops captain of 1952 NAIA Tournament team) went 4-for-4 against the Boston Red Sox in a 1960 outing.

  • Boston Red Sox 1B Dick Gernert (Temple hoops letterman in 1948-49 when averaging 2.7 ppg) collected two homers and six RBI against the Kansas City Athletics in a 1957 game.

  • LHP Joe Gibbon (two-time All-SEC forward for Ole Miss was nation's second-leading scorer as a senior in 1956-57) traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1969.

  • Detroit Tigers 1B Hank Greenberg (enrolled at NYU on hoop scholarship in 1929 but attended college only one semester) hammered a homer for the third consecutive contest in 1939.

  • Oakland Athletics rookie 3B Wayne Gross (Cal Poly Pomona assists leader in 1974-75) swatted two homers against the Detroit Tigers in a 1977 outing.

  • San Diego Padres RF Tony Gwynn (All-WAC second-team selection with San Diego State in 1979-80 and 1980-81) supplied a double, triple and homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 1993 game.

  • Boston Braves 1B Buddy Hassett (hooper for Manhattan teams winning school-record 17 consecutive games in 1930 and 1931) went 4-for-4 against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 1940 contest.

  • Cincinnati Reds LHP Bill Henry (hoops letterman for Houston's 1947 NAIA Tournament team featuring co-captain Guy Lewis) notched his 11th consecutive scoreless relief appearance of 1962 season, lowering ERA to 1.08 through 14 outings.

  • 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 a 1967 outing.

  • Brooklyn Tip-Tops RHP Ed Lafitte (center for Georgia Tech's first intercollegiate basketball team in 1906) was hitting .371 after 13 games in 1915 upon going 3-for-4 at the plate against the Newark Pepper.

  • Chicago White Sox 3B Vance Law (averaged 6.8 ppg for Brigham Young from 1974-75 through 1976-77) launched two homers against the Minnesota Twins in a 1984 game.

  • Philadelphia Phillies CF Jerry Martin (1971 Southern Conference MVP after he was Furman's scoring runner-up previous season) went 4-for-4 in a 7-5 triumph against the Atlanta Braves in 1977.

  • Recently-acquired RF-1B Sam Mele (NYU's leading scorer in 1943 NCAA playoffs) knocked in six fourth-inning runs (three-run HR and bases-loaded triple) for the Chicago White Sox in a 1952 contest at Philadelphia.

  • Los Angeles Dodgers LF Wally Moon (averaged 4.3 ppg with Texas A&M in 1948-49 and 1949-50) smashed two homers against the Philadelphia Phillies in a 1961 outing.

  • Boston Braves LF Joe Mowry (Iowa hoops letterman in 1929-30 and 1930-31) went 3-for-3 against the Brooklyn Dodgers in a 1933 game.

  • San Diego Padres 3B Graig Nettles (shot 87.8% from free-throw line for San Diego State in 1963-64) whacked two homers against the Cincinnati Reds in a 1984 contest.

  • LHP Stan Partenheimer (played varsity hoops for Wooster OH in 1943-44) traded by the Boston Red Sox to St. Louis Cardinals in 1944.

  • Oakland Athletics RHP Jim Perry (averaged more than 20 ppg in late 1950s for former juco Campbell) fired a one-hit shutout against the Baltimore Orioles in his 17th and final MLB campaign. Perry posted at least one whitewash in 16 of those seasons.

  • Chicago Cubs SS Paul Popovich (teammate of Jerry West for West Virginia's 1960 NCAA playoff team) homered in back-to-back games against the San Diego Padres in a 1970 outing.

  • Oakland Athletics RHP Steve Renko (averaged 9.9 ppg and 5.8 rpg as Kansas sophomore in 1963-64) allowed only five earned runs in his first five starts of 1978 campaign covering 30 innings.

  • RHP Jeff Robinson (two-time NAIA All-District 3 hoops honoree in early 1980s for Azusa Pacific CA) awarded off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Texas Rangers in 1992.

  • Cleveland Indians RHP Sonny Siebert (team-high 16.7 ppg for Missouri in 1957-58 as All-Big Eight Conference second-team selection) hurled a no-hitter against the Washington Senators in 1966.

  • 2B Junior Spivey (redshirted his only semester at Northwestern Oklahoma State on hoop scholarship before transferring to KS junior college) traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Washington Nationals in 2005.

  • Chicago Cubs rookie 2B Jimmy Stewart (All-VSAC hoops selection for Austin Peay's NCAA DII Tournament teams in 1959-60 and 1960-61) stroked four hits against the New York Mets in a 1964 game.

  • INF Gary Sutherland (Southern California's fifth-leading scorer in 1963-64 when averaging 7.4 ppg) traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1976.

  • St. Louis Cardinals 1B Bill White (two-year hooper for Hiram OH in early 1950s) smacked two homers in a 1965 contest against the Cincinnati Reds.

  • San Diego Padres RF Dave Winfield (starting forward for Minnesota's first NCAA playoff team in 1972) collected two homers and six RBI in a 1978 outing against the Chicago Cubs.

  • Washington Senators 3B Eddie Yost (NYU freshman hooper in 1943-44 under coach Howard Cann) went 7-for-10 (including four of A.L.-leading 36 doubles) in 1951 doubleheader split against the St. Louis Browns.