Award-Winning Versatility: Former College Hoopers Touching All of the Bases
We are in the midst of week announcing MLB award winners for Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year. Times have changed but it was commonplace for former college basketball players to previously claim a striking number of the awards. In a 20-year span from 1948 to 1968, a total of six MVPs were ex-college hoopers. When St. Louis Cardinal outfielders accounted for back-to-back winners in 1954 (Wally Moon over Ernie Banks and Hank Aaron/71% of vote) and 1955 (Bill Virdon/63% of vote), seven rookies of year in first nine years of award were ex-college hoopers. Subsequently, sports specialization intervened. In aftermath of both AL and NL rookie of year winners in 1974 coming from small-college hoopdom (Mike Hargrove and Bake McBride), there has been only two honorees since then in this multiple-sport athlete category - Mike Flanagan in 1979 and David Justice in 1990 (only such individual in last 45 years).
Virdon is one of three individuals winning Manager of Year awards in both the American League and National League. Following is a summary of MLB major award winners who previously competed on the hardwood in college (listed alphabetically):
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
| Ex-College Hooper | School | Summary of MVP Award With MLB Team |
|---|---|---|
| Lou Boudreau | Illinois | AL in 1948 with Cleveland Indians |
| Gordon "Mickey" Cochrane | Boston University | AL in 1928 with Philadelphia Athletics and in 1934 with Detroit Tigers |
| Frankie Frisch | Fordham | NL in 1931 with St. Louis Cardinals |
| Bob Gibson | Creighton | NL in 1968 with St. Louis Cardinals |
| Hyman "Hank" Greenberg | New York University | AL in 1935 and 1940 with Detroit Tigers |
| Dick Groat | Duke | NL in 1960 with Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Jim Konstanty | Syracuse | NL in 1950 with Philadelphia Phillies |
| Sandy Koufax | Cincinnati | NL in 1963 with Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Jackie Robinson | UCLA | NL in 1949 with Brooklyn Dodgers |
CY YOUNG
| Ex-College Hooper | School | Summary of Pitching Award With MLB Team |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Flanagan | Massachusetts | AL in 1979 with Baltimore Orioles |
| Bob Gibson | Creighton | NL in 1968 and 1970 with St. Louis Cardinals |
| Sandy Koufax | Cincinnati | ML in 1963-65-66 with Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Jim Perry | Campbell | AL in 1970 with Minnesota Twins |
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
| Ex-College Hooper | School(s) | Summary of Rookie Award With MLB Team |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Black | Morgan State | NL in 1952 with Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Al Bumbry | Virginia State | AL in 1973 with Baltimore Orioles |
| Alvin Dark | Louisiana State/Southwestern Louisiana | ML in 1948 with Boston Braves |
| Walt Dropo | Connecticut | AL in 1950 with Boston Red Sox |
| Mike Hargrove | Northwestern Oklahoma State | AL in 1974 with Texas Rangers |
| Frank Howard | Ohio State | NL in 1960 with Los Angeles Dodgers |
| David Justice | Thomas More KY | NL in 1990 with Atlanta Braves |
| Harvey Kuenn | Wisconsin | AL in 1953 with Detroit Tigers |
| Arnold "Bake" McBride | Westminster MO | NL in 1974 with St. Louis Cardinals |
| Wally Moon | Texas A&M | NL in 1954 with St. Louis Cardinals |
| Gary Peters | Grove City PA | AL in 1963 with Chicago White Sox |
| Jackie Robinson | UCLA | ML in 1947 with Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Don Schwall | Oklahoma | AL in 1961 with Boston Red Sox |
| Bill Virdon | Drury MO | NL in 1955 with St. Louis Cardinals |
MANAGER OF THE YEAR
(TSN issued award prior to 1983)
| Ex-College Hooper | School(s) | Summary of Managerial Award With MLB Team |
|---|---|---|
| Walter Alston | Miami of Ohio | NL in 1955, 1959 and 1963 with Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Gil Hodges | St. Joseph's IN/Oakland City IN | NL in 1969 with New York Mets |
| Davey Johnson | Texas A&M | AL in 1997 with Baltimore Orioles and NL in 2012 with Washington Nationals |
| Sam Mele | NYU | AL in 1965 with Minnesota Twins |
| Danny Ozark | Canisius | NL in 1976 with Philadelphia Phillies |
| Lou Piniella | Tampa | AL in 1995 and 2001 with Seattle Mariners and NL in 2008 with Chicago Cubs |
| Robert "Red" Rolfe | Dartmouth | AL in 1950 with Detroit Tigers |
| George "Birdie" Tebbetts | Providence | NL in 1956 with Cincinnati Reds |
| Bill Virdon | Drury MO | AL in 1974 with New York Yankees and NL in 1980 with Houston Astros |