Balls, Bats & Diplomas

Balls, Bats & Diplomas

Baseball players often say they are students of the sport. Also consider that the first college baseball game was played between Amherst and Williams way back in 1859 (Amherst won 73-32!). So, it’s a wonder that very few college men “graduated” to a career in Major League baseball before the 1930’s.

One notable exception was brainy Hall of Famer Jim O’Rourke, a star hitter in the 1870’s and 1880’s. O’Rourke’s nickname was “Orator Jim” because he would annoy his teammates by reciting Hamlet’s soliloquy before every game. He earned a Yale law degree during his playing days.

Two other Ivy League alumni were Eddie Collins and Lou Gehrig who both attended Columbia.

Gehrig’s amazing skills as a freshman in 1922 prompted coach Carriss of Penn to call him the best college player since George Sisler. Once Gehrig hit a towering shot over the center field wall that landed up against the School of Journalism building at 116th and Broadway. Yankees owner Colonel Jacob Ruppert convinced Gehrig in his sophomore year to forego the rest of his collegiate career.

Eddie Collins was the Lion’s starting quarterback until Teddy Roosevelt ordered football to clean up its act and Columbia dropped the sport. Collins’ campus baseball days were also cut short because it was discovered in his senior year that he had joined a semi pro team in the summer of 1906. Interestingly, he had assumed the name Eddie Sullivan (something almost every college player tried) but was caught and ruled ineligible as a senior. Collins did graduate in 1907.

Christy Mathewson pitched at Bucknell University but was better known as a Walter Camp All American fullback and kicker on the 1898-1900 football team. Matty was an exceptional student and served as student body president. After several amazing pitching and football performances, a veteran pitcher named Phenomenal Smith signed Mathewson to his first baseball contract with Norfolk of the Virginia League. Bucknell's football stadium is named in memory of Christy Mathewson and he is buried in the cemetery on campus.

Frankie Frisch majored in chemistry at Fordham where he was an All-American halfback, basketball player, track sprinter (Fordham Flash) and baseball star.

Just in time for the 1922 season, the St. Louis Browns found Hubert “Shucks” Pruett pitching for the Missouri Tigers while studying medicine. Pruett had developed what we now call a screw ball which he used to strike out Babe Ruth 10 of the first 13 times they faced off. Pruett was just 7-7 in 1922 but had a remarkable 2.33 earned run average. Shucks went on to a successful career as a doctor after retiring from baseball in 1931.

We’ll address Hughie Jennings’ college and law school education in a subsequent blog post. Hughie was a very bright guy!

Below are some of the other Golden Age baseball stars who walked among ivory towers:

Harry Hooper – St. Mary’s

Paul Waner – East Central

Lloyd Waner – East Central

Joe Sewell – University of Alabama

Eppa Rixey – University of Virginia

Gabby Hartnett – Dean

Charles Gehringer – University of Michigan

George Sisler – University of Michigan

Tris Speaker – Texas Wesleyan

Mickey Cochrane – Boston University

Christy Matthewson – Bucknell

Frank Ellerbe – Wofford

Eddie Plank – Gettysburg College