Roster of the Month

Roster of the Month: Multi-Sport Athletes

By Daniel R. Epstein

Posted on April 30, 2018

Dozens of men squeeze into a dimly lit room in the bowels of Santo Domingo. The air fills with shouts and cigar smoke. Money changes hands quickly and seemingly without order. In the center is a miniaturized makeshift boxing ring, far too small for people. The room erupts into cheers as el soltador brings forth a rooster cage. All eyes focus on the large birds destined for battle. Slowly, recognition spreads through the crowd: the man carrying the cage is a star himself. “¡Mira, es Juan Marichal!”

Marichal, a Hall of Fame pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, participated as a soltador on the Dominican cockfighting circuit. Cockfighting is illegal in the USA, but it’s a popular pastime in Marichal’s home country. This begets two essential questions for our latest Roster of the Month. 1) Is cockfighting a sport? 2) Are soltadores athletes, thereby making Marichal a two-sport star? (Also, OTBB doesn’t condone cockfighting. Actually, we’re strongly opposed. Be nice to all animals.)

While we ponder Marichal’s eligibility for the Roster of the Month, note that this Wikipedia article was heavily used for research. That’s rather dangerous; information on Wikipedia always has legitimacy concerns. Here are some of the most dubious claims from the article (edit: some of these have since been removed):

• Chess, Matthew James: Often represents his country by going to chess club in his local school and winning nothing.
• Golf, Tom Yorkshire: Known for being the only golf player to scientifically die of boredom during one of his tournament games.
• Sailing, Some Guy: is this even a sport?
• Skyrunning, Ronald McBonard: Ronald “The snowman” McBonard- Famous for featuring in a Christmas animated movie, “the snowman” is known for literally walking in the air, granted this didn’t win any races considering the sport is sky*running as opposed to sky*walking*

Oh Wikipedia, please never change. Anyway, our Roster of the Month features mostly football and basketball players, but also includes two hockey players, a soccer player, a golfer, and a bowler. There’s even a three-sport athlete! Here are the ground rules:

1. Players must have played or been drafted by another sport professionally, or played for their country in international competition. Therefore, Joe Mauer doesn’t qualify, even though he was the one of the top high school quarterbacks in the country. Neither does Jeff Samardzija, an outstanding college wide receiver at Notre Dame.
2. Only a player’s baseball career matters for this roster. John Elway, an all time great quarterback for the Denver Broncos, wouldn’t make this team because he only played one season of minor league baseball. Jim Thorpe is one of the most famous multi-sport stars ever, but wasn’t good enough at baseball to crack this lineup.

Starting Lineup

Our lineup includes three Hall of Famers, two MVPs, and one active player.

1. 1B Jackie Robinson (football): Robinson famously lettered in four sports at UCLA, but he qualifies for this team by playing running back for the Los Angeles Bulldogs of the Pacific Coast Football League. In baseball, Robinson is remembered as a second baseman, but he played exclusively first base during his groundbreaking rookie season.
2. RF Tony Gwynn (basketball): Gwynn played two sports at San Diego State, and was drafted by the San Diego Padres and San Diego Clippers on the same day. Eight batting titles later, it’s safe to say he chose the right sport.
3. CF Mookie Betts (bowling): Betts is the only active player on the roster, as well as the only bowler. He rolled a perfect 300 game in the 2017 PBA World Series of Bowling.
4. DH Dave Winfield (basketball, football): Before embarking on his HOF baseball career, Winfield was drafted out of the University of Minnesota by the Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Utah Stars (ABA), Minnesota Vikings (NFL), and of course the San Diego Padres.
5. LF Kirk Gibson (football): Gibson was an All-American wide receiver at Michigan State who was drafted by football’s St. Louis Cardinals (now in Arizona). He chose to play for the Detroit Tigers instead, and later won the 1988 NL MVP with the Dodgers.
6. SS Dick Groat (basketball): In 1960, Groat won the NL MVP and led the Pirates to a World Series championship over the Yankees. Eight years earlier, he played for the Fort Wayne Pistons (now in Detroit) of the NBA.
7. 2B Damaso Garcia (soccer): Garcia was a two time All-Star second baseman for the Blue Jays. Before choosing baseball, he played on the Dominican Republic National Football Team as a 17-year-old in international competition.
8. 3B Chuck Dressen (football): Dressen was the Reds’ primary third baseman from 1925-1929. He then enjoyed a long coaching and managerial career, in which he managed six different MLB franchises. When he was still in the minor leagues, he played quarterback in the off season for the Decatur Staleys (now the Chicago Bears) and Racine Legion of the NFL.
9. C Charlie Berry (football): While most players on this roster have just a little experience in two sports, Berry was an important historical figure in both football and baseball. He is a college football Hall of Famer and was an NFL star for the Pottsville Maroons in 1925 and 1926, playing end and kicker. He then turned his attention to baseball, playing 11 years as a MLB catcher for three teams. After his playing careers, he simultaneously became a AL umpire for 21 years and NFL head linesman for 24 years, officiating numerous important games in both sports.

Bench

Five football players populate the bench, including some of the most famous two-sport athletes of recent times.

• 2B/SS Ed Abbaticchio (football): Abbaticchio played fullback for the Latrobe Athletic Association in the very early days of professional sports. He was an NL infielder from 1897-1910.
• C Frank Grube (football): In 1929, there was actually an NFL team called the New York Yankees, and they employed Grube as a left end. He went on to become a backup catcher in the 1930s, but not for the baseball Yankees.
• OF Bo Jackson (football): Jackson is one of only two Heisman Trophy winners to become a MLB player (the other is Vic Janowicz). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him with the #1 overall pick of the 1986 NFL draft as a running back from Auburn. Not wanting to play for Tampa Bay, Jackson signed with the Kansas City Royals instead and became an All-Star outfielder. At the same time, Jackson returned to football and starred for the Oakland Raiders before a hip injury ruined both careers.
• OF Brian Jordan (football): Jordan was a teammate of Deion Sanders with the Atlanta Falcons as their starting strong safety from 1989-1991. The next year, he switched to baseball and played 15 years, making the All-Star Team in 1999.
• OF Deion Sanders (football): In baseball, Neon Deion played 9 seasons as a fleet center fielder. In football, Prime Time played 14 years as a defensive back, wide receiver, and kick returner. Regardless of his nicknames, no one has ever been as prolific at two sports simultaneously as Sanders. While he was merely a good outfielder, he was one of the greatest defensive backs of all time and has a bust in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Starting Rotation

What about Marichal? Does he qualify as a soltador? Fortunately, there are five other Hall of Fame pitchers who played another sport, so we don’t have to answer that question.

1. RHP Christy Mathewson (football): Mathewson’s 373 wins, mostly for the New York baseball Giants, are the third most all time. Before becoming one of the most dominant pitchers of the Deadball Era, he played fullback professionally for the Pittsburgh Stars.
2. RHP Bob Gibson (basketball): Gibson won two Cy Young awards and an MVP for the St. Louis Cardinals. As a minor leaguer, he joined  basketball entertainment’s legendary Harlem Globetrotters during the 1957-58 off season.
3. LHP Tom Glavine (hockey): Kids from Massachusetts are far more likely to turn pro in hockey than baseball. Glavine had to choose between them in 1984, as both the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Kings drafted him. Obviously he chose baseball, collecting a pair of Cy Youngs during his 22-year career.
4. RHP Fergie Jenkins (basketball): Unlike Bob Gibson, Jenkins was already a major league ace when he joined the Harlem Globetrotters. Following down-ballot Cy Young cousideration in 1967, he played for the Globetrotters in the 1967-68 and 1968-69 off seasons.
5. LHP Rube Waddell (football): Waddell jumped to the Philadelphia Athletics of the still-new American League in 1902. The team owners also controlled a football team of the same name, for which Waddell played that same year.***

Bullpen

This six-man bullpen includes professionals in four other sports.

• LHP Garland Buckeye (football): With a name like Garland Buckeye and a face like this, is there any doubt that he was a leather-helmet offensive lineman? He’s also the great grandfather of Drew Pomeranz.

• LHP Steve Hamilton (basketball): Hamilton was a forward/center for the Minneapolis Lakers (now in Los Angeles) from 1958-60. He then focused solely on baseball, enjoying a 12-year career as a reliever mostly for the Yankees.
• LHP Mark Hendrickson (basketball): The 6’9″ Hendrickson was selected in the MLB draft every year from 1992-97 and pitched in the majors from 2002-2011. He was also a second round pick in the 1996 NBA draft and played for 4 NBA teams from 1996-2000.
• RHP Kirk McCaskill (hockey): McCaskill was an Angels and White Sox pitcher in the 1980s and 90s. The NHL’s Winnipeg Jets also drafted him in 1981, calling him up to the parent club for one game in 1984 (though he didn’t play).
• RHP Ron Reed (basketball): Reed was a Detroit Piston from 1966-68. After switching to baseball full time, he immediately became an All-Star for the 1968 Atlanta Braves and stayed in the majors until 1984, his age-41 season.
• RHP Ralph Terry (golf): Terry surrendered Bill Mazeroski‘s famous World Series winning home run in 1960, but made up for it by winning the 1962 World Series MVP. After retiring from baseball, he played on the Senior PGA Tour in the 1980s.

-Daniel R. Epstein

*** After publishing this piece, Dan received the following email from Dan O’Brien over at rubewaddell.net

Mr. Epstein,

Rube Waddell never played with Connie Mack’s Athletics football team.  Near the end of the 1902 baseball season, it was reported that Rube would play for the team, he left shortly after the baseball season for his home in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where he did play football.  He played football for various local and semi-pro teams before and after but never for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Years later, Connie Mack had this to say about Rube’s

 “There was a little fellow from Wanamakers who asked for the job of quarterback,” he [Mack] recalled. “I don’t think he weighed more than 140. Well, the first practice Waddell tackled him and broke his leg. It was the first inkling John and I had that players could be hurt badly in football. We got Rube out of there without delay. He was supposed to be pretty good but we never found out.” 

— Philadelphia Inquirer, December 24, 1938

Dan O’Brien