Deron Johnson

Deron Johnson


1) He was All-Southern California in both football and baseball at San Diego High School in the 50's
2) Prep All-American in 1955, as his High School won the National High School baseball Championships
3) He played 4 years in the Minors and never hit less than 24 Home Runs
4) He was in the US Army reserves and served several stints during his career in the service
5) Led the AAA Pacific Coast League in Home Runs with 33 in 1963 for San Diego
6) At age 26 he led the NL in RBI in 1965, driving in the likes of Pete Rose, Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson
7) In 1971 he tied a MLB record with 4 Home Runs in 4 consecutive at bats
8) His greatest thrill was said to be playing in the 1973 World Series for Oakland where he hit .300
9) He's ranked no. 62 on the list of all-time greatest Phillies, yet only played for 4 full seasons with them
10) Coached 5 Major League teams in the 1980's and 1990's, last with the California Angels until his death in 1992 from Cancer

Frank (Frankie) Baumholtz

1) He is from Ohio
2) He graduated from Ohio University in Athens, just like this blogger did
3) He was the first ever "All-American" in college basketball
4) He was the MVP of the NIT NCAA men's basketball tournament @ Madison Sq. Garden
5) He played in what would become the NBA in basketball, averaging 14.0 pts for a season
6) He was the captain of a submarine destroyer ship and fought at Iwo Jima in WWII
7) He collected 254 hits in a single AAA Pacific Coast Minor League season
8) He was the first 2-sport athlete in major professional basketball and baseball
9) It could be said that he is he only Center-fielder to ever play all three positions in the outfield at the same time (Since Ralph Kiner and Hank Sauer served to the left and right of him and were known to just say "Frankie go get it" on every fly ball.
10) He is the only batter to face Stan Musial as a pitcher; he also finished 2nd to Musial in the 1952 National League batting title in that same season that Musial faced him from the mound

Bonus fact: He led his league in pinch hits twice, and is the only lefty pinch hitter to finish with a pinch hit career batting average of over .300