FCBs own Hometown Heroes

[ASTROBURN]

Did any Major League players come from your own hometown? There have been a few from Santa Cruz. I wonder of there is a wiki that does a quick search. But i dont need it for these guys. I know they are from here.

Glenallen Hill went to Santa Cruz high, and was good friends with the brother of my friend. I got his autograph at a game because of that.



My auto ball. His auto is in blue.

Giuseppe Chiaramonte went to my high school, Soquel High, a year or two after i had already graduated. He was friends with my best friends little brother. I never met him though. Last i heard, he became a local sheriff.



Mark Eichorn went to Cabrillo College here in Aptos. I worked at a video store in Aptos after high school, and one day he came in to rent. I recognized the name, and later went home to see if i had his baseball card. I did, and i brought it to work and kept it in my locker. Then one day he came to rent again, and i asked for his autograph. He was more than happy to oblige. I cant find that card though. I wish i still had it.

This is the card i had signed, but like i said, i cant find mine. I remember he personalized it to me, and added a bible verse after his signature.

 

[Ashburn Alley]

Philadelphia has Bobby Higginson and John Marzano off the top of my head.

 

[All In Cards]

Brian Jordan, went to Milford Mill High

Keon Carpenter, went to middle school with him, played for the Atlanta Falcons for a few years

 

[Ghumbs]

Courtesy of COMC.com

 

[BiggioBrooks755]

Uhhh Stoney McGlynn was a pitcher for the St Louis Cardinals from 1906-1908...He died in Manitowoc..I think that counts lol

Not football, but Tony Romo was born in the same town I was (Burlington, WI) and Dallas Cowboys OL Doug Free went to Manitowoc Lincoln High School

 

[cgilmo]

Quinton Caver. The best high school athlete I've ever seen.

 

[gracecollector]

I bought this card two weeks ago because Lundgren played in the town next to me, Marengo IL (population 7,468 last count). There's a historical marker for him in the town.

Carl cut his teeth playing in "the flats" of Marengo at the turn of the century. The ballpark he played in is now the playground of the Zion Luthern Church - it has a little league field there so the baseball tradition continues. Postcard below shows the ballfield in Marengo where he played.

When Carl pitched for the Cubs (1902-1909), his nickname was "The Human Icicle" because he tended to do his best pitching in cold weather, usually early in the season. Carl had a good fastball and assorted curves, but his problem was control. One newspaper account said "he couldn't find the plate with field glasses."

He later became a great college baseball coach with University of Michigan and University of Illinois.

He's well known to T206 collectors because he has two poses - one as a Cub and one as a minor leaguer for Kansas City.

 

[mchenrycards]

Uhhh Stoney McGlynn was a pitcher for the St Louis Cardinals from 1906-1908...He died in Manitowoc..I think that counts lol

Not football, but Tony Romo was born in the same town I was (Burlington, WI) and Dallas Cowboys OL Doug Free went to Manitowoc Lincoln High School

Didnt realize you were from Burlington. I am one town over from there. When Romo was dating Jessica Simpson they would hang in the area during the summer and visit all the local spots that the residents go to. This area is a huge tourist area that draws Chicago area residents and it wouldnt be unusual to walk into this one small Mexican restaurant in town and see the two of them sitting there and eating lunch.

 

[jeff_bichel]

Greenville, S.C. has Shoeless Joe Jackson,

 

[BiggioBrooks755]

Didnt realize you were from Burlington. I am one town over from there. When Romo was dating Jessica Simpson they would hang in the area during the summer and visit all the local spots that the residents go to. This area is a huge tourist area that draws Chicago area residents and it wouldnt be unusual to walk into this one small Mexican restaurant in town and see the two of them sitting there and eating lunch.

Well, was born there and then moved before I was a year old, but it is still cool to tell people I was born in the same city as Tony Romo

 

[HPC]

Ike Davis went to Chaparral High in Scottsdale. I played against him one game.

Pedroia and Ethier graduated from ASU, so there's that as well.

 

[cgilmo]

Also, Ty Cobb put in a lot of time in my home town

http://www.hmdb.org/Marker.asp?Marker=10636

 

[TBTwinsFan]

Bill Gullickson.

I did make a thread about this in the vintage forum if anyone was interested.

I just met up with a historian this week that's got some information that I haven't found, so things may get more interesting.

 

[madbull34]

Adrian Gonzalez went to my high school (Eastlake). He's in my yearbook. He was a sophomore when I was a senior.

 

[ASTROBURN]

I did make a thread about this in the vintage forum if anyone was interested.

Sorry, i didnt know. I dont visit vintage.

 

[Krom]

Yaz was born the next town over. (same i was born in)

 

[TBTwinsFan]

Sorry, i didnt know. I dont visit vintage.

Sorry, what I meant was that I made a thread about my own "hometown heroes," and people could check it out if they wanted to know more about the baseball players from my area.

Didn't mean to cause confusion.

 

[Super Mario]

The town I grew up in, Jerry Sloan and Carl Mauck grew up there as well.

 

[tpeichel]

I was born in Springfield, PA and their only major leaguer was a pitcher named Mike Davison, who happened to be on the rookie card of George Foster.

My father played with him in high school and said he was amazing. They made the Minnesota High School Baseball Tournament where Mike had an 18 K game. He died earlier this year, but before he passed my father had several opportunities to visit with him and his family.

He learned that Mike ended up in Springfield, MN because the Town Team hired his father to pitch for them. (Just like Moonlight Graham talked about in Field of Dreams.) Davison's father actually made more working and pitching for Springfield than he did pitching in the minors for the Cubs because lodging was free and the job was 12 months.

Mike had a 25 K game in high school and another game where he struck out 18 in a row. Between high school, legion ball and town team ball in Springfield, his Dad figured he had over 10 no-hitters, though they don't know the number exactly, and countless one and two hitters. Can you imagine the hype for a pitcher like that in 2013?

He didn't sign his pro contract right away because his Dad reasoned that he'd get 3 starts per week pitching the summer in Springfield, while he'd only get one start a week in the minors. When he got to the minors, he pitched for the Orioles affiliate with Jim Palmer. Palmer got the call before him because they needed a righty instead of a lefty. Davison ended up in the war and hurt his arm throwing grenades and was never the same when he came back and tried to pitch professionally.

My father asked him who was the toughest batter he faced. Hands down it was Roberto Clemente. Wherever he threw the ball, even if it was out of the zone, Clemente would hit it hard. He only faced Hank Aaron once, with the bases loaded...and walked him. Smart man.


The Baseball Historian did a short interview of Davison:

http://baseballhistorian.blogspot.com/2011/10/mike-davison.html

Ted Williams and Bob Feller are famous examples of baseball players who had their careers interrupted by extended periods of military service. Fortunately they were ultimately able to return and continue producing at high levels. Many other players have sacrificed baseball in order to serve their country, including Mike Davison.


Davison was a left-handed pitcher signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1964 out of Minnesota, where he had attended Augsberg College. He was a starter and immediately showed the Orioles that they had signed an intriguing prospect. In 1964, his first season in the minors, he went 12-4 with a 3.10 ERA between two lower level teams. However, in the offseason, the Orioles made the difficult choice to leave him unprotected in the first year draft, and he was snatched up by the San Francisco Giants.


Davison’s 1965 season was spent pitching for Springfield in the Eastern League. Although his record was a putrid 9-18, he had a sparkling 2.84 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 203 innings. His future in baseball looked bright, but was unknown to him, was about to take a detour.


With the Vietnam War intensifying, Davison was drafted into military service and missed the next three baseball seasons. When he returned in 1969, the Giants decided to turn him from a starter into a closer. He had enough success at the transition that he was called up to appear in one game with the Giants. He pitched the final two innings of a 9-4 loss to the San Diego Padres on October 1[SUP]st[/SUP], the second to last game of the year, giving up a run, but also striking out Nate Colbert and Cito Gaston.


In 1970 Davison forced his way on to the San Francisco roster by proving he was too advanced to the minors. In the 15 games he did appear in at Triple-A, he had a tiny 0.90 ERA. That success did not translate to San Francisco. Davison pitched 31 games out of the bullpen, posting a 3-5 record, one save, and a 6.50 ERA. His Achilles heel were base runners, as he had a 1.89 WHIP.

Davison’s time in the major leagues ended following 1970. He pitched in the minors in 1971, first in the Giants’ system, and then with the Reds after being released. Sadly, injuries ended his career following that season and he never played professional baseball again.

Although the formative years of Davison’s development in baseball were interrupted by military service, it is just that he was still able to realize his goal of playing in the major leagues. It is impossible to say how his career would have been different if he had never lost those three years, but there is no real reason to speculate. He ended up making it, and that is more than most players can claim.

Mike Davison Questionnaire:

If you could do anything about your playing career differently, what would that be?: I wish I wouldn’t have shattered my rotator cuff.

What was the strangest play you ever saw on the baseball diamond?: A pitcher misjudging a soft line drive that broke his nose.

Who was your favorite coach or manager?: Cal Ripken, Sr.


Who talked the most on the field to annoy the opposing team?: Earl Weaver.

 

[exigussrex]

Off the top of my head...Mark Trumbo, Jered Wright, Trevor Hoffman, Glen Hoffman...