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    • Athletes Who Played in Both NBA and MLB

    by admin in NBA | Comments Off on Athletes Who Played in Both NBA and MLB

    Not many athletes played two professional sports. Usually they were good at one sport but could not live up to the expectations in the other.

    Here is a quick look at all players who played in both NBA and MLB.

    Johnny Gee

    Johnny Gee was one of the few athletes to play in both the NBA and MLB. He played Major League Baseball for Pittsburg Pirate and New York Giants. He was also a member of NBL’s Syracuse Nationals/Philadephia 76ers, a team that later move to NBA.

    Gee was the leading scorer for Nationals in their first home game and first win in the league during 1946-47 season.

    Hank Biasatti

    Hank Biasatti is the only Canadian to compete at the top professional level in basketball and baseball. He played for the Toronto Huskies (NBA) in 1946 and the Philadelphia Athletics (MLB) in 1949.

    Irv Noren

    Irv Noren spent 10 seasons playing in MBL, for six different teams. He also had a brief National Basketball League career with Chicago American Gears that lasted just one season (1946-1947).

    Danny Ainge

    Danny Ainge was great in many sports. He played three seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays of MLB during his college years. He quit baseball and decided to become a professional basketball player. Ainge played 14 years in NBA and won two championships with Boston Celtics.

    Frank Baumholtz

    Frank Baumholtz played 10 seasons in MLB with Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. He also played as a point guard for National Basketball League’s Youngstown Bears and Cleveland Rebels of the Basketball Association of America.

    Gene Conley

    Gene Conley was an outstanding multi-sport athlete of his generation. He was the only player to win both a World Series title and an NBA championship, one with Milwaukee Braves in 1957 and three straight with Boston Celtics from 1959 to 61.

    Chuck Connors

    Chuck Connors was only a two-sport athlete but an actor too. He appeared in more than 40 films and numerous television series. Connors won an NBA championship in 1946 with Rochester Royals. He left basketball to join MLB and played three seasons in the league.

    Dave DeBusschere

    Dave DeBusschere was drafted by both NBA’s Detroit Pistons and MLB’s Chicago White Sox in 1962. He gave up baseball next year but continued his professional basketball career. DeBusschere was a strong defender and rebounder who helped New York Knicks to win two NBA championships.

    Dick Groat

    Dick Groat was one of the few baseball players who were able to carve out a parallel career in basketball. However, his NBA career lasted just one season. In baseball, Groat won two World Series Championships, one with Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960 and other with St. Louis Cardinals in 1964.

    Steve Hamilton

    Steve Hamilton played two seasons in NBA for Minneapolis Lakers in 1958-60. He later joined MLB and pitched for six teams, mainly the New York Yankees.

    Mark Hendrickson

    Mark Hendrickson began his professional basketball career in 1996-97 and went on to play four seasons in National Basketball Association. In 2002, he opted to become a professional baseball player and played nine seasons in MLB as a pitcher.

    Cotton Nash

    Cotton Nash spent parts of 1964-65 season in NBA with Los Angeles Lakers and San Francisco Warriors. After quitting basketball, he decided to become a full time baseball player and appeared in 13 games for Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins over 3 MLB seasons.

    Ron Reed

    Ron Reed was a member of Philadelphia Phillies’ baseball team, which won the World Series in 1980. He also played for NBA’s Detroit Pistons in 1965-67.

    Dick Ricketts

    Dick Ricketts played three seasons in NBA with St. Louis Hawks and Rochester/Cincinnati Royals. He quit basketball in 1959 and briefly played baseball for St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher.

    Howie Shultz

    Howie Shultz spent five seasons in Major League Baseball as a first baseman. In the offseason, he also played professional basketball and joined NBL’s Anderson Packers. But Shultz had his greatest success during his two seasons with Minneapolis Lakers and helped his team win a championship in 1952.




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