College Football and the Detroit Tigers

Phil Nevin

Phil Nevin had a celebrated college baseball career, leading his Cal State Fullerton team to the College World Series in 1992, and winning both the CWS Most Outstanding Player award and the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to college baseball’s best player. Nevin was then taken first overall by the Houston Astros, a decision that famously led Detroit Tigers Hall-of-Famer and Houston scout Hal Newhouser to quit, because the team ignored his advice to draft Derek Jeter.

The Astros seemingly regretted their choice, trading Nevin to Detroit for Mike Henneman in 1995 after just 18 games in a Houston uniform. Nevin didn’t do much for the Tigers over the next two seasons, and was traded twice more before finally seeing some success in San Diego. He made one All-Star team and finished with a .270 average and 208 home runs in his MLB career. Nevin is still around baseball, including several seasons managing Tigers minor-league teams. He currently serves as the third-base coach for the New York Yankees.

But Phil Nevin was also an excellent college football player. He was a kicker and a punter, sure, but he was a darn good one! He was actually named an All-American as a freshman after going 15-for-21 on field goals, including a 54-yarder. His FG accuracy took a nosedive after that, including a 7-for-19 performance in 1991, but he did average nearly 41 yards per punt. Phil Nevin remains the second-leading scorer in Call State Fullerton history…though the program disbanded in 1992.

Don Lund

We have to go back for this one. A Detroit native, Don Lund was an outstanding athlete for the University of Michigan in the 1940s, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. He was on some strong UM football teams, starting at fullback against Ohio State as part of the conference champion1943 squad, and being named team MVP in 1944 when he began the season on defense before returning to fullback for the final four games. Lund finished his college football career with just three touchdowns and 643 yards from scrimmage, but he was nevertheless selected by the Chicago Bears with the 7th overall pick in the 1945 NFL draft.

But Lund decided against pro football and pursued a career in baseball. He mostly kicked around as a reserve outfielder, spending plenty of time in the minor leagues, but in 1953 he became a regular outfielder for the Detroit Tigers, batting .257 with 9 home runs in 131 games. The following season he returned to a backup role, sitting behind some hotshot young player named Albert William Kaline.

Lund quickly moved into scouting, and then spent part of 1958 as Detroit’s first-base coach before resigning to take over as the head baseball coach at the University of Michigan. He led Michigan to a surprise national championship in 1962, but then when his friend Jim Campbell was named General Manager of the Tigers, Lund returned to baseball as Detroit’s director of minor-league operations . Lund was instrumental in building the 1968 World Series champs, helping to acquire and develop Willie Horton, Mickey Stanley, Jim Northrup, Denny McLain, and Mickey Lolich, among others.

Vince Coleman

Vince Coleman played just six games in a Tigers uniform in 1997, but he’s a name who makes sense for this list. For those who may not remember Coleman, he was easily one of the fastest baseball players of all time. He stole more than 100 bases in each of his first three seasons in the big leagues. He led all of baseball in steals in each of his first six seasons. He still holds the record for most consecutive stolen bases without getting caught, with 50. So it’s easy to see him excelling as a wide receiver, running back, or defensive back in college football.

Except, no. Vince Coleman was a kicker. Playing for the Division I-AA Florida A&M Rattlers, Coleman helped win a national title in 1978, kicked the game-winning field goal in a stunning upset over the Miami Hurricanes in 1979, and was named an all-conference player in both 1980 and 1981. His dream, apparently, was to follow in the footsteps of his cousin Greg Coleman, who was an NFL punter for 12 years. But NFL teams wanted him to use his speed:

Coleman used one of his legs for something other than running; he was the football team’s punter. After college, he signed with the Washington Redskins, but the team wanted him to utilize his speed as a wide receiver. Coleman wanted to remain a punter, however, so he left the team and started playing for one of the Cardinals’ minor league affiliates.

Now that’s a man who loves to kick.

Rick Leach

Rick Leach’s pro baseball career didn’t work out terribly well, but he remains a legend in Michigan sports lore for his high-school exploits in Flint, and his outstanding college football career in Ann Arbor.

Leach was selected in the MLB draft three times, first by Philadelphia in the 11th round in 1975, then again by the Phillies in the 24th round in 1978, and finally by the Tigers in the 1st round in 1979. He signed with Detroit and made the majors in 1981, but he served mostly as a backup with the Tigers, hitting just .236 with 7 home runs for them over 235 games. Detroit cut Leach just before the 1984 season, and he spent parts of the next five seasons as a reserve for the Toronto Blue Jays, before finishing his career with Texas and San Francisco.

If Leach played college football today it’s entirely possible his pro career would’ve taken a different route. He became the first freshman to start at quarterback under Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler, and over the next four seasons he broke numerous records for the Wolverines. He finished his career in Ann Arbor with 4,045 passing yards, 2,171 rushing yards, and 82 touchdowns. He led Michigan to three consecutive conference titles, he finished 3rd in the 1978 Heisman vote, and he became the first Division I player ever to score 200 points as both a passer and a runner.

Though he was heavily courted by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, as an undersized (6’1, 180) lefty quarterback who did as much damage running as he did throwing, Leach wasn’t a terribly hot commodity in the NFL. The Denver Broncos did draft him in the 5th round, but the chance to play pro baseball in his home state proved hard to resist.

Speaking of legendary Michigan athletes. Kirk Gibson wasn’t quite as celebrated in high school as Rick Leach was, but he was nevertheless an outstanding athlete who played baseball, basketball, football, and ran track at Waterford Kettering before accepting a scholarship to play college football at Michigan State. Gibson played just one year of college baseball, but after hitting .390 with 16 home runs and 21 steals in 48 games, the Detroit Tigers saw fit to draft him 12th overall in 1978.

Though injuries prevented him from fully realizing his Hall-of-Fame level talent, Gibson still went on to have a spectacular baseball career. He was a unicorn, with scouting reports awarding him top-of-the-scale grades for both his power and speed. He went on to produce nearly 40 WAR in his career, and though he never made an All-Star team, he was named the 1988 National League MVP award. He’s one of 23 players all time with 250 or more home runs and 250 or more stolen bases, and of course he hit a few of the most iconic postseason home runs of all time.

But Gibby was also one hell of a college football player, though few people got to see it. He was a starting wide receiver as a freshman, and just as in baseball, he was a true home run threat, catching just nine balls, but taking four of them to the house for an average of 29.1 yards per catch. Unfortunately, Michigan State was placed on probation in 1976, so while Gibson caught 103 balls for more than 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns over his final three seasons, none of his games were televised. Gibson led the conference in receiving yards in 1976 and 1978, was named an All-American in 1978, and he remains second all time in the Big Ten in receiving yards per catch.

Gibby was drafted by St. Louis Cardinals (football version) in the 7th round, but it’s clear he made the right choice by pursuing baseball.