Ron Reed---1974
One can not really tell it from this
card, but Ron Reed was an
especially rare athlete in his day.
What may look like just another lanky
right-hander, was in reality only one
of 14 major league players (to date)
who have also donned an NBA
uniform.
At 6-foot-6, Reed was a two-sport
star at the University of Notre Dame.
Come NBA draft day, he was a third
round pick of the Detroit Pistons in
1965. Reed also signed as a free
agent with the Milwaukee Braves in
June of the same year.
The pride of LaPorte (IN) would enjoy
the next few summers on the
diamond, followed by winters in the
gymnasium. Reed averaged eight
points per contest in 119 NBA games
for the Pistons during the 1965-66
and 1966-67 seasons. After two
seasons in the minors, Reed debuted
for the Braves on September 26,
1966, just weeks before rejoining the
Pistons for the 1966-67 campaign.
Reed wisely hung up his sneakers
and concentrated on baseball
beginning in 1968, in what many
would say was an inconspicuous
19-year career. Pitching for the
Braves, Cardinals, Phillies and White
Sox; Reed quietly was an All-Star
(1968), an 18-game winner (1969)
and a key part of the Phillies bullpen
for their 1980 World Championship.
He also finds himself in the company
of hurlers John Smoltz, Goose
Gossage and Dave Eckersley ,to
name a few, as one of eight pitchers
in major league history to have won
and saved at least 100 games during
a career.
Not bad for a guy who spent the first
two years of his baseball career with
a basketball in the other hand.
card, but Ron Reed was an
especially rare athlete in his day.
What may look like just another lanky
right-hander, was in reality only one
of 14 major league players (to date)
who have also donned an NBA
uniform.
At 6-foot-6, Reed was a two-sport
star at the University of Notre Dame.
Come NBA draft day, he was a third
round pick of the Detroit Pistons in
1965. Reed also signed as a free
agent with the Milwaukee Braves in
June of the same year.
The pride of LaPorte (IN) would enjoy
the next few summers on the
diamond, followed by winters in the
gymnasium. Reed averaged eight
points per contest in 119 NBA games
for the Pistons during the 1965-66
and 1966-67 seasons. After two
seasons in the minors, Reed debuted
for the Braves on September 26,
1966, just weeks before rejoining the
Pistons for the 1966-67 campaign.
Reed wisely hung up his sneakers
and concentrated on baseball
beginning in 1968, in what many
would say was an inconspicuous
19-year career. Pitching for the
Braves, Cardinals, Phillies and White
Sox; Reed quietly was an All-Star
(1968), an 18-game winner (1969)
and a key part of the Phillies bullpen
for their 1980 World Championship.
He also finds himself in the company
of hurlers John Smoltz, Goose
Gossage and Dave Eckersley ,to
name a few, as one of eight pitchers
in major league history to have won
and saved at least 100 games during
a career.
Not bad for a guy who spent the first
two years of his baseball career with
a basketball in the other hand.
