Quarterbacks on the Diamond
As the 2025 NFL regular season comes to a close, a SABR member examines quarterbacks who had the chance at a baseball career
Pregame Pepper
. . . While the schedule coordination allows for football and baseball dual-sport players frequently, a number of players have crossed over from other sports as well.
. . . MLB and the NBA have a history of crossover players, and many players played both sports at a collegiate level, like Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Incredibly, four athletes played in the NBA and MLB in overlapping seasons, meaning they were playing both sports at the same time - Gene Conley, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Groat, and Ron Reed. Reed was the last to do the NBA/MLB double-dip in 1966.
. . . While he never played professional hockey, Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine was an elite hockey prospect, drafted in 1984 by the Los Angeles Kings ahead of multiple future NHL Hall of Fame players before he signed with the Atlanta Braves. The only player to play professional hockey and reach MLB was James Riley in the 1910s and 1920s, though others did reach minor league or independent leagues in both sports.
Leading Off
NFL Quarterbacks on the Diamond
By Richard Cuicchi
NFL superstar quarterback Tom Brady was an 18th-round pick out of high school by the Montreal Expos in 1995. He obviously chose the right profession in football, eventually acquiring NFL G.O.A.T. status by most football pundits. Yet other high school quarterback phenoms such as Joe Mauer, Matt Holliday, and Adam Dunn chose baseball even though they had first committed to colleges to play football. They likewise made good choices since they each had substantial major-league careers, including multiple All-Star seasons. (Mauer was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.)
Throughout baseball history, there have been collegiate quarterbacks who picked baseball to continue their athletic careers. Most of them were high school elites in both sports, playing in eras when multi-sport athletes were common. For some, their results in professional baseball were mixed, causing them to return to football in the NFL after their stints on the baseball diamond.
Here is a review of former major-league baseball players with noteworthy backgrounds as college quarterbacks.
Paul Giel started out as a quarterback in a single-wing offense at the University of Minnesota in 1951 but was later shifted to a halfback whose arsenal included passing. He was one of the nation’s top players in 1952 and 1953. He was a two-time Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy Award in both years. Giel entertained the prospect of signing with George Halas’s Chicago Bears but ultimately decided on baseball. As a two-time All-American pitcher for the Gophers, he signed with the New York Giants out of college as a “bonus baby.” He pitched in the majors with four teams for 102 games in 1954-55 and 1958-61 (interrupted by military service). He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975.
After a storied career in both high school football and baseball in New England, Harry Agannis set 15 school records as quarterback for Boston University during 1949 and 1951-52 (interrupted by military service during the Korean War). The left-hander, who also played defensive back and punter, was a first-team All-Eastern Conference selection in 1951 and 1952 and a first-team All-American in 1951. Despite being drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Browns, he spurned a pro football career to play baseball for the Boston Red Sox. During his second season with the Red Sox in 1952, his promising career came to a tragic end, when he died from a pulmonary embolism after being hospitalized with pneumonia. Agganis was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1974.
Tom Yewcic quarterbacked Michigan State University to a national football championship in 1952 and Rose Bowl victory over UCLA in 1954. An All-American catcher, he helped the Spartans reach the College World Series in 1954, when he was named the tournament MVP. He first chose baseball for his pro career but managed only one major-league appearance with the Detroit Tigers during his five seasons. He returned to football with the New England Patriots from 1961-1966 as a punter and part-time quarterback.
Jake Gibbs was a football and baseball All-American at Ole Miss. He quarterbacked the Rebels to a national championship in 1960 and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. As a third baseman, Gibbs helped Ole Miss to SEC championships in baseball in 1959 and 1960. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns (NFL) and Houston Oilers (AFL) in 1961, but instead signed with the New York Yankees. The Yankees switched Gibbs to catcher with the intention of succeeding Elston Howard, but he ultimately lost out in a battle with Thurman Munson as the regular catcher. In ten seasons with the Yankees (the first four in limited appearances), he batted .233 with 28 home runs and 146 RBIs. Gibbs was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1995.
Mike Miley was a two-sport all-state performer as a quarterback and shortstop from the New Orleans area. He was drafted out of high school by the Cincinnati Reds in the first round of the 1971 MLB Draft. Yet he signed with LSU to play both sports. He helped LSU to an Orange Bowl appearance in 1974 and was an All-SEC shortstop. Miley was a first-round draft pick again (10th overall) by the California Angels in 1974. He played parts of two seasons with the Angels in 1975 and 1976. He was killed in a car accident in January 1977 at age 23.
Phil Bradley was a three-time Big Eight Conference Offensive Player of the Year (1977-1980) as the quarterback for the University of Missouri. He led his teams to three bowl appearances. He was an All-Conference and All-American outfielder selection in 1981. A third-round selection of the Seattle Mariners in 1981, he made his major-league debut in 1983. He went on to play eight major-league seasons, compiling a record of .286, 78 home runs, and 376 RBIs. The right-handed hitter was an American League All-Star in 1985.
Rick Leach was the starting quarterback for the University of Michigan for four seasons (1976-1979), leading the Wolverines to three Big Ten Conference championships. He was the Big Ten MVP and first-team All-American in 1978, finishing third in the Heisman Trophy voting. He was the Big Ten batting champion as a junior, earning All-American honors. The outfielder/first baseman had bypassed pro baseball after being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1975 and 1978. After his first-round selection (13th overall pick) by the Detroit Tigers in 1979, he turned professional and went on to a 10-year career in utility/designated hitter roles with four teams.
Todd Helton was a second-round pick out of high school by the San Diego Pades in the 1992 MLB Draft. However, the Knoxville native chose to attend the University of Tennessee to play both football and baseball. He ended up serving as backup quarterback to future NFLers Heath Schuler and Peyton Manning, in 1993 and 1994. In baseball with the Volunteers, he was a two-time All-American, SEC Player of the Year, and Dick Howser Trophy winner. He was the 1995 first-round pick (8th overall selection) of the Colorado Rockies, where he went on to a 17-year Hall of Fame career.
Drew Henson was drafted out of high school by the New York Yankees in 1998 and started his professional baseball career that year. He also enrolled at the University of Michigan to play football and served as the backup quarterback to Tom Brady for two years before becoming a full-time starter in 2000. He continued to play baseball after Michigan, finally reaching the big leagues in 2002 with the Yankees for a “cup of coffee” as a third baseman. He ended his baseball career in 2003 and then signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2004, when he appeared in seven games. He also played two games for the Detroit Lions in 2008.
There have been other NFL quarterbacks who had baseball on their sports resume, although not at the major-league level.
Jay Schroeder was a first-round pick as a high school catcher by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1979. He signed for the 1980 season, while also appearing in nine games as quarterback for UCLA that Fall. He played four seasons in the Blue Jays minor-league system without advancing past A-ball. Despite his limited playing time in college football, he was still a sought-after prospect in the NFL, selected in the third round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. He went on to a 10-year NFL career with four teams.
NFL Hall of Famer John Elway played in the Yankees’ minor-league system in 1982 as an outfielder while still playing quarterback at Stanford. He played 16 seasons in the NFL, earning two Super Bowl rings with Denver.
Chris Weinke was a first baseman/third baseman in the Toronto Blue Jays minor-league organization from 1991 to 1996, before enrolling at Florida State University to play quarterback. At age 28, he was the Heisman Trophy Award winner in 2000 and went on to play in the NFL from 2001 to 2007.
Nine-time NFL All-Pro quarterback Russell Wilson played in the Colorado Rockies system (2010 and 2011) as a second baseman while playing quarterback at North Carolina State and Wisconsin. He played 14 seasons in the NFL and earned a Super Bowl ring with Seattle in 2013.
With the current trend of amateur athletes specializing in only one sport, it is unlikely we will see situations any time soon where there are two-sport players in college. Perhaps current NFL quarterbacks Kyler Murray and Patrick Mahomes, both of whom were drafted by major-league teams, will be the last of them.
Richard Cuicchi has been a SABR member since 1983. He has contributed to over 25 SABR BioProject and Games Project books. He writes about New Orleans baseball history for CrescentCitySorts.com. He maintains the Baseball Relatives website where he posts annual compilations of baseball’s family relationships in the majors and minors. He writes a weekly blog post for his TheTenthInning.com website.
Extra Innings
As Andruw Jones awaits his fate on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot, staking his chances on uber-elite defense in center field, he was part of a group of long-lasting elite center fielders who had their best seasons in the 1990s. The 1980s, on the other hand, had more short-term excellence, outside of a very few guys. One of the best of that era was Devon White, who played long enough to hand the torch to those 1990s center fielders. White finished his career with 47.3 career bWAR, mostly from his defense as he finished with a 98 OPS+ for his career and had just five of his 17 seasons over 100 OPS+. A league-average bat with an elite glove can be plenty valuable, though, and White was for a long time. He turns 63 today.
Know Your Editors
Here’s the Pitch is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [biggentleben@hotmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
Another one for this list: Infielder Bernie Allen with the '60s Twins and Senators was the quarterback for Perdue.