Columbia University is one of the most prestigious schools in the United States, competing in the Ivy League for athletics.
Baseball has been one of the longest standing traditions for the Lions, dating back to their first season in 1888. While recent seasons have not been the kindest to them record-wise, there was a period of Columbia baseball in the first half of the 20th century that rivaled any program in the country for one distinguished honor: alumni to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Four former Columbia student-athletes – three of which played for the Lions – are currently enshrined in Cooperstown, with some of the names sticking out as the best of all-time in some conversations.
Take a look at the players below, and make sure to share your new-found knowledge of baseball history with your friends, cause you might just seem like a Columbia scholar.
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John Ward, IF/P — Inducted 1964
Ward was the only player that did not actually play affiliated baseball at Columbia, debuting in the Major Leagues in 1878 before the program was started. Eventually moving on to Penn State, the former star for the New York Giants was one of the premier two-way players of his time.
Stepping away from the game following the 1894 season, Ward is best remembered for being a workhorse on the mound and in the diamond, once logging 111 steals in a single season. But the remarkable stat – though it seems pedestrian for his day – were the 47 wins he collected on the mound for the Providence Grays at the age of 19.
A name that may have passed by the register of recent greatness, Ward was arguably one of the best players before the turn of the century, and is definitely worth noting.
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Eddie Collins, 2B — Inducted 1939
Collins is a name a few more people might be familiar with as one of the premier players in the first few decades of the 1900's. A member of the Philadelphia A's and Chicago White Sox, Collins was one of the premier players not associated with the Black Sox scandal of the 1919 World Series.
A member of the 3,000 hit club with a grand total of 3,315, "Cocky" was a star hitter who routinely hit above .320 in a majority of his professional seasons. Prior to his time in the Majors, Collins starred at Columbia from 1904 to 1907 but we unfortunately have no records of his time there.
While a premier player for his day, he still falls just short of the next two all-time greats that called Columbia home.
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Sandy Koufax, P — Inducted 1972
"The Left Arm of God" was once a Columbia man before his days with the Dodgers. Something about the color blue must have made him raise his game.
Arguably the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time, Koufax debuted with the legendary 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (while he was taking night classes at Columbia — he didn't actually play for Columbia's baseball team) and was part of the team transition to Los Angeles just three years later. Playing for 12 years, the last five are one of the best stretches in pitching history, with an ERA that rose above 2.04 just one season, and 25 or more wins achieved three times.
Until Sandy came along, lefties were not the bright spot of the game they are considered today. Without him, we may not have seen the dominance of a Glavine, Carlton, Randy Johnson, or the present best lefty in the game, Clayton Kershaw.
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Lou Gehrig, OF — Inducted 1939
"The Luckiest Man on The Face of The Earth" is in the discussion of greatest players of all time, and it all started with the Columbia Lions in 1923. The most legendary Yankee to ever wear the number four, Gehrig blossomed into one of the star sluggers of his time from 1923-1939.
"The Iron Horse" is still among the top ten of some Lion regular-season records, sitting in fifth for batting average (.444) and still holding the mark for best slugging percentage in a year at .937.
One of the greatest hitters to ever step in the batters box was at times called "Columbia", and now you know it's because this Hall of Famer got his start right in New York City at Columbia University.
