The California State University, Fresno baseball program started in 1922 and Tex Clevenger was their first player to make it to the Major League level.
The first Bulldog alumni to make it to the show did not play baseball at all — rather he was a football player; Frenchy Bordagary, who was actually quite a character and his bio on BaseballLibrary.com explains why:
"Frenchy fit Casey Stengel's Brooklyn Dodgers like fingers in a glove. Gifted but erratic, he mixed brilliant plays with bonehead ones. He ran when he wanted, failed to slide when he should have, and ignored signs. In 1935, he showed up at spring training with a mustache, a no-no in those days. They made him shave it off, which he blamed for a subsequent slump. With the Cardinals in '38, he led the league with 20 pinch hits in 43 at-bats."
Source: Author Norman L. Macht
Did you know that there are forty-two former California State Fresno players who made it to the show? Send updates / corrections to Baseball Almanac.
