The true answer would be that Frank Baumholtz would be the Bobcat version of Bo Jackson. He played professionally in basketball and baseball. I don't think excelling in intramurals and backyard play really qualifies.

I encountered Mike Schmidt one time in my life. He was signing at a card show in the Convo, I believe Paul O'Neill was also there. My takeaway, even at a young age, was that Mike was kind of a jerk. Very gruff, seemed unhappy to be there.

An OU alum turned TV sportscaster (small market) approached him at a promotional event in the early 1990s and mentioned their mutual ties to Athens. Schmidt replied, "Go F*** yourself." A peach of a human being.

From what I recall, he wanted to play hoops at Ohio. Walked on the baseball team instead.

It really sucks when I read comments about his behavior. I wish I could say something to the contrary but I cannot. He came to Athens in 86' or 87' for a fundraising event for Coach France. He acted like a total ass not only to people wanting an autograph or photo but to the current players.

This doesn't sound credible to me. How many years did he play MLB ball with this horrible knee issue? How many awards did he win in the MLB with those knees? Also, at that time, Bob Wren had a reputation for getting players into pro ball. I think at the zenith of his career he ranked only second to a coach at Arizona in terms of the number of his former players playing pro ball. He won recruiting wars against many, many "big name" schools.

OK, I checked, and it is established that he had knee issues back in high school, and settled on baseball rather than basketball because of less knee impact. I was wrong there. However, I don't buy that that's why he ended up at OHIO. I suspect a lot of coaches at B1G schools would have taken the gamble that Wren did. You are not giving credit to the draw of OHIO baseball in that era. Schmidt was not the only future MLB player on Schmidt's OHIO teams.

I have no idea what you are trying to say here, Donuts. In that era coaches had all sorts of ways to evaluate talent. I'm sure other coaches were willing to take the gamble that Schmidt's knees would hold out enough for him to be a major contributor to their baseball programs. I seriously doubt that Bob Wren was the only high-profile coach who thought Schmidt could be a contributor. You seem to have little understanding for the status of Coach Wren in the baseball world of that time. OHIO has never before or since had a coach of his stature. As I said, he was one of the top coaches nationally in placing grads in pro baseball at the AAA and MLB levels. Coach Wren's son sometimes posts on this board. I'm sure he could give us the straight skinny on what went down with Schmidt.

Let me make clear, I'm not saying that Schmidt is a nice person. Enough people have posted here indicating that he has a mean streak in him. The story the guy told who approached him as a young kid wanting a baseball card autographed was very sad, and did not speak well of him from a fan basis. Just the opposite of my childhood idle -- Ernie Banks. Ernie was a fan-oriented player. I had a brief encounter with Ernie as a teenager and I'll just say it was the opposite of what the poster said about his encounter with Mike.

And, finally, if Mike came here because of the architecture school, more power too him, And, I'm sure if that was a key point in Schmidt choosing a school that Wren was smart enough to exploit it.

I have no idea what you're trying to say here, OCF.

You're the one who led your initial response with "this doesn't sound credible to me" and dismissing it without doing any research. That I'm "not giving credit" and I "seem to have little understanding" for the status of Bob Wren. So is the goal here to actually learn a thing or two, or talk down to me some more?

I shared information that has been shared multiple times in different outlets directly from Mike Schmidt. He wasn't recruited by D1 teams. He had severe knee issues in college. He had to try out to make the team once he arrived on campus because light-hitting switch hitters with bad knees who can't hit .200 against high school pitching don't get thrown offers. None of this has anything to do with Bob Wren's ability to recruit or scout up to that point.

Of course, just reading your responses and non-acceptance over this shared information readily available online, I'm sure you're going to continue to believe in whatever you want to believe happened 60 years ago. Maybe share an irrelevant story or two to listen to yourself type in a response as well. Doesn't feel so great getting talked down to and having people assume about you, does it?

Baumholz is the only bobcat to be a first team all American. He’s also one of only five players to have played professional basketball and baseball in the same year!