Today marks Tony Gwynn's 53rd birthday. Gwynn is a Hall of Fame baseball player who won 8 batting titles and was selected to 15 All Star teams. He retired with 3,141 hits and his No. 19 jersey is retired.
What many have forgotten is that basketball was his first love.
At San Diego State he didn't even play baseball as a freshman because he wanted to focus on basketball. He was a highly recruited point guard out of Long Beach, and would go on to set Aztecs records for assists in a game, in a season, and in a career. He was a 2-time All Conference player.
It's hard to picture Gwynn dunking, but he could.
As a sophomore the team's shortstop (Bobby Meacham) convinced the baseball coaches to give Gwynn a shot at playing baseball, and the rest is history. He was a 2-time All American in his three seasons, and remains the only play in San Diego State history to be All Conference in multiple sports.
In his final home basketball game, Gwynn scored 16 points and added 16 assists. He would be drafted in the 10th round of the NBA draft, but wisely chose to focus on baseball.
Gwynn is currently the head baseball coach at San Diego State.
