Wes Schulmerich - Baseball

Born in Hillsboro in 1901, Wes Schulmerich was a multi-talented athlete credited with being the first player from Oregon State University to reach the Major Leagues, where he played for four seasons. In later years, he became one of the school's most visible fans, and was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 1980.

Schulmerich, a 5-foot-11, 210-pound athlete, reached Oregon Agricultural College (OSU) at age 22, having turned down an offer to play football at Notre Dame. In Corvallis, he played football, baseball and ran for the track team.

Schulmerich played fullback, linebacker and even handled the place-kicking duties in football, which caught the attention of several teams in the National Football League. He was an all-conference player in the Pacific Coast Conference as a junior and senior, but he focused on baseball following his graduation in 1927.

Having hit .459 as a senior, Schulmerich earned a spot with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League in 1927, and spent four seasons with the club. After hitting .380 with 28 homers in 189 games during the 1930 season, the Boston Braves traded for him and he moved into the starting line-up the next season. The Braves traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1933, where he hit .334 in 95 games. The Phillies traded him to Cincinnati early in the 1934 season, and they released him following their last-place finish in the National League.

In 429 games in the National League, he finished with a .263 average, 192 RBIs and 27 home runs.

Following his days in the Majors, Schulmerich bounced around with numerous minor league teams, serving as player/manager for several, before retiring in 1939 at age 41.

He and his wife Cecile were regulars for decades at OSU football, basketball and baseball games. He died in 1985.

Schulmerich was inducted to the Oregon State Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.