Wood vs. Wood #187

 Last time it was 1987 with a 5-2 victory. Who will come out on top this time?

Gene Conley crouches down from his full 6'8" height so the photographer at Yankee Stadium can get his photo. One of the greatest athletes to play major league baseball, Conley pitched eleven seasons in the major leagues, and was a three-time All-Star. In his 11-year MLB career, Conley had five seasons of double-digit wins for the Braves, Phillies and Red Sox. Overall in 276 games (214 starts) he went 91-96 with a 3.82 ERA. Most impressively, he accomplished all of this while playing professional basketball most offseasons! The only player to win a championship in MLB ('57 Braves) and NBA (three Celtics teams), he was a solid bench player in nine seasons for the Celtics and Knicks of the NBA, the Hartford Capitols of the EPBL, and the Washington Tapers of the ABL. The Tapers were owned by the Tuck Tape company, and in his time with the team he went on sales calls with owner Paul Cohen. After his sports career ended, he had a long career in the tape industry, eventually owning a duct tape company and later a paper company. He died of heart failure in 2017.

Mark Huismann is relaxing in what I think is the Tiger Stadium dugout or bullpen. I can't quite make out the logo on his cup. When I was a kid I always thought it was a Slurpee cup. Huismann came up with the Royals in 1983 and was a solid middle reliever for them. He made the postseason roster in 1984 but spent most of the 1985 championship season in the minors, pitching in only nine major league games. In May of 1986 he was traded to the Mariners, leading to a stretch where he pitched for six teams over five years. Overall in 152 games, all but one in relief, he went 13-11 with 11 saves and a 4.40 ERA. He stayed in the Kansas City area after his playing career, and is currently the pitching coach for the American Legion Post 499 Senior Fike team in Blue Springs, MO.