July 10, 2012
TUCSON, Ariz. - As Major League Baseball celebrates its 83rd All-Star Game this evening in Kansas City, Mo., it's worth noting that three former University of Arizona men's basketball players have appeared in the Midsummer Classic.
Former Wildcats Tony Clark, Hank Leiber and Kenny Lofton all played basketball at Arizona and appeared in the MLB All-Star Game at least once.
Clark played for the Wildcats in 1990-91, averaging 3.2 points and 1.4 rebounds while shooting 54.5 percent from the field. In his 15-year MLB career, Clark made once All-Star Game appearance for the Detroit Tigers in 2001.
Leiber lettered for the Wildcats in 1931 (statistics are unavailable) and went on to a 10-year MLB career, where he appeared in three All-Star Games (1938, 1940, '41) for the New York Giants and the Chicago Cubs.
Lofton was a four-year letterwinner for the Wildcats (1985-89), averaging 4.8 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. He went on to enjoy a 17-year MLB career and made six All-Star Game appearances for the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves (1994-99). In those six All-Star Games, Lofton batted .357 (5-of-14) with two runs batted in.
According to research done by Mike Douchant, author of the Encyclopedia of College Basketball, Clark, Leiber and Lofton are three of the 70 former college basketball players who have also appeared in the MLB All-Star Game.
