Steven Absher Hamilton (November 30, 1934 – December 2, 1997) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) and

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) player.

Basketball career

College

Hamilton attended

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-yea ...

Morehead, Kentucky Morehead is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city located along U.S. Route 60 in Kentucky, US 60 (the historic Midland Trail) and Interstate 64 in Kentucky, Interstate 64 in Rowan County, Kentucky, Rowan County, Kentucky, in the United ...

, from 1954 to 1958, where he excelled in basketball. He scored 1,829 points (4th all-time) and established five MSU rebounding records—single-season average (20.1), average career (16.4), single game (38), single season (543), and career (1,675). He was an All-American in 1957, and a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference First-Team selection.

NBA

From 1958 to 1960, Hamilton was a

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

/ center for the

Minneapolis Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers franchise has a long and storied history, having played and won championships in both the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball League (NBL) and the Basketball Association of America (BAA) prior to ...

. He played for the 1958–59 team that lost to the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

during the 1959 NBA Finals. Over two seasons, he averaged 4.5 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game, and 0.5 assists per game.

Baseball career

Minors

Hamilton began pitching full time in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

in 1958. A starter, he pitched four full years in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, posting records of 15–14, 14–10, 13–9, and 10–12, and throwing between 172 and 210

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

each season. Early in the 1961 season, Hamilton pitched briefly for the major league franchise, logging three innings in two appearances for the Indians, after which he pitched the balance of the season at the top level of the minors,

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

Major league pitcher

Hamilton broke into the Major Leagues as a 26-year-old rookie in 1961. He was a lanky 6' 6" lefty, who took advantage of his immense NBA-sized wingspan to throw sidearm, creating a particularly difficult angle for left-handed batters. While an occasional starter, Hamilton was mostly a middle relief pitcher during his 12 MLB seasons – though he had a stint as the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

' closer during the 1968 season. His best won-loss record was 7–2 (.778%

win percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the tot ...

) with New York in 1964, followed by 8–3 (.727%) in 1966. Hamilton's lowest

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

was 1.39 in 1965, then 2.13 in 1968. In 1963, his first season with the Yankees, he struck out over one batter per inning (63 in 62.1). In 421 career games (17 starts, 10 in 1962 alone), from 1961 to 1972 Hamilton had a 40–31 record with 42 saves and a 3.05

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He pitched one inning during the Yankees

1963 World Series The 1963 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1963 season. The 60th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and two-time defending World Se ...

loss to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and two innings during the Yankees'

1964 World Series The 1964 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1964 Major League Baseball season, 1964 season. The 61st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National Leagu ...

loss to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, including one save. Hamilton also pitched in the 1971 NLCS for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Hamilton's one complete game

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

was on August 5, 1966, against the

, while pitching for the New York Yankees. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out three. It was one of only three starts Hamilton had in the 1966 season. Late in his career, Hamilton threw what famously became known as "The Folly Floater", a high, slow eephus pitch. Other pitchers who have thrown a lob pitch include Rip Sewell and Dave LaRoche.

Playing both sports

Hamilton pitched a full season in the minors in 1958 before he began his NBA career. In the late 1950s both the NBA and MLB seasons were much more compact, with shorter seasons (just 72 games in the NBA, and 154 in MLB), shorter preseasons, and shorter postseasons (much shorter in MLB's case, with only a single round seven-game championship series for each sport, compared to a best-of-3 followed by two rounds of best of 7 in the NBA). Hamilton pitched all of the 1958 baseball season for the B-level minor league franchise of the big league

. Its season ended in or before early September, well before the major league did (in order to allow top AAA-level minor league "call-ups" to be added to expanded big league rosters, that rose from 24 to 40 that month). Hamilton was not one of them. The 1958–59 NBA season began on October 17. The 1958 Minneapolis Lakers were swept in the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

0–4 by the Boston Celtics, with the last game of the series being played on April 8, 1959. Hamilton played for the Single-A Cleveland minor league franchise in 1959, which also would have ended its season around or before September 1. The 1959 Minneapolis Lakers made the playoffs, but fell in the division finals, with the last game being played on March 25, 1960. Hamilton pitched for Cleveland's Double-A minor league franchise in 1960. The 1960 Los Angeles Lakers fell 3–4 in the division finals, the last game of which was played on April 1, 1961. Hamilton made his major league debut with the Indians on April 23, 1961, pitched in two games, then spent the balance of his season at the AAA level. By 1962 Hamilton was out of the NBA, and pitching regularly in the major leagues with the Washington Senators franchise.

Personal

After his major league career ended, Hamilton was a

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

coach in 1975 and was the athletic director at his alma mater,

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "the Bionic Man," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Ch ...

, who met Hamilton while both were in the Indians organization, recalled that "he had two prominent physical characteristics, other than his height: a protruding Adam's apple that bobbed as he spoke, and a

Nellie Fox Jacob Nelson Fox (December 25, 1927 – December 1, 1975) was an American professional baseball player. Fox was one of the best second basemen of all time, and the third-most difficult hitter to strike out in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. ...

-sized wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek." Hamilton was interviewed for

Studs Terkel Louis "Studs" Terkel (May 16, 1912 – October 31, 2008) was an American writer, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1985 for ''The Good War'' and is best remembered for his oral histor ...

's bestselling book, '' Working: What People do all Day and How They Feel About What They Do''. Hamilton died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

at his home in

, on December 2, 1997, and was buried in nearby Forest Lawn Garden of Memories.

Honors

Hamilton is one of only two people to have played in both a World Series and an NBA finals. (The other is Gene Conley, who won both a World Series (in 1957 with the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

) and an NBA finals (from 1959 to 1961 with the

).) Hamilton is one of 13 athletes to have played in both the

and

. The thirteen are:

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and professional baseball player who serves as the chief executive officer for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NB ...

, Frank Baumholtz, Hank Biasatti, Gene Conley,

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have played in both Majo ...

Dave DeBusschere David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 – May 14, 2003) was an American professional basketball player and coach, and professional baseball player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 and in the NBA for the Detroit Pi ...

, Dick Groat, Hamilton, Mark Hendrickson, Cotton Nash, Ron Reed,

Dick Ricketts Richard James Ricketts Jr. (December 4, 1933 – March 6, 1988) was an American professional basketball and baseball player. Ricketts was the No. 1 overall pick of the 1955 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks out of Duquesne University. Ricketts ...

and Howie Schultz.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, 67 , , 12.6 , , .371 , , .679 , , 3.3 , , .5 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , 16.5 , , .377 , , .783 , , 3.9 , , .5 , , 5.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 82 , , 13.3 , , .372 , , .697 , , 3.4 , , .5 , , 4.5

Playoffs

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;" !Year !Team !GP !MPG !FG% !FT% !RPG !APG !PPG , - , style="text-align:left;",

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 8.7 , , .279 , , .800 , , 3.5 , , .5 , , 3.2

References

External links

Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Steve 1934 births 1997 deaths American men's basketball players Baseball players from Kentucky Basketball players from Kentucky Burlington Indians players (1958–1964) Deaths from cancer in Kentucky Centers (basketball) Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States Detroit Tigers coaches Forwards (basketball) Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minneapolis Lakers draft picks Minneapolis Lakers players Mobile Bears players Morehead State Eagles athletic directors Morehead State Eagles baseball coaches Morehead State Eagles baseball players Morehead State Eagles men's basketball players New York Yankees players People from Charlestown, Indiana Sportspeople from Clark County, Indiana People from Columbia, Kentucky Philadelphia Warriors draft picks Reading Indians players Salt Lake City Bees players San Francisco Giants players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players 20th-century American sportsmen