Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame

Pittsburg’s P.J. Forbes played for two national champions in 1989, winning the College World Series at Wichita State and the NBC World Series as a member of the Wichita Broncos.

Forbes went on to reach the major leagues and managed in the Phillies and Pirates organizations.

Read about him at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

Two members of the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame were traded for one another.

After three years with the Dodgers, Fred Kipp was sent to the Yankees for Dick Sanders in April of 1960. Kipp pitched in four games for the 1960 Yankees while Sanders played for the Dodgers Triple A team in Montreal.

Read about them at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

As a scouting director, David Chadd has won four pennants with four MLB organizations - the 1997 Florida Marlins, 2004 Boston Red Sox, 2012 Detroit Tigers and 2022 Philadelphia Phillies.

Chadd was an All-American at K-State and is a member of KSU’s All-Century team. He holds the Wildcat career batting average record at .388.

Read about him at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

Forrest “Woody” Jensen broke in to major league baseball with the 1931 Pirates, joining an outfield that included future Hall of Famers Paul and Lloyd Waner.

He retired in 1939 and owned Rose Bowl East and West, two bowling establishments in Wichita. He also served as president of the Wichita Braves and the Wichita Indians in the 1950s.

Read about him at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

Just five years removed from the program’s start, the 1982 Wichita State Shockers went 73-14 and became the first Wichita State team to go to the College World Series.

With five future major league players, WSU lost to Miami in the championship game.

Read about them at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

Josh Billings was born in Grantville, near Topeka, and went on to play baseball at K-State.

During World War II, he managed the Kenosha Comets of the All-American Girls Professional League, the league portrayed in the movie “A League of Their Own.”

Read about Billings at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

In 1912, Oswego’s Earl Hamilton pitched the first no-hitter in St. Louis Browns’ history.

It was the first no-hitter in MLB history in which a strikeout was not recorded. Hamilton and the Browns beat Detroit 5-1. The Tigers’ run came on a walk to Ty Cobb and an error.

Read about Hamilton at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

In World War II, Lawrence’s Ralph Houk landed on Omaha Beach a few days after D-Day, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

He was also promoted in rank prior to discharge and “The Major” would become his nickname as a major league player and manager.

Read about him at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

The winningest pitching coach in NCAA Division I history, Brent Kemnitz coached 17 future MLB pitchers at Wichita State.

Following 38 seasons as pitching coach, Kemnitz served as an assistant AD for another ten years. He will retire next month after 48 years at WSU.

Read about him at www.ksbaseballhof.com.

Wichitan Daryl Spencer made his MLB debut in 1952 with the New York Giants.

While in the military in 1954-55, he led the Boeing Bombers to back-to-back NBC World Series titles. After ten seasons in the majors, Spencer went to Japan where he became a fan favorite and hit 152 home runs in nine seasons.

Read about him at www.ksbaseballhof.com.