The ’76 Sun Devils in the Majors

The 1976 Arizona State Sun Devils were eliminated by their in-state rivals, the Arizona Wildcats, in the second-to-last game in the College World Series. The Sun Devils had a great season up to that point, going 62-8 overall, including a 18-1 conference record, allowing them to capture the Western Athletic Conference’s pennant for the 5 ^th time in 6 years.

Baseball America would later say that the ’76 Sun Devils “…may have been the greatest collection of college talent ever assembled.” Out of the 27 players on that seasons roster, an incredible 26 were drafted by a major league team at some point. 13 of those 26 would someday make it to the major leagues. Here is a quick look at those 13 players:

Gary Allenson – 9 ^th round selection by the Boston Red Sox in the 1976 Amateur Draft
Allenson came to Arizona State in 1973 but did not suit up until 1974. In his sophomore and junior seasons, he split the catching duties with R.J. Harrison and even saw a majority of playing time at third base during 1975. Finally, in ’76, he took over full time and he didn’t disappoint, hitting .320. He was subsequently drafted by Boston. In 1978, Allenson broke through with the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket. That year, he captured International League MVP honors, batting .299 with 20 home runs and a .517 slugging percentage.

However, he never seemed to regain his offensive mojo in the major leagues. His best offensive season was in 1980, when he hit .357 as Carlton Fisk’s backup. After that season, his batting average plummeted to where he ended up with a career mark of .221. He was released by Boston after the 1984 season and spent one more year in the majors with Toronto in 1985. In 1987, Allenson began a career as a manager/coach. Currently, he is in his 3 ^rd season as manager for the Norfolk Tides, the Triple-A affiliate for the Baltimore Orioles.

Chris Bando – 2 ^nd round selection by the Cleveland Indians in the 1978 Amateur Draft
The brother of fellow ASU alum and former Oakland all-star, Sal Bando, Chris took over the catching duties full-time as a junior once Allenson graduated. In ’77, he hit .372 and in the College World Series, he hit the game-deciding home run in the bottom of the 7 ^th against South Carolina, to help lead the Sun Devils to their fourth national championship. In his senior season, his numbers improved even more. He hit .415 and drove in an ASU-record 102 runs. His 30 doubles hit that year still sit atop the Sun Devil record books.

In the majors, Bando strung together a decent nine year career as a backup catcher, primarily for the Indians. He also spent time with Detroit and Oakland. He suited up in 498 career major league contests, batting .227 with 27 homeruns. He would later spend time as a coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and scouted for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Floyd Bannister – 1 ^st round selection (first overall) by the Houston Astros in the 1976 Amateur Draft
Bannister’s collegiate numbers are simply astounding. He cracked the starting rotation in ’74 as a sophomore and posted a 4-0 record. The next year, he broke through as the ace on campus, going 15-4 with a 1.66 ERA and 217 strikeouts. Somehow the following season, he managed to top those numbers. Bannister posted a 19-2 record with an ERA of 1.45 and 213 strikeouts. He set ASU records in ’76 that still stand today in wins (19), innings pitched (186), and complete games (17). All of those accomplishments led him to be the first overall pick in the 1976 draft by Houston.

In 1977, Bannister made his major league debut with Houston, losing to the San Diego Padres in his first outing. He would finish the season 8-9 and spend just one more year in Houston, before getting traded to Seattle. After four seasons with the Mariners, Bannister was granted free agency and would sign with the Chicago White Sox, where he would win 16 games twice and had his best success in the majors while in the Windy City. He would later play for the Royals, Angels, and Rangers in his final seasons. He was an all-star in 1982, the same year he led the American League in strikeouts.

Mike Colbern – 2 ^nd round selection by the Chicago White Sox in the 1976 Amateur Draft
Colbern was drafted in the 5 ^th round by the Kansas City Royals out of high school in 1973, but instead of signing, he opted to enroll at Arizona State. A catcher, Colbern arrived on campus to see a logjam at the catcher’s position. He played various position at ASU, including outfield his senior season, when he hit .361 and was named a 1st-team All American. After graduating, Colbern was drafted by the White Sox (as a catcher) and made his major league debut with them in 1978. He spent only one more season after that in the majors, and played in 80 career games, all with the White Sox.

Bob Horner – 1 ^st round selection (first overall) by the Atlanta Braves in the 1978 Amateur Draft
Horner’s career at Arizona State was simply amazing. A 1st-team All-American twice in his career, Horner was given the Golden Spikes Award (best amateur player in the country) in 1978, a season which he hit .412 with 25 home runs and 100 RBIs. The year before that, Horner posted a line of .389-22-87, helping lead the way for a national championship. He was named the MVP of the ’77 College World Series, hitting .444 with 9 RBIs in the tournament.

After being chosen first overall by Atlanta in June of 1978, he went straight into the Braves starting lineup and in his first game, he hit a home run off Bert Blyleven. He would end up winning NL rookie of the year that season, beating out Padres shortstop Ozzie Smith. Sadly, Horner’s career was cut short at the age of 31 due to injuries. He still enjoyed a great major league career, hitting a career .277 with 218 home runs in over 1000 big league games. In 2006, Horner was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame as a part of its inaugural class.

Dave Hudgens – Signed as an amateur free agent with the Cleveland Indians in 1979
Hudgens was drafted twice by a major league club; once by the New York Mets (1975, 1 ^st round) and another time by the Milwaukee Brewers (1977, 15 ^th round). Both times, Hudgens elected to stay in Tempe, where he played four years with the Sun Devils between 1975-1978. His best season with ASU was in 1977, when he hit .372 as the teams designated hitter/first baseman and made the All-American second team. He also hit three grand slams that season, a single season record at Arizona State.

Hudgens’ major league career was short, playing in six games for the Oakland Athletics in 1983. Later on, he spent three seasons as the hitting coach for Oakland and was recently a minor league coach for the Cleveland Indians.

Darrell Jackson – 7 ^th round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 1977 Amateur Draft
In 1977, Jackson had a strong senior season for the Sun Devils, going 10-4 in his one and only year in ASU’s rotation. In his first professional start, Jackson threw nine innings of no-hit ball for Double-A Orlando, who won 1-0 in extra innings. In the majors, Jackson spent five seasons making spot starts for the Twins, complying a record of 20-27. His best year was in 1980, when he made 25 starts and finished the year 9-9 with an ERA of 3.87.

Ken Landreaux – 1 ^st round selection by the California Angels in the 1976 Amateur Draft
Landreaux joined the Sun Devils in 1974 and while he was the primary right fielder for the team, he hit a disappointing .243. However, he bat began to come around and in his final year in ’76, Landreaux led the Sun Devils offensively in average (.406), home runs (15), and RBIs (93). That season propelled him to a 1st-team All American honor and also allowed him to be the sixth player drafted in the ’76 amateur draft.

In his 11 year big league career, Landreaux spent time with the Angels, Twins, and Dodgers. He was an AL all-star in 1980 and won a World Series with the Dodgers the very next year, recording the final out in center field in the series clincher for Los Angeles. His best statistical season was in 1979 with Minnesota, when he posted a line of .305-15-83, all of those marks ending up as career highs. His career batting average would end up at .268 over the course of 1,264 games.

Chris Nyman – Signed as an amateur free agent with the Chicago White Sox in 1977
Nyman was a reserve for the Sun Devils until he won the first baseman’s job in 1977. In his only season as a starter, Nyman hit .298 and showed enough for the Chicago White Sox to sign him after he went undrafted in the 1977 draft. Nyman would spend two season with Chicago between 1982-83, playing in 49 games while batting .258. Nyman spent the next few years playing for the Nankai Hawks in Japan before return to American in ’86 for his final season, spending the year in Triple-A.

Bob Pate – 4 ^th round selection by the Montreal Expos in the 1976 Amateur Draft
Pate began his collegiate career at San Diego Mesa College in 1973 and spent two years there before transferring to ASU. He was the team’s starting centerfielder in ’76 and hit .368. He played 31 games for the Expos across two seasons in the early-’80s but spent most of his career in Triple-A. He retired after the 1983 season, finishing with a career .301 average in the minor leagues.

Ricky Peters – 7 ^th round selection by the Detroit Tigers in the 1977 Amateur Draft
Peters was primarily a utility player off the bench in his first two ASU seasons before starting at second base in ’76 and centerfield in ’77. He hit .385 with 49 stolen bags in his senior year, giving him a spot of the 3rd-team All American roster. He quickly ascended to the big leagues and in 1980, he became the Tigers starting centerfielder as a rookie and hit .291. He would spend one more season with Detroit before moving on to Oakland, where he’d play two more seasons and wrap up his career in 1986.

Ken Phelps – 15 ^th round selection by the Kansas City Royals in the 1976 Amateur Draft
Phelps took a long road to Tempe. He played baseball his freshman year at his hometown university, Washington State. With his eyes set on attending ASU, Phelps transferred to Mesa Community College for his sophomore year before finally transferring to Arizona State for his final two seasons of eligibility. He hit .315 and .351 in his two years, respectively.

The big first baseman tore up the minor leagues before finding a home in Seattle. With the Mariners, Phelps hit 20+ home runs in 3 of his 5 full seasons. After a torrid start to the 1988 season, the Mariners dealt the 33-year old to the Yankees for Jay Buhner, a trade later subjected to ridicule on Seinfeld. Stuck behind Don Mattingly and Jack Clark while in New York, Phelps found himself on the bench for his season in pinstripes. He was later traded to Oakland, where he would win a World Series ring in 1989, and afterwards finished his career with Cleveland in 1990. A favorite of Bill James in the ’80s, Phelps finished his career with 123 home runs in 761 games.

Gary Rajsich – 11 ^th round selection by the Houston Astros in the 1976 Amateur Draft
Rajsich spent his time in Arizona State mainly as a key reserve outfielder/first baseman and his combination of speed and power made him attractive to the Astros in the draft. In the majors, Rajsich played parts of four seasons with the Mets, Cardinals, and Giants. After the 1985 season, Rajsich departed for Japan, where he would play three seasons for the Chunichi Dragons. He would retire shortly after that.