Around the Foghorn:Famous People Who Played Pro Baseball

Jul 10, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Los Angeles Angels cap and glove before the game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Kurt Russell

Kurt Russell was what really inspired this story. He was already a child actor, but Kurt Russell had a love for baseball, just as his dad Bing had.

Bing was a good friend of Lefty Gomez and Joe DiMaggio growing up. He also received the bat used by Lou Gehrig to hit a home run, given to him by Gehrig himself. Bing owned the Portland Mavericks, the only Independent team in the Northwest League.

Kurt played for the California Angels organization in 1971 at the age of 21. He was a second baseman with a .292 career average in 4 seasons. He was a switch-hitter who was hitting .563 through 6 games in 1973 when he sustained a torn rotator cuff on a take-out slide at second while turning two.

He went on to DH for his dad’s team at the end of that season, and then had one more at-bat in 1977.

Then he went back to acting exclusively, and never looked back.

Next: The Macho Man