Champ Summers (1974 - 1984)
Besides having the perfect name for a slugger, Champ Summers was a very unique baseball player. He was signed to his first pro contract at the age of 25 after starring in a softball league. His mother was a professional bowler and he was a former teen tennis star who once beat Jimmy Conners in a youth tournament.
After signing with Oakland in 1971, Champ spent three years in the minors before making his major league debut in Oakland in 1974. He had only 24 at bats and hit .125. Oakland dumped him off on the Cubs where he played for 2 years until going to the Reds in a trade for the great Dave Schneck. Champ finally got his break once the Reds traded him to the Tigers for another great pitcher - Sheldon Burnside. Yes, it was the seventies and Sheldon did have some killer sideburns.
Champ’s left-handed swing was perfect for Tiger Stadium. He was the regular DH and hit 20 homers in 1979 and 17 homers in 1980 for Detroit. His numbers declined in 1981, so Detroit shipped him to San Francisco for Enos Cabell. He spent two years there before finishing his career with the Padres in 1984.
You can view Champ Summers statistics at www.baseball-reference.com:
