2008 Woodie Awards
One-hand act: Abbott visiting CMU
By: Tim Ottusch
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: News
Jim Abbott once pitched a no-hitter, won a gold medal in the 1988 Summer Olympics and won 18 games in a season.
And he did it all with one hand.
The College Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium as part of Program Board Week.
Abbott was born without a right hand, but still pitched in the major leagues for a decade.
"I hope more people will learn to overcome adversity and maybe relate to Jim's story," said Carrie Lewis, Allegan senior and Program Board lecture chair.
Abbott was born in Southfield, grew up in Flint and graduated from the University of Michigan.
He played baseball for U-M before starting his career with the California Angels in 1989. During his career, he played for the Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers. He ended up with 87 wins and last year was inducted in to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
"It's a great story. A person with one hand is looked at as a disability, but then to go through the process, and take it even further and go through playing baseball pro at the collegiate level is huge," said Kyle VanDeventer, Saginaw senior and Program Board president.
Program Board was approached about the idea of bringing a sports star by a group called "Five Things of the 50s," which includes broadcaster Dick Enberg. The two groups are co-sponsoring the event.
"They've been doing shows on the campus for a while now every year," VanDeventer said. "And they really haven't had the publicity or the attendance that they liked."
VanDeventer said the two groups decided they would work together.
"We sat down and created a list of people that would work out and we decided to go with a sports figure because of Dick Enberg's name in the sports world," he said.
Wednesday's event is just one of many events that Program Board is sponsoring during the second annual Program Board Week, said Matt Burza, vice president of Program Board and Otsego senior.
news@cm-life.com
And he did it all with one hand.
The College Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Warriner Hall's Plachta Auditorium as part of Program Board Week.
Abbott was born without a right hand, but still pitched in the major leagues for a decade.
"I hope more people will learn to overcome adversity and maybe relate to Jim's story," said Carrie Lewis, Allegan senior and Program Board lecture chair.
Abbott was born in Southfield, grew up in Flint and graduated from the University of Michigan.
He played baseball for U-M before starting his career with the California Angels in 1989. During his career, he played for the Angels, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and the Milwaukee Brewers. He ended up with 87 wins and last year was inducted in to the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
"It's a great story. A person with one hand is looked at as a disability, but then to go through the process, and take it even further and go through playing baseball pro at the collegiate level is huge," said Kyle VanDeventer, Saginaw senior and Program Board president.
Program Board was approached about the idea of bringing a sports star by a group called "Five Things of the 50s," which includes broadcaster Dick Enberg. The two groups are co-sponsoring the event.
"They've been doing shows on the campus for a while now every year," VanDeventer said. "And they really haven't had the publicity or the attendance that they liked."
VanDeventer said the two groups decided they would work together.
"We sat down and created a list of people that would work out and we decided to go with a sports figure because of Dick Enberg's name in the sports world," he said.
Wednesday's event is just one of many events that Program Board is sponsoring during the second annual Program Board Week, said Matt Burza, vice president of Program Board and Otsego senior.
news@cm-life.com
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