Sisler Elected to College Baseball Hall of Fame

 Former University of Michigan baseball great George Sisler (1913-15) will become the fourth Wolverine in the last three years enshrined into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the College Baseball Foundation announced Thursday (Feb. 18). Sisler joins former U-M coach Branch Rickey (1910-13) and players Jim Abbott (1986-88) and Barry Larkin (1983-85) in the Hall.

Hall of Fame inductees are chosen based on the votes of more than 110 representatives from coast to coast. Voters include retired and active coaches, media members and previous inductees. To be eligible for the College Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, players must have completed one year of competition at a two-year institution in the CCCAA or NJCAA or a four-year NCAA (Division I, II or III) or NAIA institution.

Sisler and the rest of the 2010 inductees will be honored on July 1, 2010, as part of the College Baseball Foundation's annual celebration of both the past and present of college baseball from July 1 through July 3 in Lubbock, Texas.

Sisler made his mark at Michigan both on the mound and at the plate, but it was his exploits with a bat that gained him the most fame, tallying a career average around .445. Sisler's U-M career began as a member of the first-year engineering school team as a freshman in the intramural league. At the time, freshmen could not play for the varsity squad. His MVP performance over the juniors of the law school in the championship was enough to catch the eye of varsity coach Rickey.

Sisler became an immediate starter in his sophomore season of 1913, leading the Wolverines to a 21-4-1 record, their first 20-win season in history. Sisler finished the 1913 season with a .445 batting average and earned All-America honors for his pitching and outfield play. In 1914, Sisler battled arm trouble on the mound but still managed to hit near .500 at the plate. He returned for the 1915 season, earning All-America accolades for the second time with a .451 average.