Seventh annual Floyd Temple Alumni Baseball Game scheduled for Saturday
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The seventh annual Floyd Temple Alumni Baseball Game is slated to take place at Hoglund Ballpark on Saturday, September 29 at 4 p.m.
In conjunction with Homecoming weekend, the alumni game will follow the home football game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
All alumni are encouraged to take the field at 3 p.m. for batting practice.
Former KU baseball players will be competing against the current Jayhawk baseball team in an abbreviated four-inning alumni game.
For head coach Ritch Price, the Floyd Temple Alumni Game is the highlight of the year, and for the current Jayhawk players it’s a chance to thank all the guys that played in front of them and shaped the program.
“We get a chance to say thank you to the guys that meant so much to our baseball program,” Price said. “For anybody who’s ever put on that Jayhawk Uniform, it’s a great day. You get to come back and see your best friends and talk about all the great wins you had in your career. It’s also exciting to see players that played for Floyd Temple. We honor him and his memory.”
In June of 2012, legendary Kansas coach, Floyd Temple passed away at the age of 86.
Temple had played in the minor leagues before he coached 28 seasons with the Jayhawks. He was hired as head coach in 1954 and would go on to be the second-winningest coach in KU history with 438 wins.
He led the Jayhawks to their first conference tournament in 1976 and later qualified for the Big Eight Championship under his direction.
Temple first became a Jayhawk in 1948 when he was part of the Kansas football team. He lettered two years in both football and baseball, and was the third baseman for the 1949 team. With the help of Temple, the 1949 KU baseball squad captured the Big Seven Conference title – the last major title until 2006.
After his KU college career, Temple went on to pursue his dreams in the professional baseball league where he played for multiple minor league teams. Temple competed in 110 games and recored a .278 batting average as a minor league player.
Temple’s famous number 13 sought retirement in 1982 and remains the only number to be displayed in the outfield of Hoglund Ballpark.
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