Dell Curry (father of Stephen Curry) once played in an MiLB game alongside Muggsy Bogues
Curry's dad once struck out four batters in MiLB game
On this, the day of Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry earning his first career NBA MVP award, we thought we'd point your attention to something amazing. No, not one of the 7,000 Vines of Steph making impossible shots, but rather, the brief baseball career of his father Dell.
Dell was a solid NBA player, spending the majority of his career with the Charlotte Hornets. However, he also possessed a great bit of baseball talent. So much so that the elder Curry was drafted by the Orioles in the 14th round of the 1985 First-Year Player Draft. He was a right-handed pitcher with decent stuff, but instead decided to give the NBA a (ridiculously accurate) shot.
In Charlotte, Curry became a beloved member of the Hornets' backcourt, playing alongside Queen City hoops icon and Space Jam co-star Muggsy Bogues: In fact, Curry and Bogues still rank first and second on the list of career games played in Charlotte.
In 1991, Hornets owner George Shinn (who also, at the time, owned the Rangers) decided to pull off something of a stunt when he had Curry and Bogues fill in as baseball players for a game with one of his Minor League affiliates, the Gastonia Rangers:
1991 Classic Best Gastonia Rangers Dell Curry & Muggsy Bogues minor league baseball cards pic.twitter.com/dEFoum6q0g
- Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) January 17, 2015The MiLB Rangers played just up the road from the Hornets, and the presence of two popular players from Charlotte's burgeoning basketball team presented the opportunity for a classic Minor League promotion.
Curry wound up pitching three innings, striking out four while allowing three hits, a walk and a run. Bogues manned second base, which is presumably where Jose Altuve got the idea. (Although, believe it or not, Altuve is three inches taller than Bogues was in his playing days. Or, put another way, Bogues is 0.969 Altuves.)
Dell Curry famously taught his son how to shoot -- a skill Steph eventually mastered and parlayed into the MVP performance NBA fans were treated to this year. So, it's hard not to try to picture a world in which Papa Curry took the Orioles up on their offer and now, years later, staff ace Stephen Curry is blowing guys away with his terrifyingly accurate fastball.
And then, he too could inspire the next generation: