Longhorns legend will have his No. 3 retired during the 2010 baseball season
AUSTIN, Texas — Former Longhorn legend Keith Moreland will have his jersey number retired, the UT Intercollegiate Athletics Council for Men announced on Thursday. His No. 3 will be retired prior to a game during the 2010 season.
“I am humbled to have my number retired by The University of Texas,” Moreland said. “To have my number hang along with some of the most elite players to ever play college baseball is such an honor.”
Longhorn great and former big leaguer Keith Moreland (shown at a Cubs event)
Moreland, a three-time first-team All-America on the Forty Acres, led the Longhorns to a College World Series in each of his three seasons (1973-75) and was one of the key components of Texas’ 1975 College World Series championship team. He was primarily a third baseman at Texas.
The Carrollton, Texas, native ranks third in the Texas annals with a career .388 batting average. Moreland also ranks second in hits (274), seventh in RBI (183) and eighth in doubles (53). During his three-year career, the Horns amassed a 160-21 record, including a 58-8 mark in Southwest Conference action and three league titles.
As a freshman, Moreland hit .349 with 43 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 42 RBI and five stolen bases. Texas finished 50-7 overall, 15-3 in the SWC and tied for third at the CWS.
During his sophomore campaign, Moreland batted .399 with 69 runs, 25 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 72 RBI and 14 stolen bases. The Horns finished 54-8 overall, 20-4 in the SWC and placed fourth at the CWS.
As a junior, Moreland hit .410 with 57 runs, 17 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 69 RBI and 11 stolen bases and served as co-captain for the 56-6 national championship team.
He was named to the College World Series All-Decade Team for the 1970s and his 23 career hits at the College World Series ranks second all-time in the history of the tournament.
Moreland also played football on the Forty Acres, earning a gridiron letter in 1973.
Moreland went on to a 12-year Major League Baseball career as a catcher, third baseman and outfielder. He played four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and was a member of their 1980 World Series championship team. He spent six seasons with the Chicago Cubs and helped them win the 1984 National League Eastern Division championship, the first title of any kind for the Cubs since 1945. He had stops with the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles.
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His best season came in 1985 with the Cubs, when he ranked fourth in the National League in RBI (106) and seventh in batting average (.307). Moreland hit .279 with 1,279 hits, 214 doubles, 121 home runs and 674 RBI for his career. He batted .364 in the post-season, including two doubles, one home run and seven RBI in 14 games.
Since retiring from baseball in 1989, Moreland has remained in the athletics industry. Most notably, Longhorns fans may recognize Moreland as the color analyst for the radio broadcasts of Texas Football and Baseball games.
Moreland received his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from UT in 1991.
“One thing that was really special to me was to come back and get my degree from The University of Texas. That was something I wanted to do when I started school,” Moreland said. “To come back and get my degree was probably something as special as there is compared to anything I’ve been involved in.”
Moreland and Kirk Dressendorfer were both inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame last July, giving Texas a total of seven inductees since the Hall opened in 2006. Moreland was inducted in the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1985.
(Release)