Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 28 -- Monte Pearson, Fall Classic Perfection

We are counting down Cal’s top 50 athletes based on their careers as post-collegiate professionals. Their performance as Golden Bears is not factored into the rankings.

28. MONTE PEARSON

Years at Cal: 1928 to 1929

Sport: Baseball

Pro teams: Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds

Age: Died in Fresno, Calif., in 1978 at age 69

Hometown: Oakland, Calif.

Why we ranked him here: One of Cal’s greatest professional postseason performers, Pearson began his career by spending portions of four years in the minor leagues. He was promoted to the big club at Cleveland in 1932, when he pitched eight innings, all in relief, without a decision. The 6-foot right-hander was 36-31 over the next three seasons with the Indians before being traded to the Yankees in what turned out to be in a life-changing move. Joining a team that featured future Hall of Fame sluggers Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey and Tony Lazzeri, he went 19-7 in 1936 and earned the first of his two All-Star nods on the way to the Yankees winning their first of four consecutive World Series titles. Over those four years, Pearson was 56-22 in the regular season and unbeatable in the Fall Classic. Nicknamed Hoot, he started once in each Series — against the New York Giants twice, the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds — and was 4-0 with with a 1.01 earned run average and 28 strikeouts to just seven walks in 35.1 innings. His 0.73 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) is an MLB postseason career record. On Oct. 4, 1936, he outpitched future Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, going the distance as the Yankees beat the Giants 5-2. On August, 27, 1938, he pitched the first no-hitter in the 16-year history of Yankee Stadium, striking out seven, allowing just two baserunners and retiring the final 18 hitters in a 13-0 win over the Indians. “Monte pitched with the flawless precision of an intricate piece of mechanism,” John Drebinger wrote in the New York Times. Pearson experienced arm trouble in 1939, but still managed to pitch one of the greatest games in World Series history to date, holding the Reds hitless for 7 1/3 innings on the way to a complete-game 2-hitter with eight strikeouts in a 4-0 victory. In July 1940, a torn ligament in his shoulder, likely incurred while outdueling Bob Feller in a 13-inning complete-game performance, ended his season. The Yankees traded him to Cincinnati in the offseason and he pitched in just seven games before retiring. Pearson wound up with a career win-loss record of 100-61 and a 4.00 ERA. He appeared on the 1958 Hall of Fame ballot but received just one vote and was dropped from consideration the next year.

At Cal: Pearson, who attended Fresno High School, played baseball at Cal for two seasons, 1928 and ’29, before signing a professional contract at age 20. After his MLB career, Pearson was tempted to try boxing but instead enrolled at Fresno State and graduated with a degree in chemistry.

Other: Born in Oakland, Pearson was 2 years old when his family moved to Fresno after the death of his father in a mining accident . . . In 1962, Pearson was convicted of one count of accepting a $200 bribe as a sanitation engineer for Madera County, according to the Associated Press. Pearson maintained his innocence on charges he approved a defective septic tank but received a sentence of eight months in prison and three years’ probation.

Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

Recent articles:

Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 29 -- Craig Morton

Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 30 -- Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Former Cal safety Craig Woodson signs wth Patriots

Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 31 -- Ed White