Hall of Fame
One of Columbia’s best baseball players ever, Michael M. Wilhite, was recruited from Oakland, California, to play basketball for head coach Tom Penders.
A heady two-way guard, who would team with fellow Columbia Hall of Famer Alton Byrd in the backcourt for the Lions, Wilhite averaged nearly 10 points per game in his three seasons on the varsity.
But while Wilhite contributed to the Lions late-70s success on the hardwood, it was on the diamond where he shined brightest.
In his first year of varsity baseball in 1976, Wilhite started in centerfield and played a starring role during the Lions run to their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Late in the season, Wilhite salvaged the second game of a doubleheader against Cornell with two home runs – including the game winner in the ninth inning. And in the final series at Penn, he hit another game-winning homer to clinch the Lions’ first Ivy League title in more than a decade.
Wilhite would continue to dominate the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League, featuring the Eight Ivy schools plus Army and Navy.
As a junior, he batted an incredible .488, leading the league, and became the first African American baseball player named First Team All-Ivy League. In 1977, he slammed eight homers, breaking the single-season record set by an all-time Columbia Legend, Lou Gehrig, which had stood for more than 50 years.
Upon graduating from Columbia, he held the school records for home runs and still boasts the most triples and highest slugging percentage in school history. Wilhite’s career .366 batting average ranks among the program’s best.
