Junior Spivey

Former Cowley College baseball standout Ernest “Junior” Spivey, a World Series winner, All-Star participant, and current member of the St. Louis Cardinals, will be inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 11.

After starring in basketball at Douglass High School in Oklahoma City, Okla., Ernest “Junior” Spivey accepted a scholarship to play basketball at Northwest Oklahoma State University. However, Spivey redshirted his only semester at the school. He was put in contact with Cowley head baseball coach Dave Burroughs, and liked his straightforward approach. He decided to come to Cowley and learned how to play in the infield after being used as a catcher in high school.

Spivey played baseball at Cowley in the 1995 and 1996 seasons. After playing second base as a freshman, Spivey led the Tigers to a record of 51-13 while playing shortstop as a sophomore. He was a member of back-to-back Jayhawk Conference Eastern Division championship squads.

Despite all of the success he has enjoyed as a Major League Baseball player, Spivey has not forgotten where his journey began.

“I am definitely looking forward to coming back, it’s where it all started for me,” Spivey said. “They were the first ones to give me an opportunity, and I will always love them for that. I will never forget the opportunity they gave me.”

Spivey was an exceptional athlete in baseball, basketball, and football in high school, so it was hard for him to make the decision to play only one sport for the Tigers.

“It was hard walking away from basketball and dedicating myself to baseball,” Spivey said. “I had always been a multi-sport athlete. But, I had always dreamed of being a professional athlete ever since I was a little kid, and playing baseball at Cowley got me exposure that I never would have gotten. I got to play in front of a lot of (major league baseball) scouts. I was very raw athletically when I came to Cowley, but the coaches molded me into what I became today.”

What he became was a rock solid second baseman that can not only hit for average, but can also hit for power. After signing with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, he made his Major League Baseball debut on June 2, 2001. He played 72 games his rookie season, and helped lead the Diamondbacks to the World Series title.

In 2002, Spivey was named to the National League All-Star team as he batted .301, with 34 doubles, six triples, 16 home runs and 78 runs batted in.

Along with playing for the Diamondbacks, Spivey has also played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals, and was recently traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Ironically, the Cardinals drafted Spivey in the 28th round of the 1995 baseball draft, but Spivey decided to come back to Cowley for his sophomore season and was placed back into the draft.

“I look forward to going to St. Louis and compete for the second base job,” Spivey said. “It’s great to have an opportunity to play for a winning organization and have a chance to play in the postseason. I feel we will have one of the best infields in the National League.”

In five years in the major leagues, Spivey has a career batting average of .270. The right-hander also has 48 career home runs, 90 doubles, 12 triples and 201 runs batted in.

During the 1996 season in which the squad went 51-13 and came within a whisker of going to the NJCAA World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., Spivey teamed with another future Major Leaguer in Travis Hafner to provide the Tigers with a talented one-two punch.

Spivey has fond memories of that year’s team.

“That was a special group,” Spivey said. “The closeness we had was unbelievable.”

Spivey and his wife, Tabitha, have one son, Ernest Lee Spivey III, who will turn 1 on Feb. 7. The couple resides in Arizona in the off-season.

“I am looking forward to coming back and see Dave and Lefty (Darren Burroughs), and coach (Tom) Saia,” Spivey said. “Those guys believed in me and gave me an opportunity when nobody else would.”

Going from accepting a college scholarship to play basketball, to playing baseball in the major leagues, it appears the decision to concentrate solely on baseball was a good one.

“Everything had worked out perfectly,” Spivey said. “I have been blessed. My first year we won a World Series title, my second year I was selected to play in the All-Star game, I got to play for Frank Robinson (in Washington) and be in a pennant race and now I get to play with some great players in St. Louis, and a Hall of Fame manager in Tony LaRussa.”

The induction ceremony will take place at halftime of the Cowley men’s basketball game vs. Allen County at 8 p.m. Feb. 11.