Multiple Awards for an Extraordinary 1967 Season
Larry's superlative junior year baseball accomplishments brought him numerous awards:
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Shared the Fresno State Athlete of the Year award
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California Collegiate Athletic Association 1st Team All-Star
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NCAA District 8 (West Coast region) All-Star Team
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National Association of Collegiate Baseball All-America Team
The Kansas City Athletics drafted Larry in June for their Class A Peninsula Grays farm team. He did not accept, and chose to return to Fresno State for his senior year.
Larry was honored by the Topps Chewing Gum company as a 1967 Second Team Collegiate All-American, and was awarded a custom-engraved Hamilton Dateline S-575 wristwatch. ** However, Larry never received it......
** Why Didn't Larry Receive his Topps All-America Watch?
The response from eBay seller Charles Woodward: "Hopefully this will help with your question and research. I received the watch from my father about 5 years ago. He had a collection of 1930's-1970's sports memorabilia focused on California sports... I have slowly been given the collection by him, over the years. He had found the watch at a yard sale about 10 years ago of a local watchmaker's home workshop, which his wife had started selling after his passing. My father purchased a large lot of materials including this watch. I had known the wife so I was hoping to find out if there was more information (e.g. receipts) on it for provenance, but she couldn't find anything."