Jan. 10, 2007

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) - Lou Gehrig was a college baseball star long before he became "The Iron Horse."

His impressive power-hitting displays as "Columbia Lou" more than 80 years ago earned him election to the first veterans class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

Joining Gehrig were former Bucknell pitcher Christy Mathewson, Alabama second baseman and coach Joe Sewell, and Holy Cross shortstop and coach Jack Barry. The four will be officially enshrined, along with several other inductees to be elected later this year, in July during a ceremony in Lubbock - the site of the new Hall of Fame.

Dave Winfield, Will Clark and Rod Dedeaux were among the hall's inaugural class last summer.

"The task of researching and evaluating the veteran nominees is difficult because they competed prior to the collection of data that is so commonplace today," said John Askins, chairman and CEO of the College Baseball Foundation, which established the hall.

"These men had no sports information personnel that kept track of their every statistic," he said. "While records are sketchy at best, this outstanding group had a profound impact on collegiate baseball, both nationally and in their own region, and their accomplishments have withstood the test of time."

The veterans classes will be made up of players and coaches who were involved in college baseball before 1947.

"The pre-1947 designation is not an arbitrary demarcation," Askins said. "The first All-American team for college baseball was chosen that year by the coaches, so that makes it a logical point to separate modern-day players and veteran candidates."

Gehrig set several hitting records at Columbia from 1922-24 before going on to a Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees. He's best known for playing in 2,130 consecutive games - a mark he held until Cal Ripken Jr. broke it in 1995 - and still holds the major league record with 23 grand slams.

Mathewson, considered one of baseball's greatest pitchers, was one of the five original members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. A three-sport athlete at Bucknell - he played football, basketball and baseball - Mathewson won 373 games in the majors.

Sewell was Alabama's starting second baseman from 1918-20. By his last season with the Crimson Tide, he had set every hitting and fielding record at Alabama. Sewell played for Cleveland and the Yankees during a 14-year Hall of Fame career in the majors, and set records for fewest strikeouts in a season (four) and career (114). He later returned to Alabama and went 106-79 in five seasons as coach of the Tide.

Barry, often referred to as the "Knute Rockne of college baseball," helped lead the 1908 Holy Cross team to its first 20-win season as a slick-fielding shortstop. After a knee injury cut short his major league career in 1919, Barry returned to the school two years later. He coached the Crusaders for 39 seasons, finishing 616-150-6 and winning the College World Series in 1952.