Oddibe McDowell

Oddibe McDowell played centerfield for the USA at the 1984 Olympic demonstration baseball tournament. He also played internationally with the USA at the 1981 World Games, winning a gold medal. McDowell played in college at Miami-Dade Junior College and then Arizona State University. He was actually selected six different times in various Major League Baseball Drafts, finally signing with the Texas Rangers after being selected 12th overall in the 1984 Major League Baseball Draft.

McDowell played in the Major Leagues from 1985-90 and 1994, starting with four seasons with the Rangers. He later played for the Cleveland Indians in 1989, the Atlanta Braves in 1989-90, and then back with the Rangers in 1994. He had career marks of a .253 batting average with 74 home runs and 266 RBIs.

McDowell is well-known in the United States for a great nickname given him by ESPN announcer Chris Berman, who labelled him “Oh-to-be Young Again McDowell.” McDowell was a state champion wrestler in high school in Florida. He is a member of the Arizona State University Athletic Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame. Arizona State retired his uniform number 0. He later coached high school baseball at McArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida.