University of Arkansas at Monticello Athletics

Gene Franklin pitched – and won – both ends of a doubleheader three times as the durable linchpin of an Arkansas A&M baseball team that won Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference championships in I963 and ’65. Franklin was a first team All-AIC selection in 1963, ’64, and ’65, and is one of two baseball players (and six athletes in UAM history) to earn first-team all-conference honors three times.

Franklin once pitched an 11-inning, 1-0 shutout over UALR while recording 15 strikeouts. He pitched 13 innings and recorded 15 strikeouts against UCA and threw a no-hitter against Harding in 1964. That same year, Franklin led the AIC with 77 strikeouts, issued just 13 walks, posted an almost invisible earned run average of 0.25, and complied a 6-2 record.