Marty French - Player Profile
1974 Goldpanner Yearbook

Thus far in his athletic career, Marty French's chief claim to fame has possibly been that he was a high school basketball teammate of UCLA great Bill Walton.  But French is gradually establishing an identity of is own - that of being a top collegiate pitcher.

The big righthander is returning for his second season with the Alaska Goldpanners this summer, after compiling a 5-2 record with the 1973 national champions.

French has proved to be somewhat of a workhorse wherever he's pitched, as he started the second highest number of games on the Panner staff last season, and this spring as a junior at San Diego State, he started more games than anyone else, while compiling a 6-6 record for the winningest club in Aztec history.

The 6-4, 195 pounder, whose most effective pitch is for a forkball, prepped at Helix High School in LaMesa, Calif., where he was both an outstanding basketball and baseball player.  As a junior, he played alongside the much celebrated Walton, the 7-1 giant who just recently completed a sparkling basketball career at UCLA.

After graduating from high school, French moved on to Grossmont Junior College, where he played baseball, both as a pitcher and as an outfielder.

He showed his versatility with the Panners last year, when he batted .343 and hit two home runs after being given a brief whirl as the club's designated hitter.

French was drafted on the first round of the January, 1973 draft by the Kansas City Royals, then again on the fourth round by the Minnesota Twins that June.  Rather than sign though, he elected to transfer to San Diego State and play with the Goldpanners.

1974 GOLDPANNER YEARBOOK & STATISTICAL RECORD