The only pitcher to win consecutive Most Valuable Player Awards (1944-45), Hal Newhouser won the pitching triple crown and World Series in 1945. He was a seven-time All-Star and played American Legion Baseball in Detroit before a long career with his hometown Tigers. He was a 1992 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
After playing American Legion Baseball in Bridgeport, Ohio, Phil Niekro went on to win 318 games in a 20-season major league career. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.
Gary Nolan played American Legion Baseball for Oroville (Calif.) Post 95. He posted back-to-back 15-9 regular season records as a starting pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds during their 1975 and '76 World Series title runs.
