This September, Washington State University Athletics honored pharmacy alumnus Marv Chamberlain with a spot in the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Chamberlain grew up dreaming of playing baseball at Washington State and fulfilled his dream, producing a record-setting career for the Cougars. The Longview, Wash. native remembers following WSU’s 1965 College World Series run where they finished third, but Chamberlain, a high school catcher at the time, made up his mind he was going to play for head coach Bobo Brayton and the Cougs. As a sophomore in 1972, Chamberlain led the Pac-8 Conference in hitting at a .415 clip followed with a junior campaign that saw him hit .345 in conference play and finish the year with a team-best 45 RBI. He capped his career in record-setting fashion, setting or tying 10 school records as a senior in 1974 while leading Washington State to a share of the Pac-8 Northern Division title. The utility man turned first baseman earned ABCA First-Team All-America, All-District and First-Team All-Pac-8 Conference honors after hitting .383 with 16 home runs along with school records for RBI (73) and total bases (127). He also became the first Cougar in program history to reach double-digits in both home runs and stolen bases (15) in the same season. Chamberlain left Washington State the all-time leader in games played (159), at-bats (494), hits (166), runs-batted-in (156), grand slams (3) and tied the record in doubles with 27. He was later selected in the eighth round of the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft by the Montreal Expos before receiving his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy.
Chamberlain was one of seven Hall of Fame inductees this year. He was presented with an award at a formal banquet in Spokane on September 16, and was also recognized during half-time at the WSU football game in Pullman on September 17.
Courtesy of Washington State University Athletics