By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University Hall of Famer Davy Lopes passed away Wednesday at the age of 80.
Davy Lopes, who passed away Wednesday, played baseball and basketball at Washburn University and was inducted into the Washburn Hall of Fame in 1987. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Lopes, inducted into the Washburn Hall of Fame in 1987, played baseball for the Ichabods in 1967 and basketball for WU in 1967-68 before later becoming a Major League Baseball star for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Lopes batted .380 in his one baseball season for the Ichabods and slugged .793 with nine home runs, three doubles and four triples, earning All-America honors.
Lopes also earned All-America honors the following winter as a guard on the Washburn men’s basketball team, shooting 50 percent from the field and averaging 7.6 points.
Lopes went on to become a four-time All-Star and a prolific basestealer at the Major League level while playing 16 years in the big leagues from 1972-87, including his first 10 seasons with the Dodgers. Lopes was a member of the Dodgers' 1981 World Series championship team.
Born and raised in Rhode Island, Lopes joined the Dodgers as their second-round pick in the 1968 draft and reached the majors in 1972 before becoming the team's full-time second baseman in 1973.
Lopes hit .274 with 36 stolen bases that season, which earned him a sixth-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
Lopes was L.A.'s primary leadoff hitter the next nine years, averaging 53 steals per season from 1973-79.
He led the league with 77 steals in 1975 and 63 steals in 1976 and slugged a career-high 28 home runs in 1979. He went to four straight All-Star Games with the Dodgers from 1978-81.
During the 1981 World Series, Lopes reached base nine times in the six-game series win over the New York Yankees and stole four bases in four tries.
Lopes also played in three other World Series for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers traded Lopes to the Oakland A's in 1982 and he also played for the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros before retiring following the 1987 season with a career .263 average, a 349 on-base percentage, 1,671 hits, and 557 steals.
Following his playing days Lopes managed the Milwaukee Brewers in 2000-2001 and coached for the Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Washington Nationals.
