Pat Underwood

Long before the time Pat Underwood had reached high school baseball, he knew he had giant-like shoes to fill. Brother Tom, four years older, had seen to that.

But Pat never blinked and in fact, engineered a high school career that in itself was impressive enough to have earned him a spot in the Howard County Sports Hall of Fame.

Twenty-seven years after his graduation from Kokomo High School, Pat still ranks among the top pitchers in IHSAA baseball history in eight major categories.

The lefthander ranks No. 1 all-time in career strikeouts (637) and career shutouts (22), and is listed among the top five pitchers in complete games (40), consecutive scoreless innings (75), innings pitched (338), career no-hitters (6), shutouts in a season (8) and career ERA (0.58).

Of course there was more to Pat than his high school and American Legion baseball exploits. Picked No. 2 in the first round of the 1976 amateur baseball draft by Detroit, Pat worked his way up to the parent club where on May 31, 1979, he made his Major League debut.

It wasn’t just any debut either – it was against brother Tom and the Toronto Blue Jays. Underwoods’ friends and family prayed for a well-pitched game on both sides – something that would provide a storybook finish. That’s just what they got when Pat beat his brother Tom in a 1-0 classic. Pat worked 8 1/3 innings, yielding just three hits, fanning four and walking one. Tom went the distance, allowing six hits, fanning six and walking two. Jerry Morales’ single swing – a seventh-inning home run – was the only difference in the two pitching performances.

Pat stayed with the Tigers until an arm injury ended his career in 1984.