Glavine becomes first NHL draft pick to earn Baseball HOF induction
Long-time Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Tom Glavine was among three players selected for induction in the 2014 Baseball Hall of Fame class on Wednesday, but the news was also notable for another reason.
Glavine became the first draft pick of the National Hockey League to earn a ticket to Cooperstown.
The 22-year MLB veteran was chosen by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft with the 69th overall pick.
The Massachusetts native never played in the NHL, but he did suit up for the ECHL's Gwinnett Gladiators for one game, earning him an entry on HockeyDB.
Glavine was a legitimate NHL prospect, piling up 94 points in 23 games for Billerica High School in 1983-84. He was given the Boston Bruins Carlton Award as the top Eastern Massachusetts high school hockey player that season.
While it's safe to say Glavine made the right decision career-wise, it makes you wonder what might have been.
We'll never know if the Baseball Hall of Famer would have succeeded at the NHL level, but becoming the first NHL draft pick to enter Cooperstown is a historic accomplishment.
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