Sul Ross Hall of Honor

Mike Compton

  • Sport Baseball
  • Induction Year 2017

Biography

  • Came to Sul Ross in 1962 with two objectives: to earn a degree and play baseball
  • Competed under a Dr. Malone Hill baseball scholarship and lettered his first three seasons
  • served as VP of the Sul Ross Student Body in 1965-1966 and was recognized as part of the Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities
  • Graduated from Sul Ross in 1966 with a BS in Business Education and began graduate studies at Sul Ross in the fall
  • In 1984 he served as vice president of the Ex-Students Association and established the Mike & Jeanie Compton Charitable Remainder Trust for Sul Ross in 1996
  • Played for the Liberal, Kansas Bee Jays, a member of the National Baseball Congress
  • Was a member  of a national championship team in 1965 and was inducted into the Liberal Bee Jays Hall of Fame
  • During his junior year at Sul Ross, Compton was approached by several professional baseball teams
  • Signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1965, making him ineligible to play his senior season with the Lobos.
  • Climbed through the Philly farm system to make the 1970 opening day Major League roster
  • Played three more seasons due to a career ending knee injury in a home plate collision
  • Following his playing career Compton worked with the Phillies and later the World Series champion Cincinnati Reds organization as a minor league coach, manager, catching coordinator and field coordinator
  • In 1980 he managed the AA Eastern League Waterbury Reds to an Eastern League Division Championship
  • Also helped develop the Reds' first sports medicine program in 1981 and helped develop the original training manual for the home fitness equipment SoloFlex in 1979
  • After leaving professional baseball Compton owned and operated several small businesses in the 1980's and 1990's
  •  re-entered the coaching ranks on a part-time basis as the catching coach for the 2004 National Championship USCAA World Series Florida College Falcons
  •  In 2000 he rejoined professional baseball as a minor league hitting coach and catching instructor with the Tampa Bay Rays only to rejoin the Phillies in 2004 and enjoyed five consecutive division championships, a National League Championship and a World Series Championship
  • In 2010, Compton was presented the prestigious John Vukovich Award by the Philadelphia Phillies Organization. He presently holds the title of Senior Advisor, Player Development with the Phillies