Long before he was the two-time SuperBowl winning, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, he was New York Yankees outfield prospect John Elway.
And, now…he’s New York Penn League Hall of Famer John Elway.
On August 19, Elway will join fellow inductee, five-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson, in Brooklyn for the induction ceremony prior to the 2014 New York‐Penn League All‐Star Game. But only one of them, really, had an NYPL career worth mentioning…and it isn’t the future baseball Hall of Famer.
After being selected in the second round of the 1981 MLB draft by the Yankees, Elway was signed to a $140,000 contract and sent to play for their team in Oneonta the next summer. There he played his only season of minor league ball, where, in just 45 games, he hit .318 with four homers, 25 RBI and 13 stolen bases. George Steinbrenner had dreams of an outfield with superstar Dave Winfield in left and Elway in right.
“He will be a great outfielder for me,” the late Yankees owner once said, excited about Elway’s All-American image and potential box-office appeal, “one in the great Yankee tradition of Mantle, Maris, DiMaggio and all the others…including Reggie.”
Not even a year later, the 22-year-old Elway became the first pick of the 1983 NFL draft by then-Baltimore Colts. He would demand a trade and eventually land in Denver where he led the Broncos to five SuperBowls.
The rest is history.
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