Alan Gallagher ’67 earned a college nickname that followed him to the bigs. He died on Dec. 6, 2018 in Fresno, according to news reports.
The story behind the name ‘Dirty Al’ involves a 1965 25-game hitting streak (!) and a lucky pair of drawers.
Though he was slated to graduate with the class of 1967, Major League Baseball’s very first draft called his name instead. In that 1965 draft, he became the San Francisco Giants first hometown player since they moved West from New York. He made it the majors in 1970, playing with greats Willie Mays and Willie McCovey.
Gallagher went on to play for the California Angels and to manage teams in the minors. In 1983, he was inducted into the SCU Athletic Hall of fame. Read more about the man, and the name, at SFGate.com.