Dravecky Selected as President's Lecturer
 Dave
Dravecky, former professional baseball pitcher, turned author
and motivational speaker, will be at Sam Houston State University
March 26 as part of the President's Speaker Series.
Dravecky's lecture will be held at 11 a.m. in the Killinger Auditorium of
the Beto Criminal Justice Center on campus. Students, faculty and community
members are welcome to attend.
Dravecky left his mark on baseball history when on Aug. 10, 1989 he pitched the
San Francisco Giants to a 4-3 victory over Cincinnati. The win was different from
his many others on the mound in only one way; it was his first following a battle
with cancer.
Dravecky's career in the big leagues was full of successes. After graduating
from Youngstown State University in 1978, he was drafted and later called into
the majors by the San Diego Padres.
While a Padre, Dravecky pitched in the 1983 All-Star Game, 1984 National League
Championships and the World Series. In 1987 he was traded to the Giants and
led his team to another run at the National League title.
Following an opening day victory in the spring of 1988 Dravecky's doctors
discovered a desmoid tumor in his pitching arm. In order to remove it Dravecky
would have to undergo surgery to remove half of the arm's deltoid muscle.
Although doctors told him he would never pitch again, Dravecky defied the
odds in his unexpected comeback. His personal victory would be short-lived,
however, when after breaking his arm twice on the field doctors learned the
cancer had returned.
The news forced Dravecky to retire from pro baseball for good in November
1989. He again underwent unsuccessful surgery and radiation for the cancer,
and in 1991 had his left arm, shoulder blade and collarbone amputated to save
his life.
Dravecky said the loss of his arm was a shattering blow.
"My arm caught the attention of the entire school, when, as a teenager, I
pitched my first no hitter," Dravecky said. "Later my ability to provide for
my family was not based on how smart I was, or how hard I worked. It was based
solely on what my arm could do on game day.
"It's what people cheered me for, it's what made me valuable, what gave me
worth in the eyes of the world," he said. "Then suddenly my arm was gone."
Dravecky and his wife Jan fell into clinical depression for a period, but
emerged wanting to help others. His experiences drove him to write the book
"Comeback" chronicling his return to baseball and "When You Can't Come Back"
describing his life following the loss of his arm.
Dravecky now makes his living as a professional speaker, addressing a wide
variety of motivational topics to audiences across the country.
His visit to campus will make him the third lecturer in the President's Speaker
Series established by SHSU President James Gaertner in 2002. The goal of the
series is to bring a prominent lecturer to the university each fall and spring
semester.
Benefactor Lu Ellen Gibbs signed an agreement with Gaertner in early 2002
under which she will provide $75,000 for the President's Speaker Series for
the next three years.
Gaertner said one of his motives behind establishing the series was to introduce
SHSU students, many of whom are first generation college students, to people
who are living successful and principled lives. To promote student attendance
to the events, the two lectures per year are always planned during the morning
hours when many are on campus.
Dravecky's speech at SHSU follows President's Series lecturer Debbie Fields,
founder and former chairman of Mrs. Fields Cookies who appeared in the fall.
Gene Stallings, former head football coach at the University of Alabama, was
the series' first speaker at its inception last spring.
The Barnes & Noble bookstore on campus will be selling a selection of numerous
titles authored by Dravecky immediately following the lecture.
- END -
SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Hostutler
Feb. 24, 2003
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