Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 12 - Jackie Jensen, American League MVP

Why we ranked him here: Once considered the heir to Joe DiMaggio in center field with the Yankees and later a teammate of Ted Williams with the Red Sox, Jensen began his MLB career in 1950 after playing in the Pacific Coast League’s Oakland Oaks alongside Billy Martin. Early in 1952, after the arrival of Mickey Mantle, the Yankees traded Jensen to the Washington Senators. He hit 20 home runs and drove in 164 runs in two seasons with the Senators, who traded him to Boston before the 1953 campaign. Williams welcomed him to the Red Sox. “I had seen him with the Yankees, and I knew he ran fast . . . like a halfback or something,” Williams said in an interview in 1999. “He was a hell of a good outfielder, and he developed into quite a hitter. I can only tell you he was a damn good ballplayer. I would have him on my team anytime.” Jensen played the next six seasons in Boston, averaging nearly 28 home runs and 112 RBIs over that span. He led the American League with 22 stolen bases in 1954, led the league with 116 RBIs in 1955, and topped the AL with 11 triples in 1956. Jensen put it all together in 1958 when he was AL MVP after batting .286 with career-high 35 home runs and career-high and AL-leading 122 RBIs. A fear of flying and anxiety over missing his family led Jensen to retire at the age of 32 after the 1959 season. He returned to Boston in 1961, then retired permanently after one last season. Jensen was a three-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove for fielding in 1959. His final numbers over 11 seasons included a .279 batting average, 503 extra-basae hits, 143 stolen bases, 199 home runs and 929 RBIs. 

At Cal: After serving in the Navy at the end of World War II, Jensen  enrolled at Cal and became one of the school’s greatest all-around athletes. In 1947, as a junior pitcher and outfielder, Cal's "Golden Boy" earned baseball All-America honors, batting .385, as the Bears won the inaugural College World Series crown. As a senior running back in 1948, Jensen rushed for 1,080 yards on 7.3 yards per attempt and scored seven touchdowns to pick up consensus first-team All-America honors. Cal posted a 10-0 regular-season record and a final No. 4 national ranking before losing to Northwestern in the Rose Bowl. Jensen finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting that season.

Other: In 1949, Jensen married Oakland High School sweetheart Zoe Ann Olsen, a silver medalist in diving at the 1948 Olympics, in what was a huge Bay Area social event. Jensen coached Cal’s baseball team for four seasons, was a radio sports director in Reno, worked as a college football broadcaster for ABC, was co-owner of Bow & Bell restaurant at Oakland’s Jack London Square and managed a minor-league baseball team in 1970.