Gene Larkin (College baseball. Born, Flushing, NY, Oct. 24, 1962.) A senior season seldom equalled in Eastern college baseball catapulted Eugene Thomas Larkin into a seven-year major league career and two trips to the World Series. During his four years (1981-84) at Columbia, where he was a third baseman, the switch-hitting Larkin set career records in almost every major offensive category, eclipsing some marks held by Lou Gehrig. He had 25 home runs, 114 runs batted in, and a .371 average. Larkin hit 19 homers and drove in 62 runs as a senior to become the Lions’ first all-American since Archie Roberts in 1965. Converted to a first baseman, he came to Minnesota in 1987, playing in both the 1987 and 1991 World Series before retiring after the 1993 season. Larkin had a .266 average in 758 major league games with 32 homers. His r.b.i. single in the bottom of the 10th inning of Game 7 of the 1991 Series gave the Twins a 1-0 win and the World Series title.
