Trojans in the World Series
Just a few months after Troy’s first appearance in the College World Series, a Trojan alum is on the brink of winning the Major League World Series.
Brandon Lockridge didn’t make the Brewers’ roster for the Fall Classic, but as an active member of the organization he’s in a position that only two other Troy alums have ever seen.
| Player | Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Brandon Lockridge | 2026 Milwaukee Brewers* | TBD |
| Danny Cox | 1993 Toronto Blue Jays* | Won |
| Danny Cox | 1987 St. Louis Cardinals* | Lost |
| Danny Cox | 1985 St. Louis Cardinals* | Lost |
| Tom Drake | 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers | Lost |
Danny Cox is the obvious, easy answer here. He pitched the majority of his career in St. Louis, spent a few years in Pennsylvania and wrapped it up in Toronto.
In the 1985 Series, Cox started game 2. He gave up two runs in the 4th inning: the only runs scored by the Royals and the only runs scored until the ninth inning.
The Cardinals put up 4 in the top of the ninth, winning the game and going up 2-0.
In game 6, Cox put up and even more impressive performance, holding the Royals scoreless in another pitchers’ duel. Pinch hitter Bryan Harper took over in the eighth, driving in a run, but the Royals walked it off the next inning, forced a game seven and eventually won the series.
In 1987, months after Troy won its second-straight national title, the Trojan alum found himself playing in October once more, this time against Minnesota. This time around, Cox’s performance wasn’t quite as commanding as the first time out.
Once again starting game 2, he gave up a 6-run fourth, the Twins won 8-4 and Cox earned his first decision in a Series game: a loss.
Game 5 was more reminiscent of his 1985 performance though. He pitched a scoreless game into the eighth, and only gave up a two-run triple. The Cardinals held on to win 4-2, giving Cox his only win in the World Series.
In Game 7, the former Trojan was brought into the game in the 5th inning. The Cards were up 2-1. Here’s what happened.
- gave up a double to Kirby Puckett and a run
- walked the next batter
- got Puckett out on the attempted double steal
- got the third batter out on a flyout and
- ended the inning with a tagout at home (technically he didn’t do this though)
So giving up a single run to a Hall of Famer after inheriting a man on base? Not a bad appearance, all things considered.
The next inning wasn’t as forgiving. Cox walked the first two batters, so he was replaced, but he wasn’t done.
A few choice words with umpire Davey Phillips got him tossed. To this day, he is the last non-manager ejected from the World Series.
In a 2019 podcast (starts at 1:14:20), Phillips said he doesn’t remember what Cox said, but the two became friends after the fact.
Whatever his frustration, it didn’t end there. The Twins added two more runs, The Cardinals offense couldn’t respond, and Cox was handed the loss.
Cox spent one more season in St. Louis, two in Philly and one in Pittsburgh. He ended up in Toronto in 1993, and 2,186 days after he was tossed out of the World Series, the baseball gods gave Danny Cox a third chance at a ring… against one of his former teams, the Phillies.
Cox had by now shifted to a reliever role, so he entered the bottom of the 7th in Game 3. He gave up three hits and one run across two innings, helping the Blue Jays take a 2-1 lead.
After starting and relieving, Cox finally got the role of closer in World Series Game 5. He walked two batters and struck out three, but the Blue Jays offense couldn’t get on the board at all, forcing a game 6.
Cox took over the mound after a three-run jack in the 6th, and though the Phillies generated two more runs through some small ball, the Blue Jays offense came through in the bottom of the ninth with one of the most dramatic championship endings ever.
The first Trojan to win a World Series was a man born in England, on a Canadian team, won across the border. Truly “Alabama’s International University.”
Danny joined Barry McKnight and Jerry Miller in the booth at halftime of the 2026 Missouri game. You can listen to that here.
Danny was the first Troy alum to take home a World Series ring, but he wasn’t the first with a chance. That honor belongs to Tom Drake, an alum from the the mid-1930s.
Drake began his career at Jacksonville State, playing both baseball and football in 1933. According to the Gamecock Hall of Fame, he managed an 85-yard punt that season.
The Hall of Fame also says his time there was cut short due to the Great Depression, but he did transfer to Troy in 1934. The 1937 Palladium mentions his MLB success and includes him among baseball players “in the last two years.”
Drake signed with the New Orleans Pelicans baseball team in 1935, starting his career, and ended up on 1939 Cleveland Indians. He was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941, and pitched 24.2 innings across ten games.
Drake was 1-1 with a 4.38 ERA, 21 strikeouts and just 13 runs given up. That wasn’t enough to secure him a spot on the postseason roster though, and there wasn’t really a postseason to begin with.
44 years before Danny Cox and the Cardinals made it through October, the 100-win Dodgers topped the National League and earned a World Series spot. Drake did not play though, and the Yankees won the title.
Oddly enough, Drake spent the next season in Toronto before joining the Navy, returning to baseball in 1946 and finishing his minor league career in 1951.
Now, 75 years, two national titles and a trip to Omaha later, another Troy baseball alum also finds himself on the outside looking in. Still, it’s just the fifth time ever the Wiregrass has reason to join a Major League bandwagon.