A few cards ago we saw the Cubs 1st round pick in the secondary phase of the 1971 draft went to the big leagues, Burt Hooton. Hooton was the #2 overall in the secondary round. Pete Broberg was the #1 overall pick in the secondary phase of the draft and he went straight into the big leagues. Other picks in that first round were Phillie shortstop Dane Iorg, Twin catcher Glenn Borgmann and Expo righthander Steve Rogers.
Like Hooton, Pete was an accomplished college pitcher, coming out of Dartmouth. There aren't a lot of good pitchers to come out of Dartmouth. The list is Broberg, Mike Remlinger and Jim Beattie. Pete and Chuck Seelbach led Dartmouth to its only College World Series appearance in 1970. Pete was the 2nd overall pick in the 1968 draft by the A's, but he chose to go to school, in part at the urging of his father, a judge in Palm Beach County, Florida. It worked out because he had a good college career and then was the #1 pick.
The Senators put Pete in the rotation right away and his first start was against the Boston Red Sox. His line in 6 1/3 innings was only 2 runs, 3 hits and struck out 7, but he walked 4. He left the game ahead 3-0 with runners on 1st and second, but Paul Lindblad let them and one other score. He ended up with a no-decision. After a rocky 1-3 start, he went on a 4 game winning streak, including a shutout over the Indians. Manager Ted Williams is supposed to have said of Pete, "He'll never pitch a day in the minor leagues." He then lost 6 of his last 7 starts of the season, although he didn't pitch poorly.
Pete didn't really pan out and Ted Williams was wrong, he did see the minor leagues. He also saw the Brewers, Cubs and A's before being released by the Dodgers in 1979 spring training. He was an expansion pick of the Mariners and has a beautiful (gag) airbrushed 1977 Mariners' card, but was traded to the Cubs before appearing in a game for the Mariners. Speaking of airburshed, you also see the "W" logo airbrushed off his hat. I'm sure looking back he wishes they'd airbrushed out those sideburns. Check out how different his 1976 card looks from a more recent photo
After his career he went back to school and earned a law degree at Nova Southeastern University. He now practices zoning law at Coe, Broberg & Austin in Palm Beach. I think that guy on the right is going to be better at going before the city council to get a zoning variance.
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