Gene Conley - Early Life

Early Life

Conley was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma. While still young, his family moved to Richland, Washington. He attended Richland High School where he played multiple sports. He reached the all-state team in baseball, and basketball, and was the state champion in the high jump. Conley attended Washington State University, where in 1950, he led Washington State to a second place national rank in college baseball. In basketball, Conley was twice selected honorable mention to the All-America team, leading the team in scoring with 20 points per game.

During the summer, Conley pitched semi-professional baseball in Walla Walla, Washington, in which scouts from almost every Major League Baseball team came to recruit him. He also was getting contract offers to play professional basketball from the Minneapolis Lakers and the Tri-Cities Blackhawks. At first he declined the offers, saying that his family doesn't want him to sign any professional contracts until he finished school. But the offers were getting bigger, and in August of 1950 he signed a professional contract with the Boston Braves for a $3,000 bonus.

In 1949, he married. They are still married and have three children and seven grandchildren.