Whitman Hall of Fame
The golden age of Whitman College basketball and baseball ran from 1927 to 1941. R.V. Borleske (Hall of Fame 2003) coached both sports throughout this period, and Mike Reser was a vital part of that successful run during his years at the college. The basketball teams won eight of 12 Northwest Conference championships from 1927 through 1938, and the baseball team won nine of 14 titles from 1928 through 1941.
Reser grew up in Walla Walla but chose to take his athletic talents to Washington State College. After his freshman season at WSC, Mike decided to transfer and came to Whitman, where he played basketball two years and baseball three years.
Reser was All-NWC both years he played basketball. Scotty Cummins, a Hall of Fame inductee in 2006, recalls Mike’s performance for Whitman the first time the Missionaries played WSC. “He just ate them up! Mike was brilliant, and we whipped them pretty good.”
Reser set a conference record one year, scoring 196 points in 16 games. Referring to Mike’s basketball talents, Coach Borleske said, “Reser is undoubtedly one of the best players Whitman has ever had.” Reser captained the basketball team as a senior.
When Reser joined the baseball team in 1936, the NWC defending champions already had Pete Jonas (HoF 2010) and Scotty Cummins as star pitcher and catcher. However, Mike’s talent as a center fielder made the team formidable up the middle and they won the NWC titles again in 1937 and 1938. “With his speed Mike could run down fly balls. He could really cover a lot of ground,” stated Cummins.
