BC Welcomes Former MLB Player Garry Templeton for Black History Month

Thursday, February 12, 2026

Bakersfield College is hosting a variety of events and seminars throughout the month of February in celebration of Black History Month. This week, BC welcomed former Major League Baseball player Garry Templeton. Garry played Major League Baseball for 15 seasons, which included tenures with the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets. He was a three-time All-Star and was inducted into the San Diego Padres Hall of Fame in 2015.

The event took place in the Norman Levan Center, which was filled with students and staff who were eager to hear Mr. Templeton’s stories about his upbringing, career, and post-baseball life. The event began with an introduction from BC Professor Tommy Tunson, who was a childhood friend of Mr. Templeton and shared a few memories from their time growing up together. Mr. Templeton was then welcomed to the front of the room to speak.

He was born in Texas, but moved to Santa Ana, CA at an early age. That is where he grew up and first got introduced to sports and athletics. “What helped me improve my skills was that I competed against older kids in the area,” Templeton said, “and in Santa Ana, at the time, it probably had the most talent in all of California – and I got to compete with those guys.” He went on to attend Santa Ana Valley High School where he started on the varsity baseball team as a freshman. His athletic skills extended beyond the baseball diamond as he lettered in four spots during his high school career – baseball, basketball, football, and track.

He ultimately chose to pursue baseball because he was drafted right out of high school. “I was fortunate enough to get drafted to play baseball,” said Templeton, “and they gave me the chance to make some money. My father told me that not a lot of people get the opportunity to play professional sports, and so that was what I chose.”

Templeton went on to talk about the hard work and daily grind of the MLB and took time to share some stories of when he experienced racial discrimination. He talked about not being allowed in certain areas of Orange County during the 60’s and 70’s because he was black, and shared a story from his professional days when a restaurant refused to serve the black players on the team. Templeton mentioned that he did not let things like that bother him much and that it helped him develop a “thick skin”, which he believes helped him throughout his career.

The event concluded with a time for audience questions and photos. It was truly inspiring to hear about the first-hand experiences of a former professional athlete, and a great way to commemorate Black History Month.

Thank you, Dr. Tommy Tunson, for coordinating this event, and a big thank you to Garry Templeton for taking the time to speak and interact with the BC Community.