Gene Conley excelled at the major league level of two sports and is the only athlete to own dual-sport championships in Major League Baseball and the NBA. Besides pitching for the World Series champion Milwaukee Braves in 1957, he was a member of three NBA championship teams with the Boston Celtics. He was the only professional athlete to play for three of Boston's professional sports teams.

As an 18-year-old Conley chose Washington State University from the many prominent basketball schools that had offered him scholarships. As a sophomore, he led the varsity to the Northern Division basketball championship of the Pacific Coast Conference and was their top scorer.

His pitching attracted scouts from most of the major league teams. He signed with the Boston Braves, in 1950. The Braves assigned him to their Class-A team at Hartford of the Eastern League in 1951. His season was outstanding, with 20 wins and a 2.16 ERA. He was honored as the league’s "Most Valuable Player" and named "Minor League Player of the Year" by The Sporting News.

Basketball re-entered his life late in 1951. During the Hartford club’s last trip to Wilkes-Barre, Gene was invited to suit up for a scrimmage with the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the American Basketball Association and the Barons offered him a contract.

When the Braves learned that Gene was considering playing professional basketball, he was summoned to a meeting with GM John Quinn. At the meeting, he was given a $1,000 check in return for his promise never to play basketball again and he agreed.

Gene’s 1951 season earned him a promotion to the big-league club as the fourth starter for 1952. But his stay was short and he was assigned back to the Braves’ top farm club, the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. There he finished with 11 victories for the pennant-winning Brewers and chipped in with a .338 batting average.

Earlier in the 1952 season, he was the 90th overall pick in the NBA draft, selected by the Boston Celtics. He decided he needed the money and tried to make the club. He played sparingly for Red Auerbach’s Celtics, but established that he could play in NBA. The Celtics made the playoffs and were eliminated in the second round. As a consequence, Gene was late in reporting for spring training.

The year 1953 was one of promise for Gene as he fully expected to make the big-league baseball club. But he did not and was again sent down to the minors, which had been displaced to Toledo when the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee.

He won 23 games and was named the American Association’s "Most Valuable Player" and The Sporting News "Minor League Player of the Year" for a second time in Toledo. And he again made the Celtics for the 1953-1954 season. Once again GM Quinn intervened but this time matched the Celtics’ offer of $5,000 to induce Gene not to play basketball and he accepted it.

In 1954, Gene made the Braves’ Opening Day roster and along with Warren Spahn and Lew Burdette, he was part of their five-man rotation. He had a good year and was selected for the 1954 All-Star Game in Cleveland.

Once again he tried out for and made the Celtics, but shocked the team by resigning on the eve of the season’s opening game. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family and was not sure he would be able to continue as a two-sport athlete. He hoped it would prolong his baseball career.

Gene was selected for the 1955 NL All-Star team but was not slated to pitch because he had experienced shoulder problems. That was still with him at the start of the 1956 season and he was once again on the disabled list. Therapy promoted healing and he returned to the Braves in 1957 and was part of the team that won the World Series.

The pitching career that had been so promising just a few years earlier came unraveled in 1958. Gene’s shoulder was still a bother and the Braves’ pitching staff was stronger than ever. When he was used, it was mostly relief action and he became frustrated. He began drinking heavily and was constantly at odds with manager Fred Haney.

After his terrible year, Conley decided to give basketball another try. He called Red Auerbach and Red gave him a tryout. By his sheer determination, Gene made the Celtics and signed a contract over the objections of the Braves.

On the court, he was strong, hustled, could out-jump most anyone in the league, and excelled on defense and in rebounding. He would prove that he had staying power as he played three seasons with the Celtics, who were NBA champions all three of those seasons.

The Celtics’ playoff run was cause for Conley not to report to the Braves in the spring of 1959. As a result, the Braves traded him to the Phillies. The Celtics wrapped up the NBA championship in April and Gene had his second NBA championship ring.

A few days later he was at spring training with Philadelphia. It was near the end of April before he made an appearance. He was picked for the second 1959 All-Star Game in Los Angeles, where he pitched two perfect innings that included striking out Ted Williams and Yogi Berra. In the end, he was named "Comeback Player of the Year" by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

In 1960 the Phillies offered him $20,000 to forgo basketball the next winter. It ended in his being traded to the Red Sox.

In April of, 1961, the Celtics wrapped up another NBA championship and Gene was quickly off to Florida for an abbreviated spring training. Just two weeks removed from the basketball court, he made his first appearance in a Red Sox uniform and pitched eight shutout innings. But after just a few games the pain returned to his pitching shoulder.

Conley had been left unprotected by the Celtics when the NBA held an expansion draft in the spring of 1961. He signed with the Washington/New York Tapers in the fledgling American Basketball League.

The Tapers’ season ended in time for Conley to participate in most of spring training with the Red Sox in Arizona. He parlayed a productive spring and had a good 1962 season. He recorded career highs in wins and innings. But his shoulder pain returned along he started drinking.

After a 13-3 shellacking on July 26th in Yankee Stadium in which he gave up eight runs in two-plus innings, Gene embarked on a venture that has remained a signature to him. When the team bus became mired in New York City traffic on the way to the airport, he and teammate Pumpsie Green stepped off to find a restroom. When the players returned, the bus was gone. Left in New York, the pair did some drinking before Pumpsie realized he was in trouble and decided to return to the club. Conley continued his binge for a few days and at some point decided to go to Jerusalem. He went so far as to buy a ticket and went to Idlewild Airport, but was denied access to the flight because he had no passport. The bizarre incident was well covered by the press and resulted in a substantial fine by the Red Sox, but Gene eventually returned.

Before the 1962 baseball season had ended, Gene's NBA rights were traded to the New York Knicks. Two injuries ended his basketball season prematurely, a broken index finger on his pitching hand and a severely sprained ankle.

Because of his early exit from basketball, Gene was able to participate in an entire spring training in 1963. The basketball injuries proved to be a major issue, as was the chronic shoulder injury. He was unable to pitch without pain during the exhibition season and during the early going of the regular season but came back late in the year. He did not know it at the time but when he started and won against the Twins in September, it would be his last major league appearance.

As was now usual, he picked up basketball, again with New York. Just after the 1964 baseball season got underway the Red Sox released him.