Rick Leach (baseball)

Richard Max Leach (born May 4, 1957) is an American former college football player and professional baseball player.

Leach was an all-state quarterback at Flint Southwestern High School in the fall of 1974, and the University of Michigan's starting quarterback in four consecutive seasons (1975–1978), leading the Wolverines to three straight Big Ten Conference championships and three appearances in the Rose Bowl. As a senior in 1978, he won the Big Ten Most Valuable Player, was selected as a first-team All-American, and finished third in the 1978 balloting for the Heisman Trophy.

As a baseball player he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the first round (13th overall) of the 1979 MLB Draft. Leach opted to play professional baseball over football, primarily a backup outfielder and first baseman for the Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. He had a career .268 batting average and .335 on-base percentage in 1,719 major league at bats from 1981 to 1990.

Born in 1957 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Leach attended Flint Southwestern High School in Flint and graduated in 1975. As a senior, he was selected as the first-team all-state quarterback by the Detroit Free Press. He broke every passing record in the Saginaw Valley League and was also an all-conference player in baseball and basketball. In 1998, the Detroit Free Press rated Leach as the fourth best quarterback to come out of a Michigan high school.

Leach enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1975. A left-hander, he was the Wolverines' starting quarterback from 1975 through 1978 under head coach Bo Schembechler. As an 18-year-old true freshman, Leach started 11 of 12 games and led the Wolverines to an 8–2–2 record and #8 ranking in the final AP poll. He rushed for 552 yards and passed for 680 yards as a freshman. With the Big Ten championship and a Rose Bowl berth on the line in the Michigan-Ohio State game, Leach threw an interception that was run back to the Michigan 3-yard line by Buckeye cornerback Ray Griffin and set up the winning touchdown in a 21–14 Ohio State victory. However, Leach and the Wolverines never lost to Ohio State again in his career.

As a sophomore in 1976, he started all 12 games at quarterback and led the team to a 10–2 record and #3 ranking in the final AP poll. He passed for 973 yards and 13 touchdowns and rushed for 638 yards and 10 touchdowns in 1976.

As a junior, he started all twelve games at quarterback and led the 1977 team to a 10–2 record and #9 ranking in the final AP poll. He passed for 1,348 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 375 yards and seven touchdowns.

As a senior in 1978, he again started all twelve games and led Michigan to a 10–2 record and #5 ranking in the final AP poll. He passed for 1,283 yards and 17 touchdowns and rushed for 611 yards and 12 touchdowns. Leach won numerous individual honors in 1978, including the following: