The first Post 22 graduate to ever move on to the Major Leagues, Dave Collins was a solid professional who played for nine teams during his 16-year career, and is currently moving up the ranks as a coach.
   As a Major Leaguer, Collins led the American League in triples in 1984 with 15, and stole 395 bases in his career, which ranks 70th in MLB history.

LEGION
   A phenomenal athlete, Collins was a three-sport standout during his high school days in Rapid City.
   He was an excellent football player and held South Dakota's prep record for the 100-yard dash - 9.6 seconds - for a number of years.

COLLEGE
   Collins was actually drafted right out of high school. In June of 1971, during his final Legion season, he was a 23rd round pick of the Cincinnati Reds. Choosing not to sign, he enrolled at Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz.
   At the time, Major League baseball had two separate drafts, with a January date known as the secondary draft. Collins again had his name called, this time as the ninth overall pick by the Kansas City Royals. Again, Collins stayed in school.
   Following a successful freshman campaign at Mesa, the California Angels used their sixth overall pick to select Collins, who this time signed, becoming the first Rapid City product to enter professional baseball.

MINORS
   Collins began his professional career with Idaho Falls, California's Pioneer League rookie squad. And he didn't disappoint.
   Splitting time between first base and the outfield, Collins earned the league's Most Valuable Player honor. He hit .274 in 68 games, leading the league with eight triples and 11 outfield assists. He also had eight doubles, driving in 27 runs.
   Moving up to Class A Quad City of the Midwest League, the 20-year old Collins hit .258 with 15 doubles, seven triples and 49 RBIs, playing 110 games.
   Continuing his rise up the Minor League hierarchy, Collins had a tremendous 1974 season.
   Starting the season in advanced A ball, with Salinas of the California League, Collins hit .343 in 39 games. He scored 30 runs, hit three doubles, five triples and had 21 RBIs, earning a promotion to the AA Texas League.
   Joining El Paso in June, Collins played 82 games there and hit even better than in Salinas, finishing the season with a .352 average. He had 15 doubles, four triples and four homers, driving in 49.
  

MAJORS
   Collins made his Major League debut in 1975, spending the next two seasons splitting time between Salinas, which was now a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League, and the big league's Angels.
   As a rookie with California, Collins hit .266, playing in 93 games. He had 29 RBIs, with 13 doubles, four triples and three homers.
   The following year, he posted similar numbers, hitting at a .263 clip in 99 games. He totaled 12 doubles, one triple, four homers and 28 RBIs.
   During those two seasons, Collins earned the nickname "Rapid City Rabbit" for his abilities on the basepaths. He stole 24 bases as a rookie, and followed it up with 32 swipes on the bases.
   In December of 1976, the Seattle Mariners used the 14th pick of the expansion draft to take Collins, who would become the first batter in franchise history that April.
   He played 120 games, starting 43 as a designated hitter on top of playing all three outfield spots. He hit .239 with 28 RBIs, stealing 25 bases.
   Collins was a perfect fit for the National League style of baseball, and in December of 1977 was traded to the NL's Cincinnati Reds for reliever Shane Rawley. The next four years would be arguably the most memorable of Collins' career.
   Unfortunately, Collins struggled to crack the Big Red Machine's lineup during his first year there. He made 102 at bats in 102 games, and only hit .216, struggling to adapt to his reduced role.
   An injury to Ken Griffey opened the door in 1979, and Collins joined Griffey, Cesar Geronimo and George Foster in a four-way rotation in the outfield, helping the Reds win the National League West.
   Collins tied for the team league with a .318 batting average, knocking 16 doubles, four triples and three home runs. He also stole 16 bases, third most on the squad.
   Though the Pittsburgh Pirates swept the Reds in the National League Championship Series, Collins was one of the offensive standouts for Cincy. He went 5-for-14 in the series, and his ninth inning RBI double in game two forced extra innings.
   He followed his successful '79 season up with another solid year, playing a career high 144 games in 1980. Collins stole 79 bases in 90 attempts that year, becoming one of just 43 players in Major League history to swipe that many bags in a year.
   He also set personal bests with 551 at bats, 94 runs scored, 167 hits and 53 walks. He hit .303 while making 119 starts in center for the Reds,
   With a healthy Griffey back in the Cincinnati lineup, Collins' playing time decreased. He still recorded 360 at bats in 95 games, hitting .272 with 18 doubles and 26 stolen bases. But his contract was up, and he was looking for something different.
   Different is exactly what he got in 1982, ending up with the New York Yankees. After losing the World Series to the Dodgers the previous year, the Yankees were in turmoil, and Collins got caught up in Steinbrenner mania.
   Collins made starts at all three outfield posts, first base and designated hitter, but hit just .253 in 348 at bats, in part to the constant questions of where, and if, he would play that day.
   Wanting out, Collins was a part of a six-player deal that sent him to Toronto in December of that year.
   Collins earned over 400 at bats both years, and returned to his previous form north of the border.
   In 1983, Collins hit .271 with 12 doubles and 31 stolen bases in 402 at bats.
   The next summer, he had what some consider the best season of his career, hitting .308 for the Blue Jays. He led the American League with 15 triples, and set career marks with 24 doubles and 44 RBIs. He also stole 60 bases during the year, starting 106 games in left field.
   Collins would be traded twice the next two years, playing strictly the outfield for Oakland in 1985 and Detroit in 1986.
   With the A's, Collins hit .251 in 112 games, while he went back up to .270 in 1986 with Detroit. Despite being in his early 30s, Collins stole 29 bases in Oakland, and 27 for the Tigers.
   The 34-year-old signed a free agent deal with the Montreal Expos in November of 1986, but was cut at the end of spring training. He was out of baseball for nearly three months, before returning to Cincinnati under a one-year deal.
   He would see time as a reserve utility man with the Reds, returning in both 1988 and 1989, each time under single-year contracts.
   While he did hit .294 in 85 at bats in '87, he hit .236 the next two years, before he was released at the end of the 1989 season.
   His final season was 1990, as the St. Louis Cardinals signed Collins in February.
   He played sparingly for the Cards that season, but did go out in style. His final hit, on August 30 at Atlanta, was a two-run 10th inning single that won the game for St. Louis.
  
  
COACHING
   Collins jumped right into coaching following his retirement. After finishing his career with St. Louis in 1990, he was the Cardinals first base coach in 1991 and 1992.
   After a brief stint as a player with the Fort Myers Sun Sox of the Senior Professional Baseball Association, Collins relocated to Lake Orion, Mich.
   There, he served as head coach of the Lake Orion High School baseball and boys basketball teams from 1996-1998, before returning to the big leagues.
   The Cincinnati Reds hired him as first base coach, where he stayed for two seasons, before earning his first managerial job - as head of the single A Salem Avalanche.
   In 2003, Collins returned to the Majors, this time with the Colorado Rockies, where he spent four seasons as first base coach.
   Now, Collins is back in Single A, about to begin his third season as manager of the Inland Empire 66ers of the California League.