MOBILE, Ala. – Former University of South Alabama standout Jon Lieber became the fourth member of the Jaguar baseball family to earn induction into the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame when the Class of 2013 was revealed Tuesday at a press conference conducted at the RSA Battle House Tower.

Lieber, who lettered for the Jags in 1991 and ’92 before embarking on an extensive career in the Major Leagues, joins Steve Kittrell (2004), Eddie Stanky (1990) and Turner Ward (2007) in receiving the honor.  He is the ninth member of the MSHOF with ties to South Alabama Athletics, as Beth Barry (2009), Johnny Brown (2001), Cliff Ellis (2003), Joey Jones (2011) and June Mayson (1999) have also been recognized.

During his two-year USA career, Lieber led the Jags to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1992 Sun Belt Conference championship.  The right-hander — who posted back-to-back 12-5 seasons, leading the Jags in strikeouts and earned-run average both years — was named third-team All-America by the American Baseball Coaches Association as a senior, when he was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year.  He was a two-time all-league selection, earning all-region honors as well in 1992.

Lieber was chosen in the second round of the 1992 MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals, but was later traded to Pittsburgh where he would debut with the Pirates during the 1994 campaign.  He would play 14 seasons in the majors with the Pirates (1994-98), Chicago Cubs (’99-02; ‘08), New York Yankees (’04), and Philadelphia Phillies (’05-07), winning 131 games while striking out 1,553 batters in 2,198 innings.

Lieber won 20 games for the 2001 Cubs, playing in the All-Star Game and finishing fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting that year, while he paced the National League in games started and innings pitched the previous season. In 2004, he allowed the fewest walks per nine innings of any pitcher in the American League, accomplishing the same feat in the National League in ‘06.

Other member of the MSHOF Class of 2013 include former National Football League players Hanford Dixon and Rickey Young, Pete Myers — who played in the National Basketball Association — Angelo Harris and Ben Harris.  The induction ceremony will be held at the Battle House Hotel on May 21.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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