Wallach, Robinson Pledge $110,000 for Titan Coffers : Colleges: Former Fullerton baseball players contribute to school's fund-raising campaign.

Wallach, Robinson Pledge $110,000 for Titan Coffers : Colleges: Former Fullerton baseball players contribute to school’s fund-raising campaign.

By MIKE DiGIOVANNA

Oct. 31, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

FULLERTON — Two former Cal State Fullerton baseball players currently playing in the major leagues have made significant contributions to the school’s $6.3 million fund-raising campaign.

Tim Wallach, a Montreal Expo third baseman and a member of the Titans’ 1979 national championship team, said he has donated about $50,000, and pitcher Jeff Robinson, a Titan from 1980-83, has pledged about $60,000, to be paid over a five-year period through his family’s foundation. Robinson pitched for the Angels last season, but the team bought out his option last week.

Wallach and Robinson are members of the school’s campaign cabinet, a group of 14 businessmen, professionals and athletes, each of whom has the capacity to make a pledge in the $50,000 range.

New York Giants’ cornerback Mark Collins, a former Titan, is also on the cabinet, which is co-chaired by Dick Ackerman, a Fullerton attorney and city councilman, and Buck Johns, a land developer and long-time Titan booster.

According to campaign director Steve Christensen, all cabinet members have either made a significant pledge or are in the process of determining their levels of contribution.

The cabinet members alone are expected to generate between $500,000-$700,000 in pledges for the campaign, which will benefit the Titan Sports Complex and Fullerton athletic department.

“I’m still a fan of their teams,” said Wallach, who is spending part of the off-season in Orange County. “It’s where I got recognized. I had a chance to play for a good college team and got a lot of exposure. That’s the reason I’m where I am today.”

Robinson played for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees before signing with the Angels in 1991. He was one of the team’s top relievers during the first half of the season but tailed off in the second half. He is currently a free agent.

“When I was a senior at Troy High School in 1979, there was a proposal to build a stadium, and that was one of the tools they used to recruit me,” Robinson said. “It’s finally materialized 12 years later. I’m a big proponent of (baseball Coach) Augie Garrido’s style, and as long as he’s there, my family is happy to do what we can for the program.”