Eric Young was a two-sport standout (football, baseball) at Rutgers, earning three letters in baseball (1987-89). Young batted over .300 in each of his three seasons, including a career high .337 as a senior in 1989. During his career on the diamond, Young was a two-time Atlantic 10 All-Conference selection and led Rutgers to an Atlantic 10 Championship and NCAA berth in 1988. Young graduated from Rutgers as the career leader in runs, and triples, as well as stolen bases, also establishing a then single-season mark with 28 thefts in 1989. At the conclusion of his Rutgers career, Young was the recipient of the Coursen Award in 1989 and was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1989 amateur draft. Young made his major league debut with the Colorado Rockies in 1993 and was selected to the 1995 All-Star game. At the time of his induction, Young was in the midst of a stellar professional baseball career, having put together a .289 career average through nine seasons. Entering the 2000 season, Young was a member of the Chicago Cubs of the National League.
A standout receiver and special teams performer during his career, Young was among the top offensive players in the East during his Rutgers football career from 1985-88. In four seasons, Young caught 109 passes for 1,380 yards and nine touchdowns. He graduated as the third-leading receiver in school history and, at the time of his induction, was seventh all-time. He led the Scarlet Knights in receiving yards as a junior with 364 yards and as a senior with 592, which was the fifth-highest total at the time of his graduation. On special teams, Young returned 64 punts, which served as the top mark at the time. He also graduated fourth on the all-time all-purpose yardage list with 2,928 and, at the time of time of his induction, ranked eighth
