Dick Groat
Eight-time All-Star shortstop and 1960 NL MVP who won a World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Richard Morrow Groat (November 4, 1930 – April 27, 2023) was an American professional baseball and basketball player, who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball. He rates as one of the most accomplished two-sport athletes in American sports history, a college All-America in baseball and basketball as well as one of only 13 to play both at the professional level.
Quick Facts
- Handedness
- Right-handed batter, right-handed thrower
Lore & Background
In 1960 Groat won the National League batting title with a .325 average, was the league's Most Valuable Player, and earned a World Series championship with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished his 14-year career with a .286 batting average and 2,138 hits with four teams. For seven seasons from 1956 to 1962, Groat teamed with future Hall of Fame second baseman Bill Mazeroski to give the Pirates one of the most efficient keystone combinations in baseball history. He ranked ninth in major league history in games played at shortstop (1,877) and fourth in double plays. Groat attended Duke University, where he was a two-time All-American, two-time McKelvin Award winner as the Southern Conference athlete of the year, and the first basketball player to have his number (10) retired in school history. In 2011, he was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first person to be admitted to the college basketball and baseball halls of fame.
Reader's Guide
Groat was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, to Martin and Gracie Groat, the youngest of five children. He was raised in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, and attended Swissvale High School where he earned letters in basketball, baseball, and volleyball. He earned an athletic scholarship for basketball to attend Duke University where he was a two-sport star athlete. In basketball, he was a two-time college basketball All-American (1950–51, 1951–52) and one-time Helms Foundation Player of the Year recipient (1950–51). He was the Southern Conference Player of the Year as well as United Press International (UPI) National Player of the Year in the 1951–52 season, when he set an NCAA record with 839 points scored. In his final regular-season game, Groat scored 48 points against the visiting University of North Carolina. On May 1, 1952, Groat had his jersey number 10 retired to the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium. On November 18, 2007, he was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. In baseball, Groat played shortstop at Duke. In his senior year (1952), he helped lead the team to a 31–7 record and their first College World Series. For the season, Groat hit .370 and led the team in doubles, hits, runs batted in, and stolen bases. He was a two-time winner of the McKelvin Award. After his junior year, Pittsburgh Pirates' general manager Branch Rickey offered him a chance to play professional baseball while allowing him to complete his degree. Groat declined out of deference to Duke. The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants also expressed interest. When Rickey repeated his offer in 1952, Groat signed his first professional contract in June, believed to be worth $35,000 to $40,000, which included a $25,000 bonus. Groat joined the Pirates on June 17 in New York, without a day of minor league experience. He made his major league debut the following day and batted a team-high .284 for the remainder of the season. After his MLB debut, Groat played basketball for the Ft. Wayne Zollner Pistons of the NBA. Four months into the season, he enlisted in the US Army. During his military stint, he led Fort Belvoir teams to worldwide Army championships in baseball and basketball. When Groat returned to the Pirates in 1955, he led the last-place team in hits (139) and the NL in putouts at shortstop.
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