Dick Groat

Dick Groat
Groat in 1960
Shortstop
Born: (1930-11-04)November 4, 1930
Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died: April 27, 2023(2023-04-27) (aged 92)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 19, 1952, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 1967, for the San Francisco Giants
MLB statistics
Batting average.286
Hits2,138
Home runs39
Runs batted in707
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Basketball career
Groat at Duke
Personal information
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolSwissvale
(Swissvale, Pennsylvania)
CollegeDuke (1949–1952)
NBA draft1952: 1st round, 3rd overall pick
Selected by the Fort Wayne Pistons
Playing career1952–1953
PositionPoint guard
Number5
Career history
1952–1953Fort Wayne Pistons
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points309 (11.9 ppg)
Assists69 (2.7 asp)
Rebounds86 (3.3 rpg)
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2007

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.[1]

Groat was the National League Most Valuable Player with the world champion Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960 when he won the batting title with a .325 average. He finished his career with a .286 batting average and 2,138 hits with four National League teams in 14 seasons. 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.[2]

Groat attended Duke University as a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, where he was a two-time All-America, 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.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference sabr-groat was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Dick Groat Career Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "Dick Groat (1975)". goduke.com. Duke University.