Dick Groat

Groat earned a basketball scholarship to attend Duke University where he became 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 UPI National Player of the Year in the 1951–52 season, when he set an NCAA record with 839 points scored.[1]

In his final regular-season game, Groat scored 48 points against the visiting University of North Carolina, the most by an opponent in Tar Heels history.[4] The Blue Devils won in a 94–64 rout for their 13th consecutive triumph. Victories over Maryland and West Virginia extended the streak to 15 in the Southern Conference Tournament before the Blue Devils fell to North Carolina State 77–68 in the championship round to fall one win short of an NCAA Tournament berth.

On May 1, 1952, Groat had his jersey number 10 retired to the rafters of Cameron Indoor Stadium on campus. It would remain the only one retired by the school for 28 years. On November 18, 2007, he was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.[5]

Groat sliding into third base for Duke (1952)

In baseball, Groat played shortstop for the Blue Devils. In his senior year (1952), he helped to lead the teams 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, given to the Athlete of the Year in the Southern Conference.[1]

After Groat completed his junior year of college, Pirates' general manager Branch Rickey offered him a chance to play professional baseball while allowing him to complete his degree in the off-season. Groat respectfully declined out of deference to Duke and its scholarship commitment. At the same time, Groat assured Rickey that, if the same contract offer was extended one year later, he would accept it.[1]

The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants also expressed interest in Groat, but Pittsburgh had the home-field advantage. He had always hoped to play near his hometown of Swissvale, a mere six miles from Forbes Field, the Pirates' home stadium. When Rickey repeated his offer in 1952 as expected, Groat signed his first professional contract, believed to be worth $35,000 to $40,000, which included a lucrative $25,000 bonus.[1]

While Groat hit a mere .214 against the Yankees in the 1960 World Series, partly because of his fractured wrist, he made contributions in three of the four victories. In the series opener, Groat tied the score on a double in the first inning. He came around on a Bob Skinner base hit to give the underdog Pirates an early 2–1 advantage. The lead held up, 6–4, as Groat and Mazeroski teamed up on a double play for the final outs.[9]

In the fifth game, with his team ahead, 3–1, Groat doubled to lead off the third inning. Roberto Clemente followed with an RBI single for what proved to be the decisive run. The Pirates went on to a 5–3 triumph that gave them a 3–2 lead in the series.[9]

In Game 7, the Pirates trailed 7–4 in the seventh inning. Groat delivered an RBI single to ignite a five-run rally that staked his team to a 9–7 advantage. The Pirates went on to win 10–9 on Mazeroski's walk-off home run in the ninth inning.[9]

In 1961, Groat batted .275, and teamed with Mazeroski to lead the league in double plays. One season later, he improved to a .294 batting average and finished third in the league in doubles (34). He also led the NL in putouts, assists, and double plays.[2]

While the 1962 Pirates bounced back with a 93-win season, Brown had grown concerned about a pitching staff that relied heavily on veterans whose best days were behind them. The 32-year-old Groat had an inkling that he would be traded while he still had value, and his fears were realized in November, when he was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Don Cardwell, a 15-game winner the previous season. Groat was deeply hurt by the trade, having hoped to become a Pirates' coach and possibly manager after his retirement as a player. He subsequently severed ties with the organization until a 1990 reunion of the 1960 World Series team.[10]

Fully intent to prove that Brown had made an egregious mistake, Groat responded with a vengeance in the 1963 campaign. In his best season in the big leagues, he set career marks in RBI (73), hits (201), doubles (43), triples (11), on-base percentage (.377), and slugging percentage (.450) to finish second to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax in the NL Most Valuable Player vote. His .319 batting average ranked fourth in the league, seven points behind the leader Tommy Davis (Dodgers).[8]

While Groat produced a career-high 73 RBI in his Cardinals debut, manager Johnny Keane became convinced that he could be even more valuable as a run-producer. The veteran batted either third, fifth or sixth in the order on a regular basis in the 1964 season, when he drove in 70 runs. He hit .292, played consistent defense, and continued to mentor younger teammates in a leadership role, as the Cardinals captured their first NL pennant in 18 years. He earned the final All-Star selection of his career and led the league in assists and double plays once again.[2]

In the fourth game of the World Series, Groat was involved in one of the turning points in the series. The Cardinals trailed 3–0 in the sixth inning and were on the verge of a 3–1 deficit in the series. With two runners on base, he hit a ground ball to second baseman Bobby Richardson, who fumbled a relay toss near the bag to load the bases. Ken Boyer followed with a grand slam home run that held up for a 4–3 victory. Three innings earlier, Groat tagged out Mickey Mantle on a pickoff play that thwarted a two-on, two-out threat.[11]

Groat reached base on a fielder's choice groundout and scored on Tim McCarver's three-run homer in the 10th inning of Game 5, which saw the Cardinals score a 5–2 victory. He had an RBI groundout in the 7–5 win in the Game 7 clincher.[11]

Statistically, the 1965 season was the worst for Groat as a regular in his career. Afterward, as part of a six-player transaction, he was traded with catcher Bob Uecker and first baseman Bill White to the Philadelphia Phillies, whose manager Gene Mauch had been impressed by his skills and leadership for years.[1] Groat hit .265 in his only full season with the team, after which his contract was sold to the San Francisco Giants in June of the following year. He spent the final months of the 1967 season mostly as a late-inning defensive replacement and pinch-hitter before he announced his retirement.[2]

In his career, Groat totaled 829 runs scored, 707 runs batted in, 352 doubles, 67 triples and 39 home runs in 1,929 games. He helped turn 1,237 double plays at shortstop, the 14th most at the position in MLB history.[2]

In August 2022, the Pirates organization did not include Groat in its inaugural Hall of Fame class. Former teammates Clemente and Mazeroski were among the 19 selections chosen by a panel whose names were not disclosed. However, Groat was subsequently elected to the Pirates Hall of Fame the following year. He was informed of his selection on April 18, 2023, nine days before his death.[14][15]

Groat became more active in golf after his baseball career. While he stopped playing the sport in 2014 because of physical limitations, he routinely shot in the 70s in his prime. In 1964, he and Pirates teammate Jerry Lynch designed and built Champion Lakes Golf Course in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, one of only three public courses to receive a four-star rating in Western Pennsylvania. As course owner and manager, he lived on the grounds and was a familiar face there.[18]