RIP Dick Groat. An underrated star from the time when baseball was great and the stars were modest.
Pirates legend Dick Groat, a staple of Pittsburgh sports culture, dies at 92
Dick Groat, a member of the Pirates’ 1960 World Series team who remained a part of Western Pennsylvania sports culture for half a century, died Thursday. He was 92.
Groat, a native of Wilkinsburg, spent nine of his 14 seasons as a major league shortstop with the Pirates and won the NL MVP award in 1960. A two-sport athlete at Duke, Groat was a two-time All-American in baseball and basketball, and briefly juggled professional baseball and basketball careers before committing himself to the diamond full time.
In 14 seasons — spread across 16 years due to two years of military service — with the Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants, Groat hit .286 and made the All-Star team in five seasons. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1952, when at age 21 he hit .284, and received MVP votes in four different seasons. When he won the award in 1960, he also won a batting title with his .325 average.
From 1979 until 2019, Groat served as a radio analyst for Pitt basketball games.
"As great of a sports legend as Dick was, he was a greater human being,” Pitt broadcaster Bill Hillgrove told the Post-Gazette. “... I think his humility stood out above everything. If anybody should've been carried away with himself, it was Dick Groat. He's obviously, to me, the best athlete our state has ever produced. As many great athletes as Pennsylvania has produced, none played two sports at the highest level, except Dick. He was a very special friend. I lost a big brother."
Groat was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was the one to inform Groat he would enter the college basketball Hall of Fame.
“I always thought I was a better basketball player than a baseball player,” Groat told the Post-Gazette in 2007. “I had tears in my eyes when he called me. It’s the greatest honor I’ve ever received. As great as the two World Series were and the batting title, to be recognized in the sport you felt you played the best is special.”
In conjunction with former Pirates teammate Jerry Lynch, Groat converted an apple orchard into Champion Lakes Golf Resort in Bolivar in 1966.
Richard Morrow Groat was born on Nov. 4, 1930, in Wilkinsburg. Groat was the youngest of Martin and Gracie Groat’s five children. He attended Swissvale High School before heading to Duke on a basketball scholarship.
In 1952, Groat’s senior season, he won college basketball’s National Player of the Year award after averaging 26 points game. His career mark of 23 points per game still ranks second all-time at Duke, behind only Art Heyman and ahead of J.J. Redick, Christian Laettner and Danny Ferry. He was the first Blue Devil to have his No. 10 jersey retired, in 1952.
Before the 1951-52 basketball season, Groat’s senior year, Pirates general manager Branch Rickey invited Groat and his parents to a game at Forbes Field and offered him a contract.
“‘Young man, if you will sign a contract tonight, I’m going start you against the Cincinnati Reds tomorrow night,’” Rickey told Groat, according to an interview Groat gave to Duke’s athletic Web site in 2014. “I said, ‘Mr. Rickey that’s not even fair. You know I want to play major league baseball, but I owe my senior year to Duke and I am going back to play basketball and baseball. But I promise you, you make the same offer to me next spring and I will sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates.’”
Rickey did, and Groat signed.
Groat never played a game in the minor leagues. He joined the Pirates immediately after signing and played in 95 games in 1952.
The NBA’s Fort Wayne Pistons drafted Groat third overall in 1952, and for a season, Groat balanced both sports.
“They had a private plane that would get me back to Durham on Sunday night after our game so I could make my 8:15 Monday morning class,” Groat told Duke’s Web site. “They upped my salary to where I was making twice what I was making in baseball.”
But when Groat was drafted into the Army, his pro basketball career was cut short. He stayed sharp by playing baseball while serving at Fort Belvoir in Virginia in 1953-54, and when he left the service he focused on baseball. It helped that the Pirates doubled his salary.
Groat played in 151 games in 1955, his first season back. He hit .315 in 1957 and made his first All-Star team in ’59. He took off in 1960, hitting .325 with a .371 on-base percentage, and won the MVP despite missing most of September because of a broken wrist.
Though he only batted .214 during the 1960 World Series, which the Pirates won in seven games against the New York Yankees, Groat went 1 for 4 with an RBI in Game 7. His eighth-inning RBI single pulled the Pirates to within 7-5, and he scored, along with Roberto Clemente, on Hal Smith’s homer later in the inning.
Groat played for the Pirates until 1962, when they traded him to the Cardinals. In 1963, after batting .319 with a .377 OBP and leading the majors with 43 doubles, Groat finished second in MVP voting – to Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who struck out 306 batters and had a 1.88 ERA in 311 innings.
Groat won another ring with the Cardinals, in 1964, also against the Yankees. After 1964, Groat spent three more seasons in the majors before retiring after the 1967 season, at age 36.
Starting in 1979, Groat began calling Pitt basketball games.
“I’ve been a Pitt man my whole life," Groat said. “This goes all the way back to when I was 5 years old. I’ll always be indebted to Bill [Hillgrove] for getting me back involved in college basketball. It’s been a godsend for me.”
Post-Gazette Pitt reporter Noah Hiles contributed to this report. Former P-G writer Bill Brink also contributed.
Pirates legend Dick Groat, a staple of Pittsburgh sports culture, dies at 92
Dick Groat, a member of the Pirates’ 1960 World Series team who remained a part of Western Pennsylvania sports culture for half a century, died Thursday. He was 92.
Groat, a native of Wilkinsburg, spent nine of his 14 seasons as a major league shortstop with the Pirates and won the NL MVP award in 1960. A two-sport athlete at Duke, Groat was a two-time All-American in baseball and basketball, and briefly juggled professional baseball and basketball careers before committing himself to the diamond full time.
In 14 seasons — spread across 16 years due to two years of military service — with the Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants, Groat hit .286 and made the All-Star team in five seasons. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1952, when at age 21 he hit .284, and received MVP votes in four different seasons. When he won the award in 1960, he also won a batting title with his .325 average.
From 1979 until 2019, Groat served as a radio analyst for Pitt basketball games.
"As great of a sports legend as Dick was, he was a greater human being,” Pitt broadcaster Bill Hillgrove told the Post-Gazette. “... I think his humility stood out above everything. If anybody should've been carried away with himself, it was Dick Groat. He's obviously, to me, the best athlete our state has ever produced. As many great athletes as Pennsylvania has produced, none played two sports at the highest level, except Dick. He was a very special friend. I lost a big brother."
Groat was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was the one to inform Groat he would enter the college basketball Hall of Fame.
“I always thought I was a better basketball player than a baseball player,” Groat told the Post-Gazette in 2007. “I had tears in my eyes when he called me. It’s the greatest honor I’ve ever received. As great as the two World Series were and the batting title, to be recognized in the sport you felt you played the best is special.”
In conjunction with former Pirates teammate Jerry Lynch, Groat converted an apple orchard into Champion Lakes Golf Resort in Bolivar in 1966.
Richard Morrow Groat was born on Nov. 4, 1930, in Wilkinsburg. Groat was the youngest of Martin and Gracie Groat’s five children. He attended Swissvale High School before heading to Duke on a basketball scholarship.
In 1952, Groat’s senior season, he won college basketball’s National Player of the Year award after averaging 26 points game. His career mark of 23 points per game still ranks second all-time at Duke, behind only Art Heyman and ahead of J.J. Redick, Christian Laettner and Danny Ferry. He was the first Blue Devil to have his No. 10 jersey retired, in 1952.
Before the 1951-52 basketball season, Groat’s senior year, Pirates general manager Branch Rickey invited Groat and his parents to a game at Forbes Field and offered him a contract.
“‘Young man, if you will sign a contract tonight, I’m going start you against the Cincinnati Reds tomorrow night,’” Rickey told Groat, according to an interview Groat gave to Duke’s athletic Web site in 2014. “I said, ‘Mr. Rickey that’s not even fair. You know I want to play major league baseball, but I owe my senior year to Duke and I am going back to play basketball and baseball. But I promise you, you make the same offer to me next spring and I will sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates.’”
Rickey did, and Groat signed.
Groat never played a game in the minor leagues. He joined the Pirates immediately after signing and played in 95 games in 1952.
The NBA’s Fort Wayne Pistons drafted Groat third overall in 1952, and for a season, Groat balanced both sports.
“They had a private plane that would get me back to Durham on Sunday night after our game so I could make my 8:15 Monday morning class,” Groat told Duke’s Web site. “They upped my salary to where I was making twice what I was making in baseball.”
But when Groat was drafted into the Army, his pro basketball career was cut short. He stayed sharp by playing baseball while serving at Fort Belvoir in Virginia in 1953-54, and when he left the service he focused on baseball. It helped that the Pirates doubled his salary.
Groat played in 151 games in 1955, his first season back. He hit .315 in 1957 and made his first All-Star team in ’59. He took off in 1960, hitting .325 with a .371 on-base percentage, and won the MVP despite missing most of September because of a broken wrist.
Though he only batted .214 during the 1960 World Series, which the Pirates won in seven games against the New York Yankees, Groat went 1 for 4 with an RBI in Game 7. His eighth-inning RBI single pulled the Pirates to within 7-5, and he scored, along with Roberto Clemente, on Hal Smith’s homer later in the inning.
Groat played for the Pirates until 1962, when they traded him to the Cardinals. In 1963, after batting .319 with a .377 OBP and leading the majors with 43 doubles, Groat finished second in MVP voting – to Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who struck out 306 batters and had a 1.88 ERA in 311 innings.
Groat won another ring with the Cardinals, in 1964, also against the Yankees. After 1964, Groat spent three more seasons in the majors before retiring after the 1967 season, at age 36.
Starting in 1979, Groat began calling Pitt basketball games.
“I’ve been a Pitt man my whole life," Groat said. “This goes all the way back to when I was 5 years old. I’ll always be indebted to Bill [Hillgrove] for getting me back involved in college basketball. It’s been a godsend for me.”
Post-Gazette Pitt reporter Noah Hiles contributed to this report. Former P-G writer Bill Brink also contributed.
