RIP Dick Groat.
 

https://triblive.com/sports/former-p...ck-groat-dies/

A college basketball Hall of Famer as well who played a year in the NBA.

An amazing athlete, and an even better man. We need more Dick Groats.

I read his obituary and had NO idea he was such a great basketball player. R.I.P.

RIP. Growing up as a Red Sox fan, I always had a soft spot for the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates, because they beat the Yankees. I worked on that team card in 2016-2017; it's always sad when another member of it leaves us.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...a6fe57cb_z.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...961936f5_z.jpg

Rightfully considered a Pirate, he did come to the Cardinals in 1963 and did help them win the pennant in 64 and then beat the Yankees in the World Series. And, thanks in part to an injury to Bill Mazeroski he was part of an all Cardinals infield in the 1963 All Star game...White, Javier, Groat and Boyer

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/150864751@N07/49878127097/in/album-72157714245015612/" title="#026 Groat PSA 5"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49878127097_8b70df5d16_c.jpg" width="800" height="478" alt="#026 Groat PSA 5"/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

High School: Swissvale HS (Swissvale, PA)

School: Duke University (Durham, NC)

Debut: June 18, 1952 (Age 21-227d, 10,932nd in major league history)
vs. NYG 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB

Last Game: October 1, 1967 (Age 36-331d)
vs. PHI 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB

Full Name: Richard Morrow Groat

MVP
8x All-Star
2x World Series
Batting Title

When I was doing TTM for older BAA/NBL/NBA players I wrote him saying I collected basketball players. He signed a few index cards and returned my letter with a question mark next to the words 'basketball players'. I guess he was so used to getting baseball requests that he did not comprehend someone wanting him for his NBA career.

Lifelong Cardinals fan and Groat brought the punch they needed to win the pennant and the series in 1964. Great trade by the Cards as they gave up Julio Gotay and journeyman Don Cardwell for Groat. Gotay was supposed to be "all that" but never panned out. We went up to Cincy in Sept of 1963 as Musial had announced his retirement and Cincy was the closest NL stadium to our hometown. I was 8 years old and looking for autographs. Groat is signing my scorecard and the usher yells at me telling me to leave the players alone. Scared me to death!! Groat told the usher to not worry about the players, just help people with their seats. Forever my hero. Signed it right on Mr. Red's crotch. Cards lost 5-2 and Musial went 0 for 2

Pirates HOF?
 

As a fellow Dukie I've always enjoyed Dick Groat's career and cards.

I notice he was only inducted into the Pirates HOF this year! - that seems strange to me, given how important he was to the team in the postwar years.

The Pirates just established their Hall of Fame last year. So, Groat is part of their second class. Most of the members of the inaugural class are in the BBHOF. Only 3 Danny Murtaugh, Dave Parker and Steve Blass are not.

RIP, Dick Groat.

Condolences to his family and friends,

Nice memories, Richard.

I saw him play on the 1964 team. And I listened to a bunch of those games in 1964. #24 was a reliable, surehanded shortstop out there. Stable. And watching him doing the hit and run was like a clinic. Brock, or Flood, or Javier would break, Groat is watching the middle infielders, and he'd hit the ball through the hole, it was like Groat was willing the fielder out of the way...

An intelligent, skilled, surehanded, reliable, good ball player. I thought of him as about the best short stop I'd seen, until I saw the then Padres' Ozzie Smith get to a hot shot that then Cardinal Gary Templeton had drilled into the hole for a certain hit, until a diving Ozzie snagged it.

Dick Groat was a seriously underrated player. He was at least as good as Pee Wee Reese or Phil Rizzuto, and he was better than Hall of Fame shortstops Dave Bancroft, Rabbit Maraville and Bobby Wallace. His .286 batting average doesn't look special, but compare it against every other shortstop he played against. Plus he was an MVP and leader of two different championship teams.

A couple of photos from his days at Duke.

My long-gone father was a tremendous basketball player who always spoke so highly of Dick Groat. They faced off against each other stateside in Army/Navy games during the Korean 'conflict,' and said what a ridiculously talented man on the court he was, but also what a tremendous person he was.

Rest in peace.

He owned a local golf course here near Pittsburgh, Champion Lakes. And worked/ran the pro shop. He was as nice as they come, very approachable, and as humble as can be. Just a regular guy.

When folks think of the 1960 Pirates, Maz's heroics in the 1960 WS is probably the first thing that comes to mind. However, Dick Groat was the 1960 NL MVP, and he won the 1960 NL batting title with a .325 average. The Pirates wouldn't have made it into the 1960 WS without Groat. RIP, Mr. Groat.

Interesting that Temple had a Black player back then, I could be wrong but he must have been one of the first to integrate that sport at least at a major college level.

Looked up Groat's stats. Interesting that his metrics were much lower than I expected, only 58th at SS by JAWS.

The King of all the Original Hartlands!

His name was Sam Sylvester. Here is the story about that game:

https://goduke.com/news/2011/2/23/205102054.aspx

loved the Duke photo and amazing story about Sam Sylvester's visit to Duke.


Just bought a 53 topps Groat

This thread needs a pic of Dick Groat's RC.
RIP.

Thanks Michael. Very interesting.

Here is Groats 6th career HR, off Don Newcombe on April 21, 1957, he also hit a double and grounded into a fielder's choice against Newk, then grounded out off Koufax.

I also had no idea about his basketball prowess. Heck of an athlete.

The day after the World Series ended on October 13, 1960 via Mazeroski's homer, Dick Groat visited Tony Kubek in the hospital. For everyone's recall, Kubek was hit in the throat by a grounder in the bottom of the eighth.

Groat noted he had to introduce himself because Kubek didn't recognize him. Kubek had never seen Groat without a hat and his bald spot being exposed. RIP Groat and best of health to Kubek from one of the guys who goes out to the Forbes Field wall every October 13.

LOL! That would explain it-
 

I just assumed the Pirates had had a HOF for a long time, given the franchise's rich history.