RIP - Dick Groat

 

Dick Groat, a shortstop for the Pirates and others, passed away on April 27, 2023 at age 92.

Groat was signed by the Pirates out of Duke University in June 1952, and went directly to the Pirates (never playing in the minors). Groat took over the starting shortstop job, and finished 3rd in the NL ROY voting. 

 

After the baseball season, Groat joined the NBA's Fort Wayne Pistons (having been a college All-American basketball player at Duke). 

 

He missed the next 2 baseball seasons while in military service (at age 23?), but returned for 8 more seasons with the Bucs, including the 1960 championship season, where he also won the NL MVP award. 

 

He played for the Cardinals from 1963-65 (including his 2nd WS championship. Groat finished up his career with the Phillies from 1966-67 and the Giants in '67. 

 

Associated Press obituary 

 

Seasoned Veterans

 

Here are the 9 oldest living players who saw action after the 1965 season. They are all over age 90, with Elroy Face leading the pack at 95. 

 

Many of them retired after the 1966 or 1967 season, but Willie Mays played through the 1973 season (including the World Series).

How old are these guys? 

- Willie Mays played in the Negro Leagues in 1948. 

- Ray Herbert and Vern Law made their MLB debut in 1950. 

- Al Worthington and Willie Mays played for the New York Giants. 

- Dick Groat played NBA basketball with the Fort Wayne Pistons in 1952. 

 

1967 Phillies Photos

I just found these in my house a few weeks ago. I bought them at the ballpark in 1967, and they have been in a folder in my desk since the 1970s (along with some old baseball card catalogs which I will be posting in the near future).

Here are 6 stars from the 1967 team. I don't know if these were the only ones issued, or if there were photos of all players, which you could collect in packs of 6. (Maybe Jim at The Phillies Room blog has these, or some more info about them.) Each photo is 5" x 7".

Jim Bunning was the ace of the pitching staff, but that didn't induce the team to make sure the negative wasn't reversed before printing these. Chris Short was the left-handed ace, and was just coming off a 20-win season.

Larry Jackson came over from the Cubs in early 1966 in exchange for Ferguson Jenkins, and was the team's #3 starter from 1966-68. Cookie Rojas upgraded from Jack-of-all-trades to starting 2nd baseman by the mid-1960s.

Dick Groat was acquired from the Cardinals along with Bill White and Bob Uecker before the 1966 season. Groat was the regular SS in 1966, but missed the first 2 months of 1967. Upon his return, he was sold to the Giants. Richie Allen was the Phillies' superstar slugger from 1964-69, and returned to the team for 1975-76.
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1964 Topps Giant Cards (Part 4)

Wow! Aside from a bunch of 1965 Topps cards, I have bought so little product in the past few years that it's surprising that I could lose track of some of the items I did buy.

Today I found these 5 Topps Giant cards from 1964 in a box with other stuff. I don't remember where or when I bought them, but I do know it was since my last adventure. I already had 13 of these cards, and now I can add 5 more to the set. (Now all I need to get are some pages to put them in. I've seen the correct size at a store I frequent, but only in boxes of 100. No thanks!)


All three of these players were stars for their teams, but by 1967 would be on the downside of their careers.  Unfortunately for Phillies' fans, Dick Groat and Dick Ellsworth would do their regressing while with the Phils.  Leon Wagner was a slugging outfielder whose power vanished overnight in 1967.

The last two cards are for Ken Johnson and Jim Gentile. Both are wearing soon-to-be-retired uniform styles. In 1965 the Colt .45s became the Astros, and the Kansas City Athletics switched to green/gold/white uniforms about this time. After 1967 they moved to Oakland, so the caps would change again.

My 1964 Giant card scoreboard:
3 - Colt .45s
2 - Athletics, Dodgers, White Sox
1 - Angels, Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Indians, Mets, Orioles, Phillies, Twins
0 - Giants, Pirates, Red Sox, Reds, Senators, Tigers, Yankees

I also found four 1964 baseball coins today, which will be a topic for a future post.
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