That season ended with Groat earning NL MVP honors for a Pirates team that upset the New York Yankees to win the World Series. Groat attempted to play both baseball and basketball professionally, signing with the Pirates and being drafted by the Fort Wayne Pistons of the then-fledgling NBA within weeks of each other in 1952. 10 jersey hangs inside Cameron Indoor Stadium after the program retired his number following the end of his senior season in 1952. Groat, who was from the Swissvale neighborhood just east of Pittsburgh’s downtown, starred at Duke in basketball and baseball in the early 1950s, earning All-American honors in both. Groat played basketball and baseball at Duke in the early 1950s, earning All-American honors in both.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of such a beloved member of the Pirates family and Pittsburgh community,” Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting said in a statement, calling Groat “a great player and an even better person.” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, left, and Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon, right, flank Dick Groat at a ceremony honoring Groat before a 2014 game in Pittsburgh. Groat’s family said in a statement that he died Thursday at UMPC Presbyterian Hospital due to complications from a stroke. PITTSBURGH - Dick Groat, a two-sport star who went from All-American guard in basketball to a brief stint in the NBA to ultimately an All-Star shortstop and the 1960 National League MVP while playing baseball for his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates, has died.
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