BOLIVAR, Pa. — For many pro athletes, lasting 10 years in the spotlight is quite a career. Many find ways to remain involved in sports for years to come after their playing days are over, but even those years as a broadcaster or coach tend to be numbered.
Not for Dick Groat. A full 66 years after he first suited up for the Pirates in 1952, the hometown hero from Swissvale remains a fixture on the Pittsburgh sports scene, and he has no intention of slowing down.
Groat, 87, has spanned generations in Pittsburgh's sports consciousness. Older fans remember him patrolling the infield at shortstop for the Pirates, where he won the National League MVP award and batting title in the team's 1960 championship season. To a younger crowd, Groat is the ever-present voice on the radio beside Bill Hillgrove during Pitt basketball broadcasts, a role he has filled since 1979.
But to try and pin down Groat to just one thing doesn't do justice to the career of a man who is, quite possibly, the best multi-sport athlete ever to come from the Steel City.
Groat's legacy was recognized last month with a proclamation sponsored by Pittsburgh councilman Corey O'Connor that established June 12, 2018 as Dick Groat Day in the city. And last Tuesday, Groat took the time to chat with DKPittsburghSports.com at Champion Lakes Golf Resort in Westmoreland County, the course he and former teammate Jerry Lynch built in the mid-1960s that now serves as Groat's summer home.
Groat spoke about his career and nearly every sports topic under the sun while sitting at a table beside the bar at Champion Lakes, beginning with his honor from the city.
"It surprised me. My grandson, who works in Pittsburgh, he was the one who told me, and I guess the young man who coaches the golf team at Central Catholic (Corey O'Connor) pushed it. He's a great kid, and his father (Bob O'Connor) and I were good friends when he was mayor," Groat said. "I was quite shocked but pleased."
Given Groat's body of work, he probably shouldn't have been too shocked.
After graduating from Swissvale High School, Groat attended Duke University, where he was a two-sport star. While he helped the Blue Devils to a Southern Conference title and a berth in the 1952 College World Series on the baseball diamond, it was his play on the basketball court that earned the most recognition.
Groat was a two-time All-America honoree, including a first-team selection as a senior in 1951-52, when he averaged 26.0 points, 7.6 assists and 7.6 rebounds per game. As a junior, he set what was then an NCAA record with 831 points in a season, a mark he could have eclipsed the next season if not for Duke playing three fewer games. His No. 10 jersey was the first retired by the program. After the season, he was the third pick in the NBA draft by the Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons.
But it was on the baseball diamond where Groat would first turn pro, going from being eliminated by Western Michigan in the College World Series on June 14 to making his debut for the Pirates on June 18. He played 95 games as a rookie in 1952, and after the season ended, it was back to Duke to finish his degree while playing in the the NBA — at the same time.
"I needed nine credits to graduate. So I finished the season with the Pirates and go back to Duke, and I get a phone call from the Pistons, who drafted me. I'm taking classes Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and I thought, going from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Durham, North Carolina, it isn't going to work," Groat said.
"But they flew me in commercial, and I played a few exhibition games, and they said, 'We want to sign you.' They were going to pay me exactly what the Pirates paid me, just to play on weekends. But I called the Pistons and said I loved playing in the NBA, but I can't cut myself out of school. My grades were good, and my father would have killed me. They said they understood."
That understanding didn't last long, as the Pistons wanted their top draft pick.
"A week later, I get another phone call, and they said, 'We've got to have you back.' I said, 'I can't.'" he recalled. "I was allowed to cut class three times, and the fourth, I was out of school. I'm that close to graduating.
"But they told me they had it all taken care of — a private plane that was going to take me back and forth from Durham to Fort Wayne. I said, 'Uhh,' and they said, 'And we'll double your salary.' I was going to go from making $5,000 the whole summer from the Pirates to making $10,000 playing with the Pistons. At 21 years old, what do you think I said?"
Making $10,000 then equates to $92,000 in today's salaries. Add in his $5,000 salary from the Pirates and that equates to nearly $140,000 today. Good money, but nothing compared to today's athletes.
Groat ended up playing 26 games averaging 11.9 points per game for the Pistons, and though the private plane wasn't all it was cracked up to be with some "rotten flights" in wintry weather, he finished his degree. Groat's basketball and baseball careers came to a halt soon after graduation, however, when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.
"Uncle Sam came calling," said Groat, who was discharged in time for the 1955 Pirates season. While he hoped to continue both his baseball and basketball careers, there were others who had different plans.
"I didn't have any choice. Mr. Rickey (Pirates general manager Branch Rickey) made that decision. I had a five-year bonus contract, and I didn't want to lose that bonus. The words to me were, 'You will not play basketball,'" he said. "I had done it my whole life, but he said no. ... (Playing in the NBA) was a great, great experience, and I loved every minute of it. It all worked out, but I would have liked to play at least another two years."
Baseball certainly treated Groat well, though the Pirates almost shipped him out of town before his MVP season. In 1959, the Pirates had an offer on the table to move Groat to the Kansas City Athletics for a power-hitting outfielder. That deal fell through, but the A's eventually moved their player — a right fielder named Roger Maris — to the Yankees in a seven-player deal.
Finally, Groat was traded after the 1962 season to the St. Louis Cardinals, and two years later, he was a World Series champion for the second time in his career. Groat wrapped up his career in 1967 after stints with the Phillies and Giants, stepping out of the spotlight for a short time.
Though baseball was where he made his mark as a professional, Groat to this day calls basketball his first love. So when Pitt asked Groat to join their basketball broadcasts nearly 40 years ago, it was a perfect pairing.
BLUE DEVILS MAN, PITT FAN
Groat talks about the Pitt basketball program with the pride of an alum, and that's a reflection of how prominent the school and its teams were when he was a child.
"I went to school at Duke and love it there, but I was a Pitt fan before then," he said. "I love it, and it's an absolute joy to work with Bill Hillgrove. He's the best in every way. He's not only a dear friend, but I think he's the best broadcaster in either football or basketball."
As those who have listened to Groat on the radio know, his color commentary swings with the ebbs and flows of every game. From his excitement with each big shot to the audible frustration over each turnover or questionable call against the Panthers, Groat wears the blue and gold on his sleeve.
By being so invested in the program, last season's 8-24 record and winless ACC record were admittedly difficult to stomach.
"It was hard to watch. We featured the turnover," Groat said. "It was tough, and when (Ryan Luther) got hurt, they had no leadership whatsoever."
But as a Duke man, Groat was overjoyed to see Jeff Capel hired as the Panthers' new head coach in March, and he is bullish on his fellow Blue Devil's ability to turn the Pitt program around.
"I've known him for a number of years and have great respect for him. He comes from a basketball family; his father was a fine coach, and this youngster has done a great job at Virginia Commonwealth and at Oklahoma," Groat said. "We're going to start all over again, but he's starting where you have to start with two young point guards. He's a great recruiter and a very solid young man. I couldn't have been more pleased that he's our new head coach."
Capel took time at his introductory press conference in March to recognize Groat seated in the crowd, and when the new coach came off stage, Groat was one of the first people to greet him with a hug, a handshake and a reminder about a conversation that happened two months earlier when Capel was still an assistant coach at Duke.
"When Duke played Pitt at our arena, he came out and we were talking, and I said, 'You know, it's your turn to move on,'" Groat said. "He said, 'What are you talking about?' And I said, 'You'll be gone this year. Take my word for it, it's time for you to go be the next one.' When all Mike's (Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski) assistants get head coaching jobs, I give them a call long distance. So after the press conference, I said (to Capel), 'See, I told you. And besides that, you saved me money. Now I only have to make a local call.' "
'DISAPPOINTED' WITH PIRATES
Groat, of course, has an opinion about his hometown ballclub and former employer. He was hesitant to criticize the front office, acknowledging the challenges of putting a competitive team together and keeping it in the free agency era, but he felt the need to sound off about the team's far-too-frequent on-field miscues.
"I'm obviously disappointed. You can't grow up in the city and be a Pirates fan your whole life and not be," Groat said. "I'm extremely disappointed with the way they play the game. ... I watch every game, and — I better not go too far — but it's stupid things. If you're a Major League Baseball player, you're supposed to be able to run bases. This (expletive) team has got to be the worst baserunning team I've seen in my life. It's terrible. It's across baseball, but we're really guilty of it."
His last comment underlines the generation gap in baseball, as he feels some of the changes being made around the league haven't been for the better. Groat, of course, played in stadiums such as Forbes Field, which measured 457 feet at its deepest point, and New York's Polo Grounds, where the centerfield wall was moved in over its multiple incarnations, eventually settling at a spacious 483 feet.
"It's a whole different game than I grew up playing. Everybody now wants to see the home run, and every new ballpark — think about it — is smaller than the one that was there before, which, in my opinion, does not make the game more attractive. I like baseball the way the game should be played, not just standing up there and swinging away. Major League Baseball is leading the world in strikeouts," Groat said.
He won't give up hope on the team, however, pointing out that his rookie season was with one of the worst teams in baseball; the Pirates were 42-112 in 1952. The team let their young players take their lumps that season and in the years to come, and that helped develop the players who would be the driving forces behind the 1960 World Series champions.
"It looks like they've got some good young arms, and I'd like to see more of them, but it's a whole different game now. You can't keep a team together, with free agency. It's a whole different ball of wax," Groat said.
LIFE ON THE COURSE
Groat is ever-present at Champion Lakes, now in its 52nd year of operation. The course's regulars stop by to say hello when they see him at the bar or in the pro shop, but Groat is no celebrity figurehead.
Groat and Lynch built the course together during their baseball offseasons, breaking ground in 1964. Lynch, who died in 2012, retired to Atlanta in the 1980s, leaving Groat as the local stakeholder.
Just before being interviewed, Groat made the short drive up the road to visit the bank and conduct the course's business. Champion Lakes is a family enterprise; his daughter, Allison Groat-DeStefano, is the club's general manager.
The work at the club and the social aspect keep Groat active, and while his health has had some ups and downs, he has kept himself in good shape. As he does every year, he will move back to his home in Edgewood around the end of October, which will put him close to the city for another season of Pitt basketball.
"As long as I'm capable and they want me to broadcast — remember, basketball is my first love — I love it, and I'm going to keep doing it," he said.
One gets the sense Groat would love to see Pitt basketball hit another high note, especially with Capel in charge, before he steps away from the program. For a man with two World Series titles and plenty of achievements to his own credit, Groat talks about the Panthers like a proud father, almost sounding as invested as if he were the one knocking down shots like he did for Duke and the Pistons.
"(The best moment), obviously, was winning the Big East at Madison Square Garden for the first time. It was pretty damn special," Groat said. "To watch these kids grow up, and a lot of them go overseas and play and come back ... that group that came in at that time was special."