Collection consists of a scrapbook and several issues of the Belvoir Castle pertaining to the amateur athletic career of Dick Groat with inclusive dates 1948-1955. The scrapbook contains clippings pertaining to Groat's career at Duke University while a two-sport student-athlete in baseball and basketball, although a majority of the material pertains to his basketball career. The clippings document athletic contests including baseball and basketball tournaments, the numerous awards and honors received by Groat while at Duke, and his social life. Issues of the Belvoir Castle, the newsletter of the Engineer Center of the United States Army located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, contain articles pertaining to Groat's two years in several armed service baseball and basketball leagues while in the United States Army from 1953-1955. The actual creator of the collection is unknown.
Dick Groat was born in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania on November 4, 1930. At Duke, Groat played basketball and baseball and accumulated numerous awards and accolades for his performances in both sports. In basketball, Groat was named All-American in 1951 and 1952 and United Press International's (UPI) National Player of the Year in 1952 after setting an NCAA single-season scoring record with 839 points. Groat was also named the Southern Conference Male Athlete of the Year in 1951 and 1952, the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament's Most Outstanding Player in 1951 and 1952 while also earning all-conference baseball honors in those two seasons, and the Helms National Player of the year in 1952. Additionally, in May 1952, Groat's #10 basketball jersey became the first to be retired in Cameron Indoor Stadium and the only until 1980.
Groat signed a contract with Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates shortly after graduating in 1952. Groat also served two years in the United States Army from 1953-1955 and played in armed service basketball and baseball leagues. Groat went on to have a fourteen year career in the big leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1952-1962), St. Louis Cardinals (1963-1965), Philadelphia Phillies (1966-1967), and the San Francisco Giants (1967). Groat was a member of the World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates (1960) and St. Louis Cardinals (1964). He was also a five-time All-Star selection and in 1960, the National League's Most Valuable Player and the recipient of the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. While most well-known for his Major League Baseball career, Groat was also selected by the Fort Wayne Pistons in the first round of the 1952 National Basketball Association amateur draft.
