On This Day

NL batting champion Dick Groat of the Pittsburgh Pirateds wins MVP

Richard Morrow Groat (November 4, 1930 – April 27, 2023) was an American professional baseball and basketball player, who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in...

Richard Morrow Groat (November 4, 1930 – April 27, 2023) was an American professional baseball and basketball player, who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball. He rates as one of the most accomplished two-sport athletes in American sports history, a college All-America in baseball and basketball as well as one of only 13 to play both at the professional level.

In 1960 Groat won the National League batting title with a .325 average, was the league's Most Valuable Player, and earned World Series championship with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished his 14-year career with a .286 batting average and 2,138 hits with four teams.

Historical Significance

Richard Morrow Groat (November 4, 1930 – April 27, 2023) was an American professional baseball and basketball player, who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball.

Events Before

  1. Johnny Cash performs the first of many free concerts behind bars at San Quentin State Prison in California

    Johnny Cash performs the first of many free concerts behind bars at San Quentin State Prison in California

  2. Chad becomes an autonomous republic in the French Community

    The French Community (French: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in October 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of…

  3. USSR's Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to escape Earth's gravity

    A gravity assist, gravity assist maneuver, swing-by, or generally a gravitational slingshot in orbital mechanics, is a type of spaceflight flyby which makes use of the relative movement (e.g.

  4. TV western "Rawhide," starring Clint Eastwood, premieres on CBS

    TV western "Rawhide," starring Clint Eastwood, premieres on CBS

  5. Plane crash known as "The Day the Music Died" kills musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J. P. Richardson (aka The Big

    Plane crash known as "The Day the Music Died" kills musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J. P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper), and the pilot near Clear Lake, Iowa

Events After

  1. Gabrielle Carteris is born

    Gabrielle Carteris is born

  2. Longest recorded strike ends as Danish barbers' assistants end their 33-year strike

    Longest recorded strike ends as Danish barbers' assistants end their 33-year strike

  3. Berry Gordy signs The Supremes to Motown Records

    The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes.

  4. First live, nationally televised presidential news conference, held by JFK

    First live, nationally televised presidential news conference, held by JFK

  5. "I Fall to Pieces" single released by Patsy Cline (Billboard Song of the Year 1961)

    "I Fall to Pieces" is a song written by Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard that was originally recorded by Patsy Cline.

More from the 1960s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on November 16, 1960?
Richard Morrow Groat (November 4, 1930 – April 27, 2023) was an American professional baseball and basketball player, who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball. He rates as one of the most accomplished two-sport athletes in American sports history, a college All-America in baseball and basketball as well as one of only 13 to play both at the professional level. In 1960 Groat won the National League batting title with a .325 average, was the league's Most Valuable Player, and earned World Series championship with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Why is NL batting champion Dick Groat of the Pittsburgh Pirateds wins MVP significant?
Richard Morrow Groat (November 4, 1930 – April 27, 2023) was an American professional baseball and basketball player, who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball.

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