Francis Elmore Bolling (November 16, 1931July 11, 2020) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

second baseman who played twelve seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves from 1954 until 1966. He batted and threw right-handed, and was the younger brother of

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Milt Bolling Milton Joseph Bolling (August 9, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1952 through 1958 for the Boston Red Sox (1952–1957), Washington Senators (1957) and Detroit Tigers (1958). Bolling batted a ...

. Bolling was signed as an amateur free agent by the

in 1951 and played for four of their minor league affiliates until 1954, when the Tigers promoted him to the major leagues. After completing military service in 1955, he went on to spend five more seasons with the organization. He was subsequently dealt to the Milwaukee Braves. The team moved to Atlanta in 1966, the final season of his career, and he played his last game on September 15 that year.

Early life

Bolling was born in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, on November 16, 1931. He attended

McGill–Toolen Catholic High School McGill–Toolen Catholic High School, founded as the McGill Institute and sometimes called "McT" for short, is a private co-educational high school operated by the educational system of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile in Mobile, Alabama ...

, and went on to study at

Spring Hill College Spring Hill College is a private, Jesuit college in Mobile, Alabama. It was founded in 1830 by Michael Portier, Bishop of Mobile. Along with being the oldest college or university in the state of Alabama, it was the first Catholic college in the ...

. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the

in June 1951.

Career

Bolling reached the majors in 1954 with the Detroit Tigers, playing six seasons with them before moving to the Milwaukee Braves in 1961. He was on the Braves' roster when the team moved to Atlanta in 1966. Frank Bolling 1961

A fine defensive second baseman, Bolling also averaged 14 home runs from 1957 to 1959, with a career-high 15 in 1957. His most productive season was 1958, when he posted career high numbers in

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

(164), doubles (27), runs and RBIs (75), and won the

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

after leading the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

second basemen in

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. When his brother Milt was traded to Detroit during the same season, the Bollings became one of only four brother combinations in major league history to play the keystone combination (second base and shortstop) on the same club. The others are

Garvin Garvin is both a surname and a given name of Irish origin. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Alexander Garvin, noted American urban planner, educator, and author *Anita Garvin (1906–1994), American actress * Clifton C. Garvin (19 ...

and

Granny Hamner Granville Wilbur "Granny" Hamner (April 26, 1927 – September 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hamner was one of the key players on the "Whiz Kids", the National Leag ...

(for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in 1945), the twins

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

and

Johnny O'Brien John Thomas O'Brien (born December 11, 1930) is a former backup second baseman and pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955–58), St. Louis Cardinals (1958) and Milwaukee Braves (1959). O'Brien batte ...

with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in the mid-1950s, and

Cal Cal or CAL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Cal'' (novel), a 1983 novel by Bernard MacLaverty * "Cal" (short story), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov * ''Cal'' (1984 film), an Irish drama starring John Lynch and Helen Mir ...

and

Billy Ripken William Oliver Ripken (born December 16, 1964), nicknamed Billy the Kid, is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from – for the Baltimore Orioles (1987–92, '96), Texas Rangers (199 ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

during the 1980s. Traded to the Braves for

Bill Bruton William Havon Bruton (November 9, 1925 – December 5, 1995) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder who played for the Milwaukee Braves (1953–1960) and Detroit Tigers (1961–1964). Bruton batted left-handed and threw right-handed. C ...

after the 1960 season, Bolling led

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

second basemen in fielding in 1961, 1962 and 1964. He made the National League All-Star team in 1961 and 1962, and also was named on ''The Sporting News'' NL All-Star Team in 1961. During his penultimate season in 1965, Bolling hit the only

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

of his career off

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...

on September 22. It was also the last game the Braves played in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

before moving to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Bolling played his final major league game on September 15, 1966, two months shy of his 35th birthday. He was subsequently released by the Braves in October of that year. Bolling finished his career with a .254

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 106

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and 556

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI) in 1,540

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. He never played an inning at any position other than second base, ending with a career fielding mark of .982.

Post-playing career

The road that

Hank Aaron Stadium Hank Aaron Stadium is a baseball park in Mobile, Alabama. From 1997 to 2019, it hosted the Mobile BayBears, a minor league baseball, minor-league professional team in the Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League. The stadium opened in 1997 a ...

is on, Bolling Brothers Boulevard, is named in tribute to Bolling and his brother Milt. He was inducted into the Milwaukee Braves' Wall of Honor at

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...

in May 2019. Bolling died on July 11, 2020, at the age of 88. He had been suffering from cancer in the four years leading up to his death.

References

External links

Frank Bolling
at Baseball Biography {{authority control 1931 births 2020 deaths Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Alabama Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Detroit Tigers players Gold Glove Award winners Jamestown Falcons players Little Rock Travelers players Major League Baseball second basemen Milwaukee Braves players National League All-Stars Sportspeople from Mobile, Alabama Spring Hill Badgers baseball players Spring Hill Badgers men's basketball players Williamsport Tigers players