Frank Conrad Baumholtz (October 7, 1918 – December 14, 1997) was an American professional

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 t ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. He was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

for

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), ...

's Cincinnati Reds (1947–49), Chicago Cubs (1949 and 1951–55) and Philadelphia Phillies (1956–57). He played two seasons of professional basketball for the Youngstown Bears of the National Basketball League during the 1945–46 season, and the

Cleveland Rebels The Cleveland Rebels were a basketball team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), a forerunner of the modern National Basketball Association (NBA), based in Cleveland. Franchise history The Rebels were an inaugural franchise in the BAA ...

of the Basketball Association of America during the 1946–47 season. He was born in

Midvale, Ohio Midvale is a village in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 754 at the 2010 census. History Midvale was platted in 1830. The village was named for its location halfway between New Philadelphia and Uhrichsville. Geograph ...

College career

Baumholtz played college basketball at

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subseq ...

, playing the guard position. Baumholtz was a first-team All-American in basketball in 1941, his senior year, leading the Bobcats to the finals of the

1941 National Invitation Tournament The 1941 National Invitation Tournament was the 1941 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the eight teams selected for the tournament.

, the most prestigious tournament in the country at the time. He was named the tournament's most valuable player. His No. 54 jersey hangs from the rafters of the Convocation Center. It was retired on Feb. 4, 1995, which was declared "Frank Baumholtz Day" in the city of Athens, Ohio and on campus and was the only number so honored at the school until 2007 when Dave Jamerson and

Walter Luckett Walter Luckett Jr. is an American former basketball player. Luckett starred at the prep level for Kolbe High School in his hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and played college basketball for the Ohio Bobcats between 1972 and 1975. Following h ...

had their jerseys retired as well.

Professional career

Basketball

He played two seasons of professional basketball. In the 1945–46 season, he suited up for the Youngstown Bears of the NBL. The following year, he played for the

of the fledgling Basketball Association of America, the direct predecessor to today's

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

. During the 1946–47 season, Baumholtz played in 45 games, averaging 14.0 points per game and being selected to the All-BAA Second Team.

Baseball

Baumholtz finished 5th in voting for the 1947 National League Rookie of the Year for playing in 151 Games and having 643 At Bats, 96 Runs, 182 Hits, 32 Doubles, 9 Triples, 5 Home Runs, 45 RBI, 6 Stolen Bases, 56 Walks, .283 Batting Average, .341 On-base percentage, .384 Slugging Percentage, 247 Total Bases and 11 Sacrifice Hits. Baumholtz finished 17th in voting for the 1952 National League MVP for playing in 103 Games and having 409 At Bats, 59 Runs, 133 Hits, 17 Doubles, 4 Triples, 4 Home Runs, 35 RBI, 5 Stolen Bases, 27 Walks, .325 Batting Average, .371 On-base percentage, .416 Slugging Percentage, 170 Total Bases and 7 Sacrifice Hits. In 10 seasons he played in 1,019 Games and had 3,477 At Bats, 450 Runs, 1,010 Hits, 165 Doubles, 51 Triples, 25 Home Runs, 272 RBI, 30 Stolen Bases, 258 Walks, .290 Batting Average, .342 On-base percentage, .389 Slugging Percentage, 1,352 Total Bases, 45 Sacrifice Hits, 10 Sacrifice Flies and 2 Intentional Walks. His career Fielding Percentage was .980 at all three Outfield positions. Baumholtz had a memorable minor league season in 1950, batting .379 and collecting 254 hits in 172 games for the Los Angeles Angels of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. In contrast to radio's "

Quiz Kids ''Quiz Kids'' is a radio and TV series originally broadcast in the 1940s and 1950s. Created by Chicago public relations and advertising man Louis G. Cowan, and originally sponsored by Alka-Seltzer, the series was first broadcast on NBC from Chic ...

" or the 1950 Phillies " Whiz Kids", according to Chicago columnist Mike Royko Baumholtz was the anchor, as it were, of a 1950s Cubs outfield "that was so slow they were known as the

Quicksand Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...

Kids."

Hank Sauer Henry John Sauer (March 17, 1917 – August 24, 2001) was an American professional baseball player, coach and scout. He appeared in 1,399 games, primarily as a left fielder, in Major League Baseball ( MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds (1941–1942, 194 ...

and

Ralph Kiner Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Foll ...

were in left and right fields respectively. Baumholtz is one of 13 athletes to have played in both the National Basketball Association and

. The thirteen are:

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-s ...

, Baumholtz, Hank Biasatti,

Gene Conley Donald Eugene Conley (November 10, 1930 – July 4, 2017) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He played as a pitcher for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1952 to 1963. Conley also played as a forward in ...

Chuck Connors Kevin Joseph Aloysius "Chuck" Connors (April 10, 1921 – November 10, 1992) was an American actor, writer, and professional basketball and baseball player. He is one of only 13 athletes in the history of American professional sports to have p ...

Dave DeBusschere David Albert DeBusschere (October 16, 1940 – May 14, 2003) was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) player and coach and Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He played for the Chicago White Sox of MLB in 1962 and 1963 a ...

Dick Groat Richard Morrow Groat (born November 4, 1930) is a former 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 t ...

, Steve Hamilton,

Mark Hendrickson Mark Allan Hendrickson (born June 23, 1974) is an American former baseball and basketball player. Hendrickson was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and played power forward in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Continental Bas ...

Cotton Nash Charles Francis "Cotton" Nash (born July 24, 1942) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and National Basketball Association (NBA) forward. Basketball career Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, Nash played collegiately for ...

, Ron Reed, Dick Ricketts and

Howie Schultz Howard Henry Schultz (July 3, 1922 – October 30, 2009), nicknamed "Stretch" and "Steeple", was an American baseball and basketball player from St. Paul, Minnesota. Schultz won an NBA title with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1952. Schultz played in ...

. Baumholtz died in

Winter Springs, Florida Winter Springs is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 38,342 at the 2020 census. According to the 2019 Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 37,312. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanfo ...

at the age of 79.

College career

Professional career

Basketball

Baseball

BAA career statistics

Regular season

References

External links