Milt Bolling

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Milton Joseph Bolling (born August 9, 1930 in Mississippi City, Mississippi) is a former 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 and threw right handed. He is the older brother of Frank Bolling.

Topps baseball card, 1954 Series #082

In a seven-season career, Bolling was a .241 hitter with 19 home runs and 94 RBI in 400 games played.

Bolling reached the Majors in 1952 with the Boston Red Sox, playing in part of six seasons with them before moving to the Washington Senators and Detroit Tigers. He showed promise as a young shortstop, but injuries to his legs and elbows cost him a better status. He enjoyed a good season in 1953, hitting .263 (85-for-323) with five home runs and 28 RBI in 109 games and doing a good job at shortstop replacing Johnny Lipon. The following season, Bolling posted career-highs in games (113), hits (92), doubles (20), home runs (6), runs (42) and RBI (36), but he appeared in only 144 games for the next five years and was sent to Washington during the 1957 midseason.

In 1958, when Bolling was traded to Detroit, he joined briefly with his brother Frank, a second baseman, as the Bollings became one of only four brother combinations in Major League history to play second base/shortstop on the same club. The others are Garvin and Granny Hamner, for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945; the twins Eddie and Johnny O'Brien with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the mid-1950s, and Cal and Billy Ripken for the Baltimore Orioles during the 1980s.

Following his playing retirement, Bolling worked in the front office, or scouted for the Boston Red Sox from 1961 through 1995.