Carl Boldt

Carl Boldt (born 1930s) is an American former college basketball player who was an integral member to the University of San Francisco's national championship team in 1955–56. A 6'5" forward, Boldt started alongside future Hall of Famers Bill Russell and K. C. Jones as the Dons won their second-consecutive national championship with an unblemished 29–0 record.^[1] He scored 16 points in the 1956 national championship match against Iowa.^[1]

College career

Junior college

Boldt graduated from Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga, California before enrolling at Glendale Community College in the fall of 1951.^[2] At Verdugo, Boldt scored 1,024 points in 63 career games.^[2] He won Most Valuable Player (MVP) or was named to the all-tournament team in "most" of the tournaments he played in.^[2] For a time, Boldt was the nation's leading scorer at the junior college level.^[2] He earned All-America honors following his 1950–51 sophomore season.^[2]

After graduating from Glendale, Boldt enrolled in the United States Army.^[2] He spent one year serving in the military and played on the Army's basketball squad.^[2] Boldt made the all-star team, and upon being honorably discharged he went home to California.^[2]

San Francisco

In the fall of 1955–56, Boldt enrolled at USF to play basketball.^[2] In his first season, the Dons, led by Russell and Jones, recorded an undefeated season en route to winning the NCAA Tournament.^[1] He was a starting forward.^[3] Years later, Boldt mentioned how it's been pointed out that he and Michael Jordan both scored 16 points in their respective NCAA national championship games.^[3] He said, "I had to laugh. I may have got 16 but I wouldn't be talking to anyone if we didn't have Bill Russell playing center and K. C. Jones playing guard for us."^[3]

The following season, Boldt's senior year in 1956–57, the USF squad had lost Russell, Jones and other key players due to graduation, so a third straight national championship seemed implausible.^[4] The Dons performed surprisingly well, won a third consecutive conference championship, and made it to the Final Four of the 1957 NCAA Tournament.^[5] The Dons beat Michigan State in the Third Place consolation game. Early into Boldt's final season, San Francisco's then-NCAA record 60-game winning streak was snapped on December 17, 1956.^[4] Coincidentally, the streak had begun exactly two years earlier on December 17, 1954.^[4] San Francisco compiled a 60–7 record in Boldt's two seasons on the team.^[5]

Professional career and later life

Boldt was selected in the 7th round (50th overall) in the 1957 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons following the conclusion of his collegiate career.^[6] He never played in the National Basketball Association, however. Boldt then spent some time playing for the Buchan Bakers in the National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL), where in 1958–59 he was a Western Conference All-Star.^[7] He was also named the All-Star Game MVP after holding Dick Boushka, the NIBL's leading scorer, to only six points (all coming off free throws).^[7] After Boldt quit playing basketball, he spent time in the 1970s working as a scout and assistant coach for the American Basketball Association's Los Angeles Stars.^[3] He then began his career in business, and in 1984 he entered the coffee industry.^[3] Boldt lives in Arcadia, California with his wife.^[2]

References