Jerry Grote

Gerald Wayne Grote (born October 6, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the New York Mets and was regarded as one of the best defensive catchers of his era.

Early life

Grote was raised in San Antonio, Texas. When he was ten years old, he and his family were caught in an F-4 tornado. His mother, father and two sisters made it to safety, however, he lost his grandmother in the storm. Grote attended Douglas MacArthur High School, where he played on the baseball team as a pitcher, catcher and third baseman. As a high school pitcher, he threw a no-hitter and a one hitter. Grote played for Trinity University in 1962, and led the Tigers in batting average (.413), home runs (five), RBI (19), runs (29), and hits (31).

Major League career

Houston Colt .45s

After one season at Trinity University, Grote was signed as an amateur free agent by the Houston Colt .45s in 1962, and was assigned to play for their minor league affiliate, the San Antonio Bullets. At the age of 20, he made his major league debut with the Colt .45s on September 21, 1963 as a late-inning defensive replacement for John Bateman, and hit a sacrifice fly to score Bob Aspromonte in his only at-bat. For the season he appeared in three games, including on September 27, when every starter in the Colts' line-up was a rookie.

Jerry Grote (basketball)

Jerry C. Grote (born December 28, 1940) is a retired American basketball player. He played one season for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

College career

Grote, a 6'4 guard from Cantwell High School in Montebello, California, played collegiately at Loyola University in Los Angeles (now Loyola Marymount). Grote made a splash in his first year of eligibility, averaging 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and winning West Coast Athletic Conference player of the year honors as a sophomore. He followed that up by averaging 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds and leading the Lions to the 1961 WCAC title. In Grote's senior year, he averaged 13 points per game and was named second team All-WCAC. He finished his career with 1,011 points - scoring his 1,000th point in his final collegiate game.

Professional career

Following the close of his college career, Grote was drafted in the fourth round (28th pick overall) of the 1962 NBA Draft by the St. Louis Hawks. However, he opted to play for the Long Beach Chiefs of the American Basketball League. Grote averaged 7.5 points per game in 24 contests for the Chiefs in the 1962–63 season.