Carl Robert Boldt (October 22, 1932 – January 30, 2015) was an American 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 and army 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]

Army

After graduating from Glendale, Boldt enrolled in the United States Army and was stationed at Fort Ord. ^[2] He spent one year serving in the military from 1954 to 1955 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 lived in Arcadia, California with his wife when he died after a period of declining health, on January 30, 2015. ^[8]

References