Milwaukee’s Best, Part 1: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 50-41

Frank Bolling, as shown in the August 1961 edition of Baseball Digest. (This work is in the public domain because it was published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 with a copyright notice, and its copyright was not renewed. Retrieved via Wikimedia Commons)

50. Frank Bolling, 2B

Braves 1961-65

Frank Bolling came to the Braves in December 1960 from the Detroit Tigers in a trade that sent center fielder Bill Bruton, catcher Dick Brown, infielder Chuck Cottier and right-hander Terry Fox to Motown.

The Braves also picked up outfielder Neil Chrisley as a player to be named later in January 1961.

Bolling made an immediate impact, earning All-Star nods in 1961 and 1962, and was the Braves regular second baseman for all five seasons he played for the Braves in Milwaukee.

Bolling played with the Braves until they left for Atlanta after the 1965 season and his big-league career came to an end in October 1966, when he was released.

He returned to his native Mobile, Ala., according to the Baseball-Reference.com Bullpen entry on Bolling, where he started a baseball league for physically or mentally challenge youth called the Frank Bolling Adaptive Baseball League—the first league of its kind in the U.S.

Bolling’s best season in Milwaukee was 1961, his debut year, when he hit .262/.329/.379 in 148 games. He scored 86 runs, cracked 15 home runs and posted 56 RBI.

Bolling was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the Tigers in 1951 out of Spring Hill College in Alabama and made his big-league debut for Detroit in April 1954.

Here are his stats for his five seasons with the Braves:

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/16/2015.

Next: 49. An Early Brewer All-Star Behind The Plate