Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame
When assessing the prospects for a baseball team one of the oft heard remarks is that pitching wins. Ronald H. Grothaus is living proof of that assessment.
"Grote" was one of the premier pitchers in the history of Heidelberg baseball, helping the Student Princes to winning records in 1962 and '63. Grothaus's junior year, 1962, saw him post an unblemished record of 7-0.
Those seven victories included wins over conference champion Wittenberg and always powerful Baldwin-Wallace. Along with an earned run average of 1.84, Grothaus hit at a .350 clip during the spring of 1962.
His senior season started out the same as the previous one had ended. Grothaus won his first three decisions to run his personal winning streak to 10 before being beaten by Otterbein, 1-0. He finished the 1963 season with a record of 7-3 and an ERA of just over 2.00.
"Grote's" final loss came at the hands of Baldwin-Wallace in the second game of a doubleheader. He was the winning pitcher in game one then came right back to pitch in the nightcap only to be topped.
Grothaus turned in some outstanding performances on his way to posting 14 wins in two seasons. In 1963 he threw a one -hit shutout in defeating Kenyon, and turned in two two-hitters. A 9-2 victory over Otterbein and a 4-0 whitewashing of Baldwin-Wallace.
A biology and chemistry major, Grothaus was consistently named to the Dean's list while a student at Heideiberg. Grothaus earned his Masters degree in biology from the University of Toledo in 1965. He then spent the next four years at the Ohio State University earning his veterinary medicine degree, graduating 26th in a class of 85.
From 1970-74 Grothaus had a general veterinary practice in Springfield, Virginia. Since 1974 he has owned and operated a veterinary practice in Toledo, Ohio.
Grothaus served as pitching coach for Toledo Bowsher High School for two years and has been a little league baseball coach.
(This profile appeared in the 1987 Hall of Fame program.)
