Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1985
A native of Graham, N.C., Holt was offered $6,000 to sign with the Cardinals out of high school. But he turned down the offer in order to attend Wake Forest. Four years later, Holt had been named an All-ACC catcher, led Wake Forest to a national championship in baseball, and earned a degree in business administration.
Holt led the ACC with a .352 batting average during Wake Forest's national championship campaign and earned a reputation as an outstanding handler of pitchers. He was named a first team All-American in 1955 by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Hickok Sports.
Holt's finest efforts, though, came during the national tournament, when he guided a youthful Deacon pitching staff through the playoff competition. And in the decisive national championship game victory, a 76 verdict over Western Michigan, he drove in the winning run in the eighth inning.
Holt's name appears frequently throughout the Wake Forest baseball record book. He hit .317 for his career and was three times an all-conference selection, in addition to his All-American season of 1955, his junior year.
In high school, Holt was so good that he spent four years on the varsity team at Alexander Wilson High near Burlington. He was twice named to the all-state team and was highly-sought after following his graduation.
"If I had to single out the individual who helped me most of all, it would be Jack Liptak," Holt told the Greensboro Daily News in 1956. "He was Wake Forest's regular catcher my freshman year. He made all-conference and knew everything about backstopping."
Following Liptak's graduation, Holt became the Deacons' starting catcher as a sophomore and hit .302 with six home runs in earning all-ACC honors.
