A native of Mobile, Alabama, Bolling signed with the Detroit Tigers in 1951 and would make the big league club in 1954. In his MLB debut, Bolling's first hit was a home run off Don Larsen who was wearing an expansion Baltimore Orioles uniform and more than two years away from his day of perfection.
Bolling would miss the 1955 season due to military service, but would return to the Tigers in 1956 and patrolled second base for the next five seasons. His best season in a Tigers uniform came in 1958 when he won a Gold Glove and had career highs in games played (154), hits (164) and RBIs (75). That same year, Bolling briefly played with his older brother Milt as a double play combination.
Following the 1960 season, the Tigers traded Bolling to the Milwaukee Braves for four players including Bill Bruton and Chuck Cottier. Bolling would be selected to the NL All-Star Team in both 1961 and 1962 and thrice led the NL in fielding percentage for a second baseman (1961, 1962 and 1964). He would remain with the team when they moved to Atlanta in 1966 before retiring. In 12 seasons, Bolling played 1540 games collected 1415 hits for a lifetime batting average of .254 with 106 HR and 556 RBI.
In May 2019, Bolling returned to Milwaukee where he was inducted into the Milwaukee Braves Wall of Honor at Miller Park and also got to throw out the first pitch. I'm glad Bolling got some belated recognition for his contribution to the Braves and that he was around to enjoy it. R.I.P.
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