Early Career
Umbricht was born in Chicago, Illinois and moved with his family to Atlanta in 1946. Growing up aspiring to be a professional baseball player, Umbricht practiced every day on a field by his house and became a multi-sport star at Decatur High School in Decatur, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia on a scholarship and played on the school's baseball and basketball teams, becoming the captain of both his senior year. He was named to the first-team All-SEC as a shortstop in 1951.
After graduating from Georgia, Umbricht participated in a local tryout camp for the Waycross Bears in the Class D Georgia-Florida League, a low-level minor league affiliate in the Milwaukee Braves organization. He made the team, starting his professional baseball career as a pitcher and infielder. In 1953, Umbricht pitched for the Bears in 10 games, starting in eight of them. Umbricht finished with a 4–3 win–loss record and a 2.87 earned run average. He was the only player from that squad ever to appear in a Major League Baseball game.
Umbricht missed the 1954 and 1955 seasons while serving in the United States Army, but pitched for a military team at Fort Carson in Colorado. After his discharge in 1956, Umbricht played for the Baton Rouge Rebels of the Evangeline League; he had a 15–15 win–loss record in 32 games as the team finished with a 53–70 record, and led the league with 27 complete games. He was promoted to the Topeka Hawks of the Western League in 1957, and had a 13–8 record with a 3.24 earned run average in 28 games pitched. In 1958 he played for the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association. He went 6–10 with a 4.06 earned run average in 55 games, mostly as a relief pitcher. Umbricht was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization for Emil Panko prior to the 1959 season. The Pirates assigned Umbricht to its Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League. While with the Bees Umbricht had a 14–8 record with a 2.78 earned run average in 47 games, mostly in relief.
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