Carl Boldt

Boldt graduated from Verdugo Hills High School in Tujunga, California before enrolling at Glendale Community College in the fall of 1951.[2] At Verdugo, Boldt scored 1,024 points in 63 career games.[2] He won Most Valuable Player (MVP) or was named to the all-tournament team in "most" of the tournaments he played in.[2] For a time, Boldt was the nation's leading scorer at the junior college level.[2] He earned All-America honors following his 1950–51 sophomore season.[2]

After graduating from Glendale, Boldt enrolled in the United States Army.[2] He spent one year serving in the military and played on the Army's basketball squad.[2] Boldt made the all-star team, and upon being honorably discharged he went home to California.[2]

In the fall of 1955–56, Boldt enrolled at USF to play basketball.[2] In his first season, the Dons, led by Russell and Jones, recorded an undefeated season en route to winning the NCAA Tournament.[1] He was a starting forward.[3] Years later, Boldt mentioned how it's been pointed out that he and Michael Jordan both scored 16 points in their respective NCAA national championship games.[3] He said, "I had to laugh. I may have got 16 but I wouldn't be talking to anyone if we didn't have Bill Russell playing center and K. C. Jones playing guard for us."[3]

The following season, Boldt's senior year in 1956–57, the USF squad had lost Russell, Jones and other key players due to graduation, so a third straight national championship seemed implausible.[4] The Dons performed surprisingly well, won a third consecutive conference championship, and made it to the Final Four of the 1957 NCAA Tournament.[5] The Dons beat Michigan State in the Third Place consolation game. Early into Boldt's final season, San Francisco's then-NCAA record 60-game winning streak was snapped on December 17, 1956.[4] Coincidentally, the streak had begun exactly two years earlier on December 17, 1954.[4] San Francisco compiled a 60–7 record in Boldt's two seasons on the team.[5]