A right-handed relief pitcher, he played Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1959 and 1963 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Colt .45s.

Diagnosed with malignant melanoma in his right leg in March 1963, his comeback to baseball following surgery made national headlines and encouraged research on the disease.

[1][2] He attended the University of Georgia on a scholarship and played on the school's baseball and basketball teams, becoming the captain of both for his senior year.

[5] 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.

[7] The Pirates assigned Umbricht to their Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League.

[7] Umbricht left the game in position for the win, as the Pirates were leading 6–5, but reliever Don Gross gave up two earned runs in the ninth inning for the blown save and the loss.

At the beginning of spring training, Umbricht competed against fellow rookies Bennie Daniels and Joe Gibbon for a place.

He won the spot and in his first start of the season against the Reds on April 17, he gave up six earned runs in 5.1 innings, getting charged with the 11–3 loss.

[11] In his next start against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 21, Umbricht had poor control, giving up three runs and walking five batters in 2.1 innings.

[13] Umbricht pitched five innings, striking out five batters, but gave up two critical second-inning home runs to Frank Howard and John Roseboro and was charged with the loss.

[7][16] Umbricht continued to struggle in the bullpen and was demoted alongside Daniels on June 27 to the Columbus Jets of the International League as pitchers Tom Cheney and Earl Francis were promoted to the main squad.

[5] With his strong pitching performance at Columbus, Umbricht was re-promoted to the main roster in early September to help the Pirates in their pennant race.

[21][22] Umbricht started the season on the Colts roster, but was demoted to the Oklahoma City 89ers of the American Association to make room for veteran pitcher Don McMahon.

According to former teammate and roommate Ken Johnson, Umbricht was used by the Colts mainly to control damage caused by starting pitchers after they were removed from games.

In his five-year Major League Baseball career, Umbricht compiled a 9–5 win–loss record, with 133 strikeouts, three saves and a 3.06 earned run average in 88 games.

[7] At the beginning of spring training for the 1963 season, Umbricht noticed a small black mole in his right leg, near the thigh while on a golf outing with Richards.

[3] Manager Harry Craft added Umbricht to the Colts' active list prior to a May 9 game against Cincinnati, telling the Associated Press that the player was "anxious to get back to pitching".

[26] When he was not hospitalized, Umbricht played golf and attended baseball dinners in his honor, often for a "most courageous athlete" award ceremony.

[3] He remained optimistic that he would beat the illness until his final days, stating that "everything will be ok" in an interview with United Press International sports editor Milton Richman.

[26] The day after Umbricht's death, the Colts decided to honor their teammate by wearing black armbands for the entire 1964 season.

[26] In the Colts' opening-day match against the Cincinnati Reds, starting pitcher Ken Johnson dedicated his victory in Umbricht's memory.

Former teammate Jimmy Wynn wrote in his autobiography that Walt Bond, a former Astros player who was African-American, died from leukemia while he was still active.

Former Los Angeles Rams linebacker Jack Pardee credited Umbricht's battle with melanoma for saving his life in 1965.