Background

Louis Clark was born on June 18, 1939, in El Dorado, Arkansas, United States. His family moved to Collinston, Louisiana, when he was two years old. While his family didn't have much money, he said that he never felt poor because, "If you don't have something, you don't miss it."

Education

After attending high school in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, Lou Brock received academic assistance to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge, but when a low grade in his first semester meant the possibility of losing his scholarship, he decided to try out for the school's baseball team in order to secure an athletic scholarship.

Career

Lou Brock started as an outfielder at Chicago Cubs (baseball team), Chicago during 1961-64. He continued at St. Louis Cardinals (baseball team), St. Louis during 1964-79.

Brock fell into a hitting slump early in the 1978 season and lost the left fielder's job. However, he fought back during spring training in 1979 with a .345 batting average to regain his starting job. Brock was named Player of the Month for the month of May 1979, during which he produced a .433 batting average.

On August 13, 1979, Brock became the fourteenth player in Major League Baseball history to reach the 3,000 hits plateau against the team that traded him, the Chicago Cubs. Brock retired at the end of the season, having posted a .304 batting average in his last season at the age of 40. At the end of the season, he was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year - the first player to be so named in his final Major League season.

After retiring from baseball, Brock prospered as a businessman, especially as a florist in the St. Louis, Missouri area. He briefly worked as a color analyst for Monday Night Baseball on ABC in 1980, and for Chicago White Sox telecasts the following year.

Brock still regularly appears at Cardinals games. When he steps onto the field he is always greeted by a loud, low-pitched cheer of "Loooouuuuuuuuuuuu". He also lent his name to a unique rainhat, shaped like a miniature umbrella and to be worn at games during showers in lieu of retreating to the concourse. The product was called the "Brockabrella."

Achievements

• Louis Clark Brock is known as an American former professional baseball player, who broke Ty Cobb's all-time major league stolen base record in 1977. He was an All-Star for six seasons and a National League (NL) stolen base leader for eight seasons and one of 16 players to get 3000 hits in a career.
  
  He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, St. Louis Walk of Fame, Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
  
  As an author, he is known for his book Stealing Is My Game.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Stealing is My Game 1976

Views

Quotations: “If you’re successful in what you do over a period of time, you’ll start approaching records, but that’s not what you’re playing for. You’re playing to challenge and be challenged.”

“Competition is what keeps me playing the psychological warfare of matching skill against skill and wit against wit.”

“You can’t be afraid to make errors! You can’t be afraid to be naked before the crowd, because no one can ever master the game of baseball, or conquer it. You can only challenge it.”

“Your bat is your life. It’s your weapon. You don’t want to go into battle with anything that feels less than perfect.”

Personality

Physical Characteristics: Brock's left leg was amputated below the knee in October 2015 because of an infection related to a diabetic condition. He announced on April 13, 2017, that was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow's plasma cells.

Connections

Lou Brock is married to Jackie Brock. Brock and his wife are both ordained ministers serving at Abundant Life Fellowship Church in St. Louis.

Spouse:

Jackie Brock

Daughter:

Wanda Brock

Son:

Lou Brock Jr.

References

• The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time: Babe Ruth, Lou Brock, Paul Wagner, Ty Cobb, Etc.
  1981
• Contemporary Authors, Vol. 184
  2000
• December 1974 Baseball Digest- Lou Brock
  1974
• Super Sports Magazine
  1970