#454 Phil Clark

Pitcher Phil Clark was fortunate enough to get to play in his hometown of Albany, Georgia after being signed by The St. Louis Cardinals in 1951. He was a starter then and put together an 18-7 season with a sub-3.00 ERA. Then Uncle Sam came calling and Clark served for two years.

Returning in 1954 he climbed the Cards' ladder while switching to a bullpen job. He had some impressive years in the high minors and earned a spot on the Cards' staff in 1958. To paraphrase Frank Sinatra Clark was 'riding high in April' (no earned runs and a save in four games) but he was 'shot down in May' (six hits and three earned runs in an inning and a third over three games).

Back in the minors Clark was solid for the rest of that season and got another early shot with the Cardinals in '59 but was rocked pretty hard and farmed out once again. He pitched two final minor league seasons in the Dodgers' chain and then retired to get a degree in education at the University of Georgia and become a high school teacher back in Albany. He spent thirty years in the classroom, good for him.

Phil Clark had a role of author/ballplayer Jim Brosnan's 1961 book The Long Season. Clark and Brosnan were friends yet the contrast between the two makes for good reading: Brosnan was the cerebral, established major leaguer while Clark was a fringe player worried about he ability to stick in the big leagues. It's a 'must read' for those with a 'baseball book habit'.

There isn't much on Phil Clark to be found on the 'net. I did discover his name on the 1950 Georgia High School football all star game roster.

This card features a spring training shot and the pose is very similar to that on his only other Topps card, the '58. Except that Clark is grinning on the '58.

#194 Jim Brosnan



With summer almost upon us I want to change gears for just a bit and do something a little different with the blog. To me summer (among other things) is baseball book reading time. I barely follow the current major leagues but I still love the game of baseball itself and enjoy the history and characters of baseball's past.

I thought I'd blog some cards that I can link (sometimes tenuously) to my favorite baseball books, one's that I think any fan would enjoy. Some are on every list of 'best baseball books' you can find. Others are less well known.

I'm going to skip delving in to career of the players whose cards are featured other than a few highlights. These posts are about the books.

First up is a book I am featuring because it was written by the most famous (and only?) author among the subjects of this set. It's a book I read over 20 years ago and admittedly can't remember much of. The Long Season was written by reliever Jim Brosnan and is a diary-style account of his 1959 season, one in which he was traded from the Cardinals to the Reds.

I didn't read The Long Season when it was published but I do recall the stir it (and Brosnan's next book Pennant Race) created. It was unlike most of the contemporary baseball writing and the 'inside look' at the game was pretty controversial. There isn't the "tell all" feel that came later with Jim Bouton's books but it certainly was more revealing that anything else being written.

Pennant Race is a similar account of Brosnan's 1961 season. He was fortunate enough to kept track of his doing in a year the Reds went on to the World Series.

Brosnan, known for his studious look and persona (see the cardback cartoon!) pitched nine seasons in the bigs, primarily for the Cubs, Cards and Reds. He moved from a starters role into the bullpen in 1959 and appeared in three games for the Reds in the 1961 World Series. He went 10-4 with 16 saves for that club.