Lou Brock

1939-

American baseball player

During the 1970s, Lou Brock did for base-stealing what slugger Mark McGwire did for the homerun in the 1990s: Brock turned the pursuit of the stolen base into a national pastime. In the history of baseball, few players have covered the 90 feet between the bases more productively. During his 19-year career, Brock stole 938 bases, making him the most prolific base-stealer in the history of baseball to that time. Most notable was his 1974 season, when Brock stole 118 bases, setting a new single-season base-stealing record. Though Brock's name is most often associated with stealing bases, he was also a formidable hitter, with 3,023 hits. Brock was the 14th player in baseball history to pass the coveted 3,000 mark. As Cardinal pitcher John Curtis once told Baseball Digest, "He's the greatest single offensive force I've seen." Throughout his life, Brock has been a force off the field as well. He has spent much of his time raising funds for his scholarship foundation, so he can offer young adults a chance at a college education. Brock knows if no one had taken a chance on him, he wouldn't have had the career he did.

Reared in Small Southern Town

Brock was born on June 18, 1939, in El Dorado, Arkansas, to Maud and Paralee Brock. He was raised in nearby Collinston, Louisiana. His family relocated there after his father, Maud, left when he was two. Brock described

his hometown in an issue of Sports Illustrated, "It was a farm community, in the heart of what you might call the Bible Belt. Playing baseball on Sunday was considered taboo.… Our house was typical of down there-a four-bedroom shack with a porch and a swing."

After Brock's parents split up, his mother remarried. She married three times and had nine children. To help support her large family, Paralee Brock did domestic work. The family also farmed, raising everything from cotton and corn, to cows and pigs.

As a youngster, Brock wasn't much interested in baseball. It was actually a bit of childhood mischief that got Brock involved in the game. One day in school, the rebellious Brock let loose a spit wad aimed at the girl in front of him. Brock missed his target and ended up hitting the teacher. As a punishment, the teacher sent Brock to the library. Once there, he was asked to research some sports figures like Joe DiMaggio and Jackie Robinson and compose a report for the class. The teacher wanted to make Brock and his classmates more aware of what was happening in the world outside of Collinston. When Brock presented the report, his classmates sneered at him and called him the teacher's pet. Presenting the report was difficult for the shy youngster, but in the end, it changed his life.

As Brock told Sports Illustrated, "The most intriguing thing to me was that big league players got $8 a day for meal money. All I could think of was of how much penny candy that would buy." From then on, Brock was hooked on baseball.

By his freshman year at Union High School in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, Brock was playing baseball. His senior year, he batted over .500. He graduated in 1957, third in his class of 105.

Slugged Way onto College Baseball Team

Following high school, Brock decided he needed a college education in order to leave behind the sharecropper's life. The family didn't have a phone, which prevented Brock from calling any colleges, so he took matters into his own hands and caught a ride to Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, because he had heard that the college offered a work-study scholarship program.

School officials were so impressed by Brock's determination that they found a job for him mowing grass and offered him a work-study scholarship. The deal, however, stipulated that Brock maintain a B average. Brock ended his first semester with a C+ average and was booted from the work-study program.

Not wanting to return home a failure, Brock decided to try out for the baseball team. For days, he parked himself in the bleachers and watched the Southern University team practice. "I sat there scared to death," Brock recalled to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "The players paraded in front of me with muscles. They looked like athletes. I wasn't sure I belonged on the field with them."

Finally, Brock joined the players on the diamond and spent several days chasing fly balls, running as fast as he could, hoping the coach would notice him. Because Brock was broke at this time, he couldn't afford to eat properly and collapsed on the field one day.

Passing out got Brock noticed, and in the spirit of goodwill, the coach decided to let him bat a few balls. Brock realized he had just a few minutes—just a few pitches—to prove himself. "I told myself, 'This is it. This is the moment,'" he recalled to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "'Either you hit this ball and stay or miss it and be gone.'" Brock impressed the coach by hitting several pitches out of the park. He was offered an athletic scholarship and was able to continue his college education.

During Brock's sophomore season, he received the attention of some scouts when they came to observe Wiley College pitcher Johnny Berry. Brock's team was playing Wiley's team at the time. During the game, Berry gave up only two hits-both homers to Brock.

That same season, Brock hit .545. With Brock in the lineup, Southern College become the first black college to win the baseball championship of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes.

In 1959, Brock was selected to play on the U.S. baseball team at the Pan-American Games in Chicago. During the games, Brock befriended a runner named Charles Deacon Jones, who helped Brock improve his speed by offering a few lessons in technique. A few years later, after Brock joined the Cubs, the two worked out together in Chicago as Jones continued helping Brock improve his form.

Chronology

Awards and Accomplishments

Got Dismal Start with the Cubs

Before he could complete his senior year of college in 1961, Brock signed with the Chicago Cubs and left school. His signing bonus was $30,000. Though Brock

was sorry to leave school, the chance to help his family financially was appealing. Brock spent one brief season in the minor leagues, playing for the Cubs' farm team in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where he batted .361 and stole 38 bases. He also led the team in hits and was soon called up to the majors, where he appeared in four games in 1961.

Unfortunately, Brock's time with the Cubs proved dismal. Aspiring to be a power-hitter, Brock struck out often. He whiffed 96 times in 434 at-bats in 1962 and 122 times in 547 at-bats in 1963. His batting average wasn't that impressive either. He hit .263 in 1962, his first full season in the majors.

Besides his mediocre performance at the plate, Brock took a lot of flack for his fielding. With every game at the gusty Wrigley Field played in the afternoon, Brock had trouble tracking the ball in sunny right field. Brock had only spent one season in the minors and had not learned how to cope with the sun. He made a spectacle of himself as he dropped balls; even when he caught them, his struggle was evident. The coaches never realized that Brock played better at night and on the road.

Cubs fans—and local sportswriters in particular—poked fun at Brock. Bob Smith of the Daily News was brutal in his characterizations of Brock. According to David Halberstam's book October 1964, Smith wrote in 1963, "If you have watched all the Cub home games thus far you probably had come to the conclusion that Lou Brock is the worst outfielder in baseball history. He really isn't, but he hasn't done much to prove it."

By 1964, Brock's rage to succeed was getting the better of him. Cub roommate Ernie Banks recalled that Brock had trouble eating and sleeping. Banks told Brock he needed to loosen up and let his natural ability pull him through. Brock, however, was too antsy to relax. He scribbled reports after every game he played in, making notes about the pitchers he faced, what kind of pitches they threw at him, and how well he had responded. Before games, Brock plotted how many hits he thought he should deliver and how many runs he should smack in. According to Halberstam's book, Brock told teammates over and over, "I've got to make it here. I just can't go back to Louisiana and Arkansas. I've been there, and I know what's there."

By June 1964, the Cubs were ready to drop Brock. At the time, Brock was hitting .251 and showed no signs of promise. Since the Cubs rarely gave him the green light to steal, no one knew about Brock's hidden talent for stolen bases.

Came Alive with the Cardinals

In mid-June 1964, the Cubs dealt Brock to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for pitcher Ernie Broglio, who'd won 18 games the prior season, and two other players. In exchange, the Cardinals got Brock and two pitchers.

"None of us liked the deal," Cardinals first baseman Bill White recalled to Peter Golenbock in his book, The Spirit of St. Louis. "[We'd] say we did, but we didn't like that deal. In my opinion, Lou had a lot of talent, but he didn't know anything about baseball.… But somehow, when he came to us, he turned everything around."

The Chicago papers proclaimed the trade a steal for the Cubs, believing they had traded an iffy outfielder for a strikeout king. Sportswriter Bob Smith, who'd been so critical of Brock, wrote, "Thank you, thank you, oh, you lovely St. Louis Cardinals," according to Halberstam's book. In the end, however, the Cardinals were the ones thanking the Cubs for the deal as Brock went down in Hall of Fame history. (Broglio, incidentally, injured his arm after the trade and won only seven more games, while losing 19. By 1967, he had retired.)

The day following the trade, Brock took a plane from Chicago to Houston to join the Cardinals, who were playing that day. Late in the game against the Astros, Brock entered as a pinch-hitter and struck out. According to The St. Louis Cardinals Encyclopedia, Cardinals general manager Bing Devine, who had brokered the deal, took some heckling from a fan, who asked him, "Who could have made that deal?"

But for Brock, the trade was rejuvenating. He thrived as a Cardinal. He left behind the sun-drenched right side of Wrigley Field and took up left field. Coaches gave Brock the go-ahead to steal. Soon, fans caught a glimpse of his potential.

For the remainder of the 1964 season, Brock batted.348 and stole 33 bases. He also provided the spark that helped the team win the National League pennant and defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series.

In 1967, Brock had 206 hits, 21 home runs, and stole 52 bases, helping the Cardinals become the National League champs. They faced the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. In seven games, Brock had 12 hits, scored eight runs, and stole seven bases. His series batting average of .414 led the Cardinals to victory.

Brock continued his offensive onslaught in 1968, leading the National League in doubles with 46, triples with 14, and stolen bases with 62. Once again, the Cardinals landed in the World Series. Brock batted .464 during the series, though the Detroit Tigers defeated the Cardinals to win the title.

Over the next few years, Brock kept stealing, leading the league in stolen bases in 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974. In 12 consecutive seasons (1965-1976) he stole more than 50 bases.

Turned Base-Stealing into an Art

By 1970, Brock was known for his basepathg escapades. In the decades before Brock joined the major leagues, the stolen base had become a lost art as players concentrated more on swinging for power. The decline in the stolen base was notable. In 1930, there were 1,079 stolen bases in the league. By 1950, that number had dwindled to 650. Most people assumed Ty Cobb 's 1915 record of 96 stolen bases in a single season was untouchable.

Then came Brock, who elevated base-stealing to an art. He scrutinized pitchers, hoping to learn their cadence and rhythm. He wanted to be able to recognize the split-second the pitcher had committed himself to throw home. Brock also studied a pitcher's habits, hoping to find a pattern so he would know when a curve was coming. Since curves take a second of a fraction longer to reach home plate, Brock preferred to run on a curveball.

Brock didn't just watch pitchers, he filmed them on an eight-millimeter camera. At home, he studied the films, watching for signs, twitches, anything that might help him read a pitcher better.

A former math major in college, Brock calculated that there were 3.5 seconds between the time the ball left the pitcher's hand, landed in the catcher's mitt, and ended up back at second base. Brock outlined his base-stealing strategy in a 1974 Newsweek article.

"I can't run from first to second in 3.5 seconds," he admitted. "I don't think I could when I was younger, and I'm slower now. So the key is that instant when the shift of the pitcher's anatomy tells me he can't come to first. He has to go to the plate. I go on that shift. That extra instant is all I need to make it safely."

Brock also got some help from teammates along the way. Batters who followed Brock often stood deep in the batter's box, forcing the catcher back farther.

Brock's base-stealing tactics turned him into an offensive machine. In effect, any single Brock hit could be turned into a double through his base-stealing prowess. Once on second, Brock could score easily if the ball was hit into the outfield.

Career Statistics

For Brock, baseball became all about stealing bases. In an issue of Time, Brock expressed his thoughts this way: "Stealing is the most dramatic moment of the game. The pitcher knows you're going, the crowd knows you're going, you know you're going. When you succeed it's a great feeling. Nothing upsets the other team as much as a stolen base."

As Brock perfected his stealing strategies, he also perfected his slide. Brock preferred a straight, "pop-up" slide, instead of the traditional hook slide, which starts 15 feet out from the base and wears the body. Brock's signature pop-up slide allowed him to accelerate full-speed into the bag. Because he ended his slides by pop-ping up, if there was an error in the throw, he could take third as well.

Before Brock came along, there was a player named Maury Wills who helped rejuvenate the stolen base. In 1962, Wills stole 104 bases, breaking Ty Cobb's record. No one imagined it could be topped again. But that was before Brock. In 1974, Brock broke Wills' stranglehold on the single-season steal mark of 104 by grabbing 118 stolen bases. That same season, he also scored 105 runs and batted .306.

Three years later, Brock broke Ty Cobb's career stolen-base record. It happened on August 29, 1977, when Brock entered the game one shy of Cobb's record of 892. As a leadoff batter, the eager Brock drew a walk and trotted to first. The Padres were nervous to have Brock on base and the pitcher, Dave Freisleben, stared at Brock, then briefly walked off the mound. On the next pitch, Brock took off and safely made it to second. He was now tied with Cobb.

In the seventh inning, Brock was on base once again with a chance to steal. Though the Cardinals were playing in San Diego, the fans were rooting for Brock. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, they chanted, "Lou … Lou … Lou. Go! Go!" Freisleben was still on the mound. He threw to first, trying to get Brock to stick close to the bag.

Freisleben finally threw home, and Brock took off. Handily, he stole No. 893, setting a new major league baseball record. The game came to a halt as the crowd rose for a standing ovation. The base was dug up and ceremoniously presented to Brock. It was a historic moment, and even Freisleben, who'd given away the stolen base, remarked, "I kind of got goosebumps," according to the Post-Dispatch.

It is also interesting to note that Brock's stealing pace was much quicker than Cobb's. Cobb spread his 892 stolen bases out over 24 seasons and 3,033 games. Brock, however, broke the record in only 2,376 games over 17 seasons. Brock also picked up the pace as he got older and was 38 years old when he broke Cobb's record. The record stood until 1997, when Rickey Henderson of the Oakland A's ended the season with 1,231.

Brock's feat, however, was soon forgotten after he fell into a slump during the 1978 season, hitting only .221.

Joined Elite "3,000 Hits" Club

At the start of the 1979 season, Brock announced that it would be his last. Fans may have thought him washed up, but Brock had unfinished business. There was still one record Brock was chasing-he wanted to get 3,000 hits so he could be remembered as a hitter and not just a base-stealer.

Brock's goal worried teammates. The St. Louis Cardinals Encyclopedia quoted teammate Ken Boyer as saying: "I want very much to see Lou get 3000 hits, but I can't lose ball games or my job if he can't deliver."

Brock had spent the off-season building up the muscles in his legs and watching tapes of himself at bat. He was ready to make his mark in 1979. That season, Brock smacked 123 hits for a .304 batting average. He ended the season with 3,023 career hits, making him the 14th player to reach the hallowed 3,000th mark. It took 20 years before another National League player, Tony Gwynn , did it in 2000.

Along the way, Brock married three times. He divorced his high school sweetheart, Katie, in 1974. The couple had two children, Wanda, and Lou Brock, Jr., who played football for the San Diego Chargers. Brock later married and divorced Virgie Brock. In 1995, he married Jacqueline Brock, a special education teacher from the St. Louis area.

Where Is He Now?

After the renowned base stealer retired from baseball in 1979, Brock remained close to the Cardinals organization and in 1994 began working as a base-running and outfield instructor for the team, particularly helping out during spring training.

When he's not busy with baseball, Brock tends to the company he founded, Brockworld Products, Inc. Brock is president of the St. Louis-based company, which is a marketing and promotional ventures firm. He is also involved with raising funds for the Lou Brock Scholarship Foundation, which helps students who can't afford college.

Brock and his wife, the Rev. Jacqueline Brock, live in St. Charles, Missouri, and are involved with area charitable and civic efforts, mostly those aimed at helping youth. They also serve as elders to the Abundant Life Fellowship Church near Black Jack, Missouri.

Still King in St. Louis

When Brock retired after the 1979 season, the August Busch family, which owned the St. Louis Cardinals, gave Brock a pleasure boat named "King Louie of St. Louie." Today, Brock still rules his hometown, just as he ruled the basepaths and the record books during his baseball career. Though more than 20 years have passed since Brock retired, he remains a local legend and still works as an instructor for the Cardinals organization. He also lends his name and efforts to many local charities and was added to the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1994. When Brock appears at Busch Stadium at Cardinals games, the crowd still chants, "Lou … Lou … Lou," in honor of the man who taught a whole city—a whole nation in fact—how to be a winner.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY BROCK:

(With Fran Schulze) Stealing Is My Game. Prentice Hall Press, 1976.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

Broeg, Bob and Jerry Vickery. The St. Louis Cardinals Encyclopedia. Chicago: NTC/Contemporary Publishing Group, 1998.

The Cardinals. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1983.

Golenbock, Peter. The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns. New York: Avon Books, Inc., 2000.

Halberstam, David. October 1964. New York: Villard Books, 1994.

Honig, Donald. The St. Louis Cardinals: An Illustrated History. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1991.

Kuenster, John, ed. From Cobb to "Catfish." New York: Rand McNally & Co., 1975.

Periodicals

"At Age 60, Lou Brock is Ambassador for Baseball." The Virginian Pilot (February 5, 2000): C1.

Bonventre, Peter. "Grand Larceny." Newsweek (September 12, 1977): 78-79.

Dorr, Dave. "Southern U. Took a Chance On Lou Brock in 1957." St. Louis Post-Dispatch (February 8, 1999): E3.

Dorr, Dave. "The Base Burglar Gives Something Back." St. Louis Post-Dispatch (February 8, 1999): E1.

Eisenbath, Mike. "Brock Keeps on Smiling." St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 13, 1999): D4.

Harris, Mikal J. "King's Legacy Is Living Without Fear, Brock Proclaims." St. Louis Post-Dispatch (January 23, 2002).

Kaegel, Dick. "Brock Steals Base No. 893." St. Louis Post-Dispatch (August 30, 1977): 1.

Kaplan, Jim. "Brock Still Has the Old Sock." Sports Illustrated (May 21, 1979): 50.

Kelley, Robert. "The Premier Pilferer." Time (July 15, 1974): 84.

"Lou Brock Wins Baseball's Coveted 1979 Hutch Award." Jet (January 10, 1980: 47.

"Make Way for the Sultan of Swipes." Sports Illustrated (August 22, 1977): 24-30.

"The Thief." Newsweek (September 16, 1974): 61.

Other

"Lou Brock Statistics." Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/brocklo01.shtml (October 8, 2002).

"Louis C. Brock." Horatio Alger Association. http://www.horatioalger.com/member/bro02.htm (October 6, 2002).

Sketch by Lisa Frick