Lou Brock | |||
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Left fielder | |||
Born: El Dorado, Arkansas |
June 18, 1939 |||
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MLB debut | |||
September 10, 1961, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 30, 1979, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .293 | ||
Hits | 3,023 | ||
Home runs | 149 | ||
Runs batted in | 900 | ||
Stolen bases | 938 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Member of the National | |||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
Inducted | 1985 | ||
Vote | 79.75% (first ballot) |
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock (born June 18, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing in 1961 for the Chicago Cubs, and spent the majority of his career playing as a left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014. He is currently a special instructor coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Brock was best known for breaking 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. He led the NL in doubles and triples in 1968. He also led the NL in singles in 1972, and was the runner-up for the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1974.
Brock was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, to a family of sharecroppers. 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." Brock grew up as a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team that included Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella. Although he didn't play in organized baseball until he reached the 11th grade, he learned much about the sport from listening to Cardinals radio broadcaster Harry Caray describe the way major league hitters stood at the plate. After attending high school in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, he 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.