Jim Brosnan
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2021) |
Jim Brosnan | |
---|---|
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |
Died: June 28, 2014 Morton Grove, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 84)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 15, 1954, for the Chicago Cubs | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 21, 1963, for the Chicago White Sox | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 55–47 |
Earned run average | 3.54 |
Strikeouts | 507 |
Saves | 68 |
Teams | |
James Patrick Brosnan (October 24, 1929 – June 28, 2014) was an American baseball player and author who played in
During his career, Brosnan was known as an intellectual, for keeping books in his locker to read and for his personal habits of puffing on a pipe while wearing his glasses, reading books during games. His teammates often referred to him as "The Professor".[2] He attended Xavier University.[3]
Early life
Brosnan was born on October 24, 1929, in
Baseball career
In 1954, the Cubs brought Brosnan to the major leagues, where he pitched poorly. As a result, he was returned to the Cubs' minor league affiliate in
Author
While known as a moderately effective pitcher, both as a starter and a reliever, Brosnan gained greater fame by becoming one of the first athletes to publish a candid personal diary. Up to that time, such books were "sanitized" for the general public and used ghostwriters. Instead, Brosnan's self-penned book, The Long Season, a season which found him being traded from St. Louis to Cincinnati at approximately the halfway point of the 1959 baseball season, touched on the subjects of racial awareness, boredom, fatigue, and skirt-chasing by players, as well as the never-ending stress of trying to maintain a position on the big league roster.[2]
Two years later, Brosnan again kept a diary, a fortuitous circumstance as the Reds would win the National League championship in 1961, before falling to the New York Yankees in the World Series. Brosnan's book was published under the appropriate title Pennant Race.[2]
Brosnan's books garnered both praise and criticism. Pulitzer-prize winning columnist Red Smith praised The Long Season as "...caustic and candid, and, in a way, courageous."[2] Others, such as Joe Garagiola, famously called Brosnan a "kooky beatnik."[4]
Writing in the Chicago Tribune in July 1960, then-White Sox president Bill Veeck acknowledged that The Long Season was "delightful", but that "Brosnan has his say about many who may have, in times past, had their say about him. This just doesn't seem to come off so well, and tends to lessen the impact and enjoyment of his undeniably colorful material".[4]
Post career
After his playing days, Brosnan continued writing and also became a sportscaster. He worked for several years as a sports anchor in the Chicago area and delivered sportscasts for the Chicago-area radio station
Brosnan also wrote books for boys, including Little League to Big League, Great Baseball Pitchers and Great Rookies of the Major Leagues.[4]
During the June 13, 1966 episode of
Death and legacy
Brosnan died at the age of 84 while in hospice in Park Ridge, Illinois. At the time of his death he was recovering from a stroke when sepsis set in.[2] His survivors include three children, Jamie Kruidenier of Champaign, Illinois, Tim Brosnan of Morton Grove, Illinois, and Kimberly Brosnan-Myers, of Philadelphia, as well as a brother and four grandchildren.[2]
Brosnan's first book, The Long Season, was named by Sports Illustrated as the 19th best sports book of all time and credited the work as serving as a model for Jim Bouton's book Ball Four, Jerry Kramer's book Instant Replay, and many other first-person sports memoirs.[2]
"The Long Season not merely changed everything, it remains, decades later, the best of its kind." --
Washington Post book critic Jonathan Yardley[2]
Brosnan was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2007.[6]
References
- ^ Bruce Weber (July 4, 2014). "Jim Brosnan, Who Threw Literature a Curve, Dies at 84". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Schudel, Matt (July 6, 2014) "Big league pitcher's books offered inside accounts of baseball", The Washington Post, page C8 [1] Retrieved September 4, 2017
- ^ Goldsborough, Bob. "Jim Brosnan, big league pitcher and author, dies". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Goldsborough, Bob (July 11, 2014) "Jim Brosnan, big league pitcher and author, dies", Chicago Tribune [2] Retrieved September 4, 2017
- ^ "To Tell the Truth - Jim Brosnan, MLB pitcher/author; Editor of "Modern Bride" (Jun 13, 1966)". To Tell The Truth. CBS. September 6, 2017. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ "Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees". Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
Further reading
- Brosnan, Jim. "Now Pitching for St. Louis: The Rookie Psychiatrist". Sports Illustrated. July 21, 1958. pp. 12–15, 57.
- Brosnan, Jim. "You Can Consider It Came from Me". Sports Illustrated. March 7, 1960.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Me and Hutch". Sports Illustrated. June 27, 1960.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Two Inside Slants on the Big Series: A Pitcher-Author Writes His 'Book' On Pirate Lineup". Life. October 10, 1960. pp. 168, 173–174, 176, 178, 180.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Nobody Likes the Dodgers". Sports Illustrated. August 14, 1961.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Embarrassing, Wasn't It?". Sports Illustrated. October 23, 1961.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Sweet, Sad Life of a Reliever". Sports Illustrated. May 21, 1962.
- Brosnan, Jim. "This Pitcher May Need Relief". Sports Illustrated. March 16, 1964. pp. 24–26, 29.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Opening Day". Boys' Life. April 1965. pp. 19–23.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Boom Go the Big Red Hits". Sports Illustrated. August 16, 1965. pp. 12–13, 52–53.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Number 1 in the National League". Boys' Life. April 1967. pp. 19–21.
- Brosnan, Jim. "The Only Place to Play". Boys' Life. April 1967. pp. 32–33, 52–53, 55, 58.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Hot Hand at the Hot Corner". Boys' Life. March 1969. pp. 22–24.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Mike Hegan of the Seattle Pilots". Boys' Life. March 1970. pp. 24–25, 65–66.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Springboard to the Majors". Boys' Life. March 1974. pp. 8–12.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Ted Simmons: Power at the Plate". Boys' Life. March 1975. pp. 34–37.
- Rose, Pete; Brosnan, Jim. "How I Hit". Boys' Life. March 1976. pp. 20–23
- Sain, John; Brosnan, Jim. "Keys to Success in Pitching". Boys' Life. August 1976. pp. 30–33
- Brosnan, Jim. "The Designated Hitter: Baseball's New Hero". Boys' Life. September 1976. pp. 24–26.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Casey's Comeback". Boys' Life. July 1977. pp. 20–23.
- Brosnan, Jim. "How to Hit a Baseball". Boys' Life. April 1978.
- Brosnan, Jim. "The Amazing Rod Carew". Boys' Life. June 1978. pp. 14, 16, 18, 20.
- Brosnan, Jim. "The Best Batter in Baseball History". Boys' Life. July 1978. pp. 14–15, 16–17.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Reggie Jackson: Even the Babe Would Cheer". Boys' Life. September 1978. pp. 14–17
- Brosnan, Jim. "Baseball's Greatest Pitcher". Boys' Life. February 1979 . pp. 25–27.
- Brosnan, Jim. "George Brett: Born to Hit .300". Boys' Life. March 1979 . pp. 14, 16, 18–19.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Jim Rice: Baseball's Hercules". Boys' Life. March 1980.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Dave Parker, Peerless Pirate: 'Whatever he's done, he thinks he can do better'". Boys' Life. September 1980. pp. 33–35.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Willie Stargell: Heart and Soul of the Pirates". Boys' Life. March 1981. pp. 6, 8, 10, 82.
- Brosnan, Jim. "The Boys' Life Guide to Baseball". Boys' Life. April 1981. pp. 33–38, 40–42.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Keith Hernandez On the Rocky Road to Cooperstown". Boys' Life. September 1981. pp. 34–36, 58.
- Brosnan, Jim. "The Best Batters in the Big Leagues". Boys' Life. April 1982. pp. 33–40.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Manny Trillo Plays With Style". Boys' Life. September 1982. pp. 12, 14, 16.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Kirk Gibson, Star of the Future". Boys' Life. March 1983. pp. 22–25.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Gary Carter: The Kid Wants to Be a Hero". Boys' Life. September 1983. pp. 32–35.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Ozzie Smith: The Man With the Million Dollar Glove". Boys' Life. March 1984. pp. 13–16.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Sidney Moncrief: The Pro's Pro". Boys' Life. October 1985. pp. 22–25, 63.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Dodgertown: A Baseball Landmark". Boys' Life. April 1986. pp. 24–26, 64.
- Brosnan, Jim. "Alex English: Poetry in Motion". Boys' Life. October 1986. pp. 22–24.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- A review of The Long Season
- Obituary