Albert Walter "Sparky" Lyle (born July 22, 1944) is an American former left-handed relief pitcher who spent sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a closer from 1969 to 1977, first for the Boston Red Sox and then the New York Yankees. A three-time All-Star, he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award in 1977. He was most famous for co-authoring with Peter Golenbock The Bronx Zoo, a 1979 tell-all book which chronicled the dissension within the Yankees in its World Series Championship seasons of 1977 and 1978.

Lyle has been a manager of the Somerset Patriots, a baseball team of the Atlantic League, since 1998.

Early life & career[link]

Lyle was born in DuBois, Pennsylvania on July 22, 1944, but grew up in nearby Reynoldsville. His father was a carpenter and contractor, and his mother was a seamstress at a coffin factory. He attended Reynoldsville High School where he played varsity football and basketball. During the spring of his junior year, he began playing American Legion baseball for the DuBois team because neither his high school nor Reynoldsville fielded an organized baseball squad.^[1][2]

He once struck out 31 batters while pitching 14 of 17 innings in a state tournament game for DuBois. At the time, his pitching repertoire consisted of a fastball, curveball and changeup. He was brought in for a tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates alongside Bruce Dal Canton. The Pirates only signed the latter after seeing that the speed of Lyle's pitches was no match for Dal Canton's.^[2] Lyle did succeed in catching the attention of George Staller who was a scout for the Baltimore Orioles at the time. Lyle signed with the ballclub as an amateur free agent on June 17, 1964.^[1]

He spent the opening half of his first professional campaign in 1964 with the Bluefield Orioles. He appeared in seven games, three out of the bullpen. It was the first time he was used as a reliever, an idea which he suggested to manager Jim Frey. Later that season, he would earn a promotion to the Fox Cities Foxes, where he was used exclusively as a starting pitcher in six matches for the eventual Midwest League champions.^[2][3][4]

Boston Red Sox[link]

Lyle never played a game for the Baltimore Orioles. He was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the first-year draft on November 30, 1964.^[1] He progressed up the Red Sox farm system as a relief pitcher, with stops in Winston-Salem in 1965, Pittsfield in 1966 and Toronto in the first half of 1967.^[3] It was during his time at Pittsfield that he picked up the slider, a pitch that was introduced to him by Ted Williams at spring training prior to that season. Lyle recalled, "He told me it was the best pitch in baseball because it was the only pitch he couldn't hit even when he knew it was coming." The slider became the most successful pitch in his repertoire.^[1][2]

He was called up to Boston after Dennis Bennett was sold to the New York Mets on June 24, 1967.^[1] Lyle pitched two scoreless innings to close out a 4–3 Red Sox loss to the California Angels in his major-league debut at Anaheim Stadium on July 4.^[5] He recorded his first career save twelve days later on July 16 in Boston's 9–5 victory over the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park.^[6] His first win in the majors came on July 27 in the Red Sox's ten-inning 6–5 triumph at home over the Angels.^[7] He ended his rookie campaign with 27 mound appearances, a 1–2 record, five saves and a 2.28 earned run average (ERA).^[8] He was left off Boston's World Series roster due to a sore arm.^[1]

He registered 64 saves during the next four years, serving as the team's closer from 1969 to 1971.^[8]

New York Yankees[link]

During spring training prior to the 1972 season on March 22, Lyle was traded to the New York Yankees for Danny Cater and a player to be named later (Mario Guerrero). The transaction eventually proved to be one-sided as Lyle became the Yankees' bullpen ace, establishing himself as one of the best relief pitchers of the 1970s. He played a major role in the Yankees capturing three straight pennants from 1976 to 1978 and winning the World Series in the last two of those years.^[9] In 1972, he saved 35 games, an American League record at the time, and a major league record for left-handers; Ron Perranoski had set both marks in 1970, but John Hiller would surpass Lyle's total with 38 in 1973. In 1972, Lyle also became the first southpaw to collect 100 saves in the American League. He also finished 3rd in the 1972 MVP voting.

He again led the league in saves in 1976, and in 1977 became the first AL reliever ever to win the Cy Young Award. He was named an American League All-Star in 1973, 1976 and 1977. In 1976, he broke Hoyt Wilhelm's American League record of 154 career saves, and the following year eclipsed Perranoski's major league mark for left-handers of 179 career saves. Through 1977, Lyle had compiled 201 career saves, and was within range of Wilhelm's career big-league record of 227.

Much as later Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has entered games to the tune of "Enter Sandman," Lyle has also been associated with a trademark song to herald his entry into games, Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D played by Yankee Stadium organist Toby Wright.^[10]

But despite the fact Lyle had won the 1977 Cy Young Award, the Yankees signed Goose Gossage as a free agent during the 1977 off-season, and Gossage followed with an outstanding 1978 season which made Lyle expendable. On November 10, 1978, Lyle was part of a major trade that sent him, along with four other players and cash, to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Juan Beníquez and four other players, including a young Dave Righetti. During the 1978 season, Yankees teammate Graig Nettles quipped that Lyle went "from Cy Young to sayonara."^[11]

Later career[link]

In his late 30s, Lyle was unable to duplicate the great success he had previously enjoyed (perhaps due to the strain of pitching over 100 innings six times from 1969–78), and saved only 21 games for the Rangers in 1979-80. Rollie Fingers moved ahead of Lyle in career saves in early 1980, breaking Wilhelm's record just weeks before Lyle reached the mark, and Fingers eventually pushed the record beyond reach.

On September 13, 1980, Lyle was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later (Kevin Saucier).^[12] Although the Phillies won their first World Series title in 1980, Lyle did not appear in the postseason, having been acquired by the Phillies too late to qualify for the postseason.

On August 21, 1982, he was purchased by the Chicago White Sox from the Phillies. His last game was played on September 27 of that season for the White Sox, who released him on October 12. Lyle finished his 16-year career with 238 saves, a 2.88 ERA, and a record of 99-76 in 899 games pitched — all in relief. In 1985, Fingers broke his American League record for career saves; and in 1991 Righetti surpassed Lyle's major-league record for career saves by a left-hander, though Lyle still holds the AL mark of 232.

Post-playing years[link]

In 1998, he became the manager of the Somerset Patriots, a minor league team based in Bridgewater, New Jersey. He managed the team to Atlantic League pennants in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009, and has been the only manager the team has had since its inception. [2]

Clubhouse antics[link]

A noted clubhouse prankster in his playing days, Lyle was known for sneaking into the locker room during games to sit naked on birthday cakes prepared for teammates, leaving the imprint of his posterior on the frosting.^[13] In his autobiography, Lyle noted that teammate Ron Swoboda turned the tables on him by defecating on a cake which was then delivered to Lyle; Lyle said the reason why he eventually stopped his cake sitting was because of the notoriety he gained from doing it, thinking that someone might try to "put a needle in the cake" to hurt him.^[14]

Books[link]

• ISBN 0-517-53726-5, "The Bronx Zoo" (with Peter Golenbock) (1979, Crown Publishers)
• ISBN 0-553-05750-2, "The Year I Owned the Yankees: A Baseball Fantasy" (with David Fisher) (1990, Bantam Books)

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• List of Major League Baseball saves champions
• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders

References[link]

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile

Brett P. Jodie (born March 25, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played in 2001 with the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. He batted and threw right-handed.

Jodie attended the University of South Carolina. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 6th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft. He had a 0-2 record, with a 6.39 ERA, in eight games, in his one year career, for the two teams.

Jodie is currently the pitching coach for the Somerset Patriots of the independent Atlantic League.

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference

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Robert Irby Clarke (June 1, 1920 – June 11, 2005) was an American actor best known for his cult classic science fiction films of the 1950s.

Early life[link]

Robert Clarke grew up as a movie-loving kid in his native Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He decided at an early age that he wanted to be an actor, but nevertheless suffered from stage fright in his first school productions. He attended Kemper Military School and College, planning to make a career in the service, but dropped out after his asthma prevented his serving in World War II. He later attended the University of Oklahoma, where he acted in radio plays, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he appeared on stage. He did not graduate, but hitched a ride to California to try to break into the motion picture business.

Career[link]

After screen tests at 20th Century-Fox and Columbia Pictures, Clarke landed a berth as a contract player at RKO. His first credited role was The Falcon in Hollywood in 1944, then went on to play small roles in The Body Snatcher (1945), Bedlam (1945), and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947). When RKO dropped his option three years later, he began freelancing. In the 1950s, he appeared in many classic science fiction films, including The Man from Planet X (1951), Captain John Smith and Pocahontas as John Rolfe, The Incredible Petrified World (1957), The Astounding She-Monster (1957), From the Earth to the Moon (1958), and The Hideous Sun Demon (1959), which Clarke wrote, directed and produced.

Clarke revealed in his 1996 autobiography "To 'B' or Not to 'B'" (co-written by Tom Weaver) that he made The Hideous Sun Demon for less than $50,000, including $500 for the rubberized lizard suit he wore. He shot the movie over 12 weekends to get two days' use of rental camera equipment for one day's fee. The Hideous Sun Demon was featured in the 1982 movie It Came from Hollywood which starred Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Gilda Radner, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong and, with Clarke's permission, was re-dubbed into the 1983 comedy What's Up, Hideous Sun Demon (aka Revenge of the Sun Demon) featuring the voices of Jay Leno and Cam Clarke reprising his father's role. (An entire book on "The Hideous Sun Demon," "Scripts from the Crypt: 'The Hideous Sun Demon'" by Tom Weaver, was published by BearManor Media in 2011.)

From the 1950s through the 1980s, he regularly appeared on television series, including The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, Dragnet, Perry Mason, Sea Hunt, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, General Hospital, Marcus Welby, M.D., Adam-12, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Hawaii Five-O, Trapper John, M.D., Fantasy Island, Dallas, Simon & Simon, Knight Rider, Murder She Wrote, Matt Houston, Falcon Crest, Hotel, Dynasty, and dozens of others. He also played a supporting role in 1991's Haunting Fear, joining a cast which included Brinke Stevens, Jan Michael Vincent and Karen Black. The 1997 biographical documentary Lugosi: Hollywood's Dracula featured narration which he provided. Fittingly, Clarke's last appearance was in the movie The Naked Monster, a send-up of the classic science fiction films of the 1950s, in 2005.

Personal life[link]

Clarke married Alyce King of the singing King Sisters in 1956 and, a decade later, began appearing on TV on The King Family Show (1965), but not for his musical prowess. On the program he appeared in comedy sketches and sentimental readings. He was the father of noted actor and voice artist Cam Clarke.

His autobiography, To "B" or Not to "B": A Film Actor's Odyssey, was published in 1996. He died June 11, 2005 in Valley Village, California from complications of diabetes.

Selected filmography[link]

• San Quentin (1946)
• Captain John Smith and Pocahontas (1953)

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Robert Clarke at Find a Grave
• Robert Clarke at the Internet Movie Database

Roy Hilton White (born December 27, 1943 in Los Angeles, California) is a former American professional baseball player and coach.^[1] He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the New York Yankees between 1965 and 1979.

Baseball career[link]

White, a switch hitter, was named to 2 All Star teams in 1969 and in 1970. In 1971, he set an American League record for most sacrifice flies in a season with 17.^[2] White led the American League in walks in 1972 and in runs in 1976. He played on two World Series champions, in 1977 and 1978 and a third American League pennant winner in 1976.

Career statistics[link]

In a 15 year major league career, White played in 1,881 games, accumulating 1,803 hits in 6,650 at bats for a .271 career batting average along with 160 home runs, 758 runs batted in and a .360 on base percentage.^[1] He ended his career with a .988 fielding percentage. An excellent defensive player, White led American League left fielders in fielding percentage for four consecutive years between 1968 and 1971.^[1]

Coaching career and retirement[link]

After retiring from the major leagues in 1979, he spent three seasons playing in Japan for the Tokyo Giants. He served as a Yankee coach for three seasons in the mid 1980s before returning to the coaching staff at the start of 2004. He also spent time as the minor league hitting coach for the Oakland A's.

Recently, he established The Roy White Foundation, a charity aimed to help children and young adults in the New York area who would like to attend college, but do not have the financial resources to do so.

White, who is African American, resurfaced in a 2011 interview for UniWatch on Page 2 of ESPN.com about his time with the Yankees Double-A during the mid-1960's, the Columbus Confederate Yankees, since the team had a patch of the Confederate flag on the team's uniforms at the height of the civil rights movement. White himself commented that he didn't notice the patch at the time nor paid attention to its symbolism, having to deal with actual racism in the Southern United States at the time.^[3]

See also[link]

• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
• List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Roy White Foundation Website Roy White's official homepage and charity.
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

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