Lou Brock - Awards, Honors and Life After Baseball

Awards, Honors and Life After Baseball

Brock received numerous awards during his playing career. In January 1968 he was named the recipient of the Babe Ruth Award as the outstanding player in the 1967 World Series. Brock was honored with The Sporting News Player of the Year Award in 1974. In the wake of his record setting 118 stolen bases during the 1974 season, Brock was named the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award in March 1975, for best exemplifying the game of baseball both on and off the field. In 1977 he was awarded the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award as the player who best exemplified Lou Gehrig's ability and character. In 1978, the National League announced that its annual stolen base leader would receive the Lou Brock Award, making Brock the first active player to have an award named after him.

In October 1979, Brock was named the National League's Comeback Player of the Year. In December 1979, he was named as the recipient of the Hutch Award, given to the player who best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire of Fred Hutchinson. Also in 1979, the St. Louis Cardinals retired Brock's jersey number 20, an honor that had previously been bestowed upon only three other Cardinals players; Stan Musial, Dizzy Dean and Bob Gibson. In 1983 he was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Brock was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. Brock was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame in May 1994 and, in 1995 he was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was ranked Number 58 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

After retiring from baseball, Brock prospered as a businessman, especially as a florist in the St. Louis, Missouri area. He briefly worked as a color analyst for Monday Night Baseball on ABC in 1980, and for Chicago White Sox telecasts the following year. Brock still regularly appears at Cardinals games. When he steps onto the field he is always greeted by a loud, low-pitched cheer of "Loooouuuuuuuuuuuu". This may sound like "Boooo" to those unfamiliar with the team, and the town's love for Brock. He also lent his name to a unique rainhat, shaped like a miniature umbrella and to be worn at games during showers in lieu of retreating to the concourse. The product was called the "Brockabrella".

Brock and his wife are both ordained ministers serving at Abundant Life Fellowship Church in St. Louis and, he is a director on the board of YTB International. Brock's speed was referenced in the song Check the Rhime by the pioneering "jazz rap" hip-hop ensemble A Tribe Called Quest. On December 5, 2006 he was recognized for his accomplishments on and off of the field when he received the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. Brock is the father of former University of Southern California Trojan and National Football League player Lou Brock Jr.