I was born in Chicago, IL in November of 1950 and was drafted with the number one pick for Philadelphia in 1968. Being 6'1 and 220 lbs, I was a real big guy and turned down numerous football scholarships to play baseball.
I was a first baseman in the minors, but they moved me to left field where I became regular for the Phillies. I missed out on the "Rookie of the Year" award in 1972 (.281 avg, 18 Hr, 68 Rbi, and 158 H, because of a rule stating that a player is not eligible for an award if he has over 100 major league AB in the previous season (I had exactly 100 in '71).
A natural Home Run hitter, I slammed two tape measure Hr's at the Vet in '72; one was a 500-foot blast off the top of the Liberty Bell (off Burt Hooten of the Cubs), and the other hit the Game in Progress Scoreboard in left center.
I played for 15 years in the majors from '70-'80 with the Phillies and from '81-'84 with the White Sox (where I was a DH). I had a lifetime batting average of .276, hit 307 Hr's, and knocked in 1128 Rbi's. I played in five League Championship Series (4 with the Phillies and one in '83 with the White Sox), but only made it to the World Series once in 1980 (we beat the Royals).
Being "Strong like Bull" I went for the long ball many a time, and because of that also struck out over 90 times in a season for just about half of my major league career (seven times).
