Mark McGwire

Born on Oct. 1, 1963 in Pomona, Calif , Mark McGwire grew up in Claremont, a Los Angeles suburb.

A childhood illness left him with one leg shorter than the other, nevertheless, he became an amateur boxer and baseball legend.

His son Matt, the Cardinals batboy, is what he values most in life and their relationship is inseparable. Per McGwire's contract, Matthew gets a seat on team plane during his summer visits.

He has pledged $1 million a year for at least three years to start a foundation to aid abused and neglected children. He refuses to participate in events where people are charged for his autograph, unless the money goes to charity.

Before entering the Majors, Mark displayed his amazing power at USC by setting the Pac-10 conference single season record with 32 home runs. He also played on the 1984 US Olympic baseball team.

In 1987 Mark McGwire broke in to the major leagues, with the Oakland Athletics, by hitting fourty-nine home runs on his way to the rookie of the year award. Over the next several years he continued to be one of the leagues most prolific power hitters. In 1996 he led the major leagues by cracking fifty-two home runs. He topped that in 1997 when he hit fifty-eight with Oakland and St.Louis combined. Only Babe Ruth had ever had back to back fifty homer seasons.

McGwire was the first to break Roger Maris' 37-year-old record of 61 homers, and ended the 1998 season with a record 70 homeruns.

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