Gosger hopes his namesake can break through in Pa. Derby

From the other end of the phone, 82-year-old Jim Gosger sounded like a rookie, which, more than a half century ago, he was.

“I’m running?” Gosger said with a joy of a child. “Saturday? Oh, my God. I can’t believe it. I would love to be able to be there.”

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There is Parx, where Saturday they are running the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby. Gosger, of course, isn’t personally running, but there are 10 horses gathering to compete in the track’s signature race for 3-year-old colts. One of them is a handsome gray colt named Gosger and, yes, he is named for Jim Gosger, an obscure journeyman ballplayer from the history of Major League Baseball.

Jim Gosger will not be making the 500-mile trip from his home in Port Huron, Michigan – he lives in the same house he grew up in – to Bensalem, Pennsylvueania. But he’ll be watching the colt carrying his name and he’ll be yelling, hollering and screaming with a handful of friends, pleading at his television set to get Gosger the horse home first.

Jim Gosger played in the major leagues in the 1960s and 1970s and spent time with the Boston Red Sox, Kansas City/Oakland Athletics, Seattle Pilots, Montreal Expos and New York Mets.

The part-time outfielder had a career batting average of .226. 

He hit 30 career home runs, one of them off New York Yankees Hall of Famer Whitey Ford on the last day of the 1965 season while he was with the Red Sox.

He was a teammate of Willie Mays in New York and Reggie Jackson in Oakland. 

He was the last batter to ever face the legendary Satchel Paige.

And the New York Mets once declared him dead in front of a full house at Citi Field.

More on that later. 

Gosger the man is focusing on Gosger the horse this weekend.

The honor of having his name bestowed on a high-powered Thoroughbred came about because of a woman who, when she was 9 years old, was a diehard fan of the Miracle Mets of 1969. Her name is Donna Clarke and, back in the day, she knew everything and anything about the Mets.

About nine years ago, Clarke said, she became a Facebook friend with Gosger, after friends of hers had done the same. Although they’d never met, she began corresponding with him. She knew he had played for the Mets, so …

The Clarke family, from New Jersey, breeds and owns Thoroughbred racehorses. Donna’s husband Harvey, who ran the family’s racing operations, passed away in 2019. Her son Scott is in charge of the 30-something horses owned by Harvey Clarke Racing Stables.

In 2023, the gray horse who would become Gosger was born.

Scott wanted to name him Boswell, after his mother’s favorite ‘69 Met, second baseman Ken Boswell. 

“I had a crush on Ken Boswell,” Donna Clarke said with a laugh, recalling her 9-year-old self.

That name, however, was taken. Then she thought of her Facebook pal. 

“He is such a nice man,” Donna Clarke said. “When my husband passed away, he called me, which was nice. I met a bunch of baseball players in my day, but he seemed to be the nicest of all. He calls me and we talk. Jim is my friend.”

Jim Gosger watched Gosger just miss winning the Preakness, finishing second by a half-length to Journalism and then the saw the same result in the Haskell Stakes (G1).

Brendan Walsh, Gosger’s trainer, knows the connection between man and horse.

“It’s a cool name,” Walsh said. “I don’t know anything about baseball, but I do love sports. He should try and come and meet him. We will have to try and arrange it.”

Gosger lives alone in Michigan with his dog and five cats. His wife, Kathy, passed away on New Year’s Day in 2024. His legs aren’t as good as they used to be and it’s tough to get around. But he can talk baseball all day long.

Stories about being tutored in the minor leagues by the great Ted Williams. Getting caught up in the ivy in the outfield wall at famous Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Getting the chance to hit against the immortal Satchel Paige.

In September of 1965, the Red Sox were in Kanas City and A’s owner Charlie Finley brought the 59-year-old Paige out of retirement as part of a publicity stunt. To everyone’s amazement, he threw three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, a double by Carl Yastrzemski.

Gosger was the last player to face him, and he grounded out. Paige never pitched again.

“He probably threw in the mid 80s, everything at the knees,” Gosger said. “I made the last out and I was running to get my glove, and he grabbed me by the arm – scared the hell out of me – and he said, ‘good luck, young man.’ What a thrill that was!”

Gosger kicked around the big leagues, found himself with the New York Mets for five weeks in 1969. He played in 10 games, got 15 at-bats and was used mostly as a defensive replacement. He did not make the playoff roster and was not part of the Mets’ World Series upset of the Baltimore Orioles.

What irked Gosger then – and does to this day – is that he did not receive a World Series ring. The final insult came 50 years later when the Mets honored the surviving members of that team. 

Gosger was memorialized as part of a video tribute on the stadium scoreboard recognizing those Miracle Mets who had passed away. Gosger was very much alive and was livid when he found out.

Late that night, an official from the Mets called him to apologize.

“I told him to (bleep) off and hung up,” Gosger said, still smarting from the insult. “That was terrible.”

Mostly, Gosger’s mind is a scrapbook of memories of years gone by of his days of summer. 

At his advanced age, he is hopeful of more memories to come from the four-legged Gosger.

“My dream right now is that I can go and put my arms around him and hug him before I die,” Gosger said. “I am hoping I can do that sometime. I just have a love for that animal and a love for Donna and all that she has done for me.”