James Patrick Brosnan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on October 24, 1929. He signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs before his 17th birthday, but did not reach the big leagues until 1954.
Between 1951 and 1953, his career was interrupted by stateside service in the Army. During his career, he was a pitcher for several baseball teams including the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Chicago White Sox.
He kept a diary of his experience as a pitcher during his first nine years in the major leagues. The diary was published as The Long Season in 1960. In 1961, he was a relief pitcher for the Reds team that won the National League pennant. His second book, Pennant Race, was an account of that season. After his retirement from baseball, he wrote sports books for children and wrote articles for several publications including The Times. He died from an infection he developed while recovering from a stroke on June 29, 2014 at the age of 84.
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