Clint Hurdle
A baseball lifer who transformed from can't-miss prospect to a manager who led long-suffering franchises to unexpected pennants.
Born 1957 (age 69)·American baseball player and manager·Birthday: July 30·Baby Boomers
Biography
Clint Hurdle's baseball narrative is a classic American tale of resilience and adaptation. He entered the national consciousness as the fresh-faced, mustachioed phenom on the cover of Sports Illustrated, dubbed 'This Year's Phenom' by the Kansas City Royals. While his playing career as an outfielder was solid but unspectacular, spanning four teams, it was in the dugout where he carved his true legacy. Taking over the Colorado Rockies in 2002, he engineered a magical late-season surge in 2007, steering the team to its first-ever National League pennant. Later, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he ended two decades of misery, breaking a record 20-year losing streak and guiding them to three consecutive playoff appearances. Hurdle's gregarious, fatherly leadership style proved perfect for rebuilding clubhouses and convincing players to believe in turnarounds that once seemed impossible.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Clint was born in 1957, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Clint Was Born
The biggest hits of 1957
#1 Movie
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Best Picture
The Bridge on the River Kwai
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Clint's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1957Born
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1962Started school
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1970Became a teenager
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Could drive
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1975Could vote
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Turned 21
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1987Turned 30
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 40
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 50
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 60
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 69 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Managed the Colorado Rockies to their first National League pennant in 2007, culminating in a World Series appearance.
- Broke the Pittsburgh Pirates' 20-year consecutive losing streak in 2013 and led them to the playoffs that year.
- Won the National League Manager of the Year award in 2013 for the Pirates' dramatic turnaround.
Did You Know?
He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1978 as a rookie with the Kansas City Royals.
He is an avid reader and often incorporated literary quotes and themes into his managerial style.
He publicly shared his family's journey with his daughter's Prader-Willi syndrome, raising awareness for the condition.
“We're not going to talk about what we can't do. We're going to talk about what we can do.”
