INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Danny Ozark, who retired after a distinguished baseball career to Vero Beach, recently was inducted posthumously with the 2010 class of the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame in Detroit.Ozark was celebrated not only for leading the Phillies as manager to three straight NL East titles in the 70’s, but also for his famous fractured English. Among the malapropisms he is connected is, “Half this game is 90 percent mental.” Ozark, who passed away at 85 last year, had been retired and living with his wife Ginny, in Vero Beach. He spent many years in the Dodgers’ organization, but earned his greatest fame while with the Phillies.Philadelphia Phillies slugger Greg Luzinski, himself a member of the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame, represented Ozark at the event. The luncheon was emceed by former Dodger Tom Paciorek, who told the assembled stories of the Vero Beach American-Polish Social Club and Polka concerts by the Jimmy Sturr Orchestra.Ozark’s wife Ginny and his children Darlene and Dwain own homes in Indian River County.
