Clay Carroll was one of nine children of a cotton mill worker, who died in 1966. Growing up in Clanton, Alabama, Carroll went to school and also worked many jobs, including as a curb-service boy at a restaurant, at the cotton mill where his father worked, and loading watermelons onto trucks.\n', '

Carroll was signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent in 1961, and made his major league debut at age 23 on September 2, 1964, hurling two shutout innings against the Cardinals.\n', '

Carroll was traded to Cincinnati on June 11, 1968, in a deal that sent starting pitcher Milt Pappas to Atlanta. Carroll, nicknamed "Hawk" due to his profile likeness of the bird, was selected to the National League All-Star team in 1971 and 1972. He led the National League in saves in 1972 with 37, and finished tied for fifth in the Cy Young Award voting. The 37 saves stood as a National League record until Bruce Sutter broke it in 1984 with 45 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals.\n', '

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