A native of Buffalo, New York, Ozark signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as a teenager and spent over three decades in the Dodger organization. He was a minor league first baseman who spent his entire playing career (1942; 1946–61; 1963) in the Dodgers\' farm system. The 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 195 lb (88 kg) Ozark, who batted and threw right-handed, hit over 200 home runs during his minor league career, including two 30+ homer seasons. In 1956, he became a playing manager with Brooklyn\'s Class B Wichita Falls Spudders farm club of the Big State League, and rose through their system in succeeding years all the way to the Triple-A level, winning a division championship with the 1963 Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League.\n', '

In 1965, he came to the Major Leagues — and the Los Angeles Dodgers — as a coach for Walter Alston. Ozark served eight years (1965–72) on Alston\'s staff, coaching at first and third bases and in the dugout, until his hiring as manager by the last-place Phillies in October 1972.\n', '

The Phillies showed steady improvement in Ozark\'s first three seasons, and in 1976 broke through by winning 101 games, a club record at the time. The Philadelphia club featured a core of players led by two future Hall of Famers: third baseman Mike Schmidt and left-handed pitcher Steve Carlton. But in the 1976 NLCS, they faced one of the most powerful teams of the era, the defending world champion Cincinnati Reds, and they dropped the Series in three straight games, as the Reds went on to a second successive title.\n', '

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