He was the fourth manager to reach the Championship Series (National or American) in three straight seasons and the first to lose all of them (Whitey Herzog would join him on the same day as Ozark).

As a coach, Ozark was a member of the Championship teams of the 1965 and 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers, under Hall of Fame managers Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda.

His playing career as a minor league first baseman lasted all or portions of 18 seasons over 22 years (1942; 1946–61; 1963) and was interrupted by United States Army service during World War II, where he saw combat at The Battle of the Bulge.

[2] 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.

He succeeded Frank Lucchesi, who had been fired four months earlier in July, and general manager Paul Owens, who served in the interim for the remainder of the 1972 campaign — and then hired Ozark.

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.