In 1950, Marston and Mary Francis Claire moved their family to Torrance, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.
Fred graduated from Torrance High School, then obtained his bachelor's degree in journalism from San Jose State University.
[1] Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, Claire worked as a sports editor/sports writer for the Whittier Daily News, the Pomona Progress-Bulletin, and the Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram.
[2] On April 6, 1987, Dodgers General Manager Al Campanis accepted the offer to appear on ABC's news program Nightline to talk about his thoughts on the 40th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier.
On November 8, 1990, the Dodgers gave free agent outfielder Darryl Strawberry a five-year contract worth $20 million.
In need of a second baseman after a contract dispute with Jody Reed, Claire sent the talented Pedro Martínez to Montreal for Delino DeShields.
Martinez was selected to 8 All Star teams and won the Cy Young Award in 1997, 1999 and 2000 and, eventually, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
On May 15, 1998, new Dodger officials made a blockbuster trade without the involvement or knowledge of general manager Claire, a move that was unheard of in baseball at the time.
The Dodgers traded Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile to the Florida Marlins for Gary Sheffield, Charles Johnson, Jim Eisenreich and Bobby Bonilla.
Claire was furious that the new FOX officials would make such a deal as Piazza had been with the organization for over a decade and Zeile had signed for less than market value to be closer to his home in suburban Santa Clarita.
Claire, who had full control of player transactions before FOX took over, pulled no punches when he was asked his feeling on the trade.