Because an original Timber Rattler and a frequent visitor to Fox Cities Stadium is the main subject:
James Clifford grew up dreaming of a long career in professional sports.
He has realized that dream, though not as he had envisioned.
Clifford, a star linebacker at the University of Washington who led the Pacific-10 Conference in tackles as a sophomore in 1989, figured he would play in the NFL. Instead, he is entering his 16th year in the Mariners organization, and his 10th as the organization's minor league strength and conditioning coordinator.
"When I didn't get drafted (in the NFL), I had to re-evaluate what I wanted to do," Clifford said. Baseball was an obvious fallback. He was drafted in the 19th round out of a Seattle high school by the Mariners in 1988, and again four years later--this time in the 24th round--after aa strong senior season as a first baseman at Washington.
Clifford played for six years in the organization before switching to his current job. Clifford, who sets up an offseason workout program for all of the system's minor leaguers, said his interest in the field began when he suffered a serious knee injury in 1990.
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