brocolini was the son of john p. clark of glasgow (died 1874), a printer, and his wife lilias (or lillian) née morison from linton, perthshire, scotland (died 1892). he was born in county cork, ireland. after returning to scotland, the family emigrated to the united states, settling in brooklyn, new york, in 1852. young brocolini became an avid baseball fan and player. by his teens, he was also learning the printing trade from his father, who was working for the brooklyn publishing firm harper & brothers. he also developed an interest in singing, eventually studying with antonio bagioli, among others.