Fred Clarke

Position: Leftfielder
Bats: Left  •  Throws: Right
5-10, 165lb (178cm, 74kg)
Born: October 3, 1872 in Winterset, IA us
Died: August 14, 1960  in Winfield, KS
Buried: St. Mary Cemetery, Winfield, KS
Debut: June 30, 1894 (1,794th in major league history)
Last Game: September 23, 1915
vs. BSN 2 AB, 1 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1945. (Voted by Old Timers Committee)
No induction ceremony in Cooperstown held (until 2013).
View Fred Clarke’s Page at the Baseball Hall of Fame (plaque, photos, videos).
Full Name: Fred Clifford Clarke
Nicknames: Cap
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Relatives: Brother of Josh Clarke; Brother-In-Law of Chick Fraser

Nine Players Who Debuted 1894

Bobby Wallace
Fred Clarke
Jesse Tannehill
Fred Tenney
Kip Selbach
John Anderson
Win Mercer
Jimmy Callahan
Mike Grady

The Fred Clarke Teammate Team

C:   Chief Zimmer
1B: Dots Miller
2B: Claude Ritchey
3B: Billy Clingman
SS: Honus Wagner
LF: Ginger Beaumont
CF: Max Carey
RF: Tommy Leach
SP: Deacon Phillippe
SP: Sam Leever
SP: Babe Adams
SP: Vic Willis
RP: Rube Waddell
M:   Billy Barnie

Notable Events and Chronology

Sort bySearch Days, Events, Players Title (A - Z)Date (Newest)

August 21, 1882

 Fred Clarke breaks up Jim McCormick’s no-hitter in bottom of the 9th‚ but Cleveland defeats Philadelphia‚ 6-0.

June 30, 1894

Future Hall of Famer Fred Clarke sets a record by going 5 for 5 with a double in his first major league game

June 25, 1903

At Boston’s Southend Grounds, Boston Beaneater Wiley Piatt the 28 year-old southpaw, known as Ironman to his teammates becomes the only 20th century pitcher to lose two complete games in one day, falling to Pittsburgh, 1 – 0 and 5 – 3. Piatt allows 14 hits in the two games while striking out 12. Pirate player-manager Fred Clarke takes a pitch in the stomach, and will take a couple more hits tomorrow. Pittsburgh now leads the National League by 2 1/2 games.

June 26, 1903

Before the start of the Giants-Pirates showdown, Giants catcher Frank Bowerman starts a fight with Pirates player-manager Fred Clarke in the Giants office. While the cause of the brawl is unclear, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss reports it to the National League offices and Bowerman is fined $100. Clarke gets no fine, but does take home a black eye. Christy Mathewson then pitches his 5th victory over Pittsburgh, defeating them, 8 – 2, and beating Sam Leever. Sam Mertes, who will lead the National League in doubles and RBIs, doubles home three runs in the 5th.

August 22, 1906

The Pirates wak off with 2-1 win vs the Giants and Christy Mathewson

September 25, 1907

Pittsburgh’s Honus Wagner steals four bases, including second base, third, and home in the 2nd inning against the Giants. Not to be outdone, his teammate Fred Clarke also swipes four bases for the only time in his career.

July 10, 1908

At Pittsburgh, the Giants (43-30) take a 4 – 0 lead, but the Pirates claw back on back-to-back triples by Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke. Tommy Leach wins it for the Bucs with a 9th-inning home run to deep center.

December 21, 1911

In the New York Evening Journal‚ 80s player-manager Sam Crane picks his all-time list

October 2, 1912

Pirates game thrown out on protest for batting out of turn

May 30, 1913

John McGraw joins Fred Clarke, Cap Anson, Frank Selee and Connie Mack as managers who have won 1,000 games.

September 23, 1915

Before the game at Pittsburgh, manager Fred Clarke is presented with a grandfather clock and a red leather binder signed by thousands of well-wishers. Clarke plays four innings in left field and goes 1 for 2. After reaching first, Clarke is replaced by Max Carey, and the out-going manager exits to thunderous applause. Pittsburgh wins, 8 – 4, over the Braves.

July 10, 1945

Ten new members are inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame

February 3, 1951

Grand party to celebrate the national league being 75 years old

August 14, 1960

Hall of Famer Fred Clarke dies at the age of 87

August 14, 2021

All Time Greatest Left-fielders

Biography

The history of Pittsburgh baseball would not be the same without Fred Clarke. When the National League paired down to eight teams in 1900, Clarke led his best players from Louisville to Steeltown, setting the foundation for a decade of success in Pittsburgh. He managed the Bucs to the first three modern NL pennants, four pennants in all, and finished second five times. He was no slouch as a player either, earning Hall of Fame election due to his batting (career .312), baserunning (506 steals), and tremendous throwing arm. He batted in front of Honus Wagner, forming one of the most feared duos in baseball in the early 20th century.

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Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Teams Fred Clarke Managed

Louisville Colonels (1897-1899)
Pittsburgh Pirates (1900-1915)

Best Season: 1903
Despite missing time due to injuries, Clarke led the National League in slugging (.532), and OPS (.946) in 1903, as he led the Pirates to the first modern World Series. He also paced the league in doubles (32), and finished second to teammate Honus Wagner in the batting race (.351). Another season of note for Clarke include 1897 when he batted .390 (losing the crown to Willie Keeler) and finished in the top five in OBP, SLG, OPS, hits, and total bases.

Description
Fred Clarke was one of those people who were born without the ability to kiss anyone’s ass. He would tell you exactly what he thought, even if you didn’t ask. As a result of that character trait, Clarke had more than his share of run-ins with teammates and opposing players. As a manager, he especially had little patience with pitchers who couldn’t get the ball over the plate.

Where He Played
Left field (more than 2,100 games).

As a Manager
Clarke won more games (1,602), managed more games (2,829), and has the highest winning percentage (.576) of any Pirate manager.

Born
Fred Clifford Clarke was born on October 3, 1872, in Winterset, IA.

Nicknames
Cap

Similar Players
Roberto Clemente

Related Players
Honus Wagner, Deacon Phillippe, Tommy Leach, Claude Ritchey, Max Carey

Post-Season Appearances
1903 World Series
1909 World Series

Milestones
Had Clarke played 20 years later, during the offensive boom of the 1920s and 1930s, he most assuredly would have reached 3,000 hits. He collected 2,672 during his career, spent primarily in the dead ball era.

Notes
According to research done by SABR member Maria Vaccaro, Fred Clarke wore “smoked glasses hinged to bill of cap” in 1911 or about that time. It would be one of the earliest documented cases of a player using “flip-down” sunglasses on the field in the majors.

Hitting Streaks
35 games (1895)

Replaced
As a rookie in 1894 with Louisville, 21-year old Clarke replaced Larry Twitchell in left field.

Replaced By
21-year old Max Carey worked his way into left field in 1911 part-time, and by 1912 full-time. Carey went on to a Hall of Fame career, giving the Pirates a Hall of Famer in left field for more than 20 years in a row. Later, Clarke was instrumental in getting rid of Carey, with whom he had several disagreements with.

Best Strength as a Player
The measure of a power-hitter in Clarke’s day was the number of triples he hit. Clarke clubbed 220 and finished in the top ten in that category 11 times. He was a very good hitter with power.

Largest Weakness as a Player
He was somewhat injury-prone.

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