| Fred Clarke | |
|---|---|
 Clarke in 1903 | |
| Outfielder /Manager | |
| Born: October 3, 1872 Winterset, Iowa, U.S. | |
| Died: August 14, 1960(1960-08-14) (aged 87) Winfield, Kansas, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 30, 1894, for the Louisville Colonels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 23, 1915, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .312 |
| Hits | 2,672 |
| Home runs | 67 |
| Runs batted in | 1,015 |
| Stolen bases | 506 |
| Managerial record | 1,602–1,181 |
| Winning % | .576 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1945 |
| Election method | Old-Timers Committee |
Fred Clifford Clarke (October 3, 1872 – August 14, 1960) was an AmericanMajor League Baseball player from1894 to1915 andmanager from1897 to 1915. Clarke played for and managed both theLouisville Colonels andPittsburgh Pirates. He was aleft fielder and left-handed batter.
Of the nine pennants in Pittsburgh franchise history, Clarke was theplayer-manager for four of them. He and fellow Hall of FamersHonus Wagner andVic Willis led Pittsburgh to a victory overTy Cobb and theDetroit Tigers in the1909 World Series. Clarkebatted over .300 in 11 different seasons. His 35-gamehitting streak in1895 was the second-longest in Major League history at the time. For six years, Clarke held the Major League record for wins by a manager. In1945, Clarke was inducted into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.
Fred Clarke was born on a farm nearWinterset, Iowa. At age two, his family moved as part of acovered wagoncaravan from Iowa toKansas before relocating toDes Moines, Iowa, five years later. As a child in Des Moines, Clarke sold newspapers for theIowa State Register where his boss was future Baseball Hall of Fame member,Ed Barrow.[1] In 1892, a professional team inHastings, Nebraska sent a railroad ticket to Des Moines semiprofessional player Byron McKibbon, but McKibbon backed out and gave the ticket to Clarke instead. Clarke impressed the Hastings team and he signed his first professional contract.[2] He was in theSouthern League at age 21 and played for teams inMontgomery, Alabama, andSavannah, Georgia.[1]
Clarke was discovered in theminor leagues by Louisville part-owner,Barney Dreyfuss, and joined the Colonels in1894.[3] In his first game, he collected fivehits in fiveat bats which is still a Major League record.[3][4] In his second season, he asserted himself with a batting average of .347, 191 hits and 96runs, which were all best on the team by far. In 1897, Clarke took over managerial duties while only 24 years old. As a player, he hit a career-high .390. Only the best average ofWillie Keeler's career stopped Clarke from winning his only batting title. (For many years, Clarke's 1897 average was listed as .406, but further research led most official sources, includingMLB.com, to list it at .390.[5]) Despite Clarke's excellent hitting and the presence of fellow Hall of FamersHonus Wagner andRube Waddell, the team struggled for several years. While in Louisville, Clarke was teamed up with pitcherChick Fraser. Clarke and Fraser becamebrothers-in-law when they married sisters.[6] When the Colonels folded, Barney Dreyfuss became the owner of the Pittsburgh franchise and tapped Clarke, Wagner, Waddell,Deacon Phillippe, and others to accompany him.
In 1900, Clarke joined thePittsburgh Pirates as a player and manager, roles he would embrace until his retirement in 1915.1903 was arguably the best hitting season of Clarke's career as he led the Major Leagues inslugging average andOPS and led the National League indoubles. He finished second only to his teammate, Honus Wagner, for the National League batting title. In thefirst World Series, Clarke hit .265 butBoston'sCy Young andBill Dinneen outpitched Pittsburgh overall and won the series in eight games.
In the1909 World Series, Clarke batted only .211 but hit both of Pittsburgh's home runs and had more home runs and RBI than any player on either team. Clarke also set a record for most walks for one player in a World Series game with four in Game 7.
On August 23, 1910, Clarke recorded fourassists from the outfield in one game, tying a Major League record. The following season, his last as a regular player, 38-year-old Clarke made 10putouts in left field in one game on April 25, 1911.[1][3] Clarke played just 12 more games after 1911, the last three as the oldest active player in the majors.
Clarke finished his career with a .312 batting average and is seventh on the all-timetriples list with 220.[7] He led his team to fourNational League pennants (1901, 1902, 1903 and 1909) and oneWorld Series championship (1909). The 1902 Pirates lost only 36 games under Clarke's guidance, tying a modern-era record. In1912, Clarke passedCap Anson andFrank Selee, giving him the Major League record for wins by a manager. Clarke's record, in turn, was broken byJohn McGraw in1918. In addition to the four pennants and one World Series, Clarke managed Pittsburgh to five second-place seasons, three third-place seasons, and two 100-win seasons.
After his managing days ended in 1915, Clarke returned to his "Little Pirate Ranch" nearWinfield, Kansas, which he had purchased with adown payment during his first year in the majors.[1] He made a considerable fortune when oil was discovered on his property. In 1924, he bought a minority stake in the Pirates and was named the team's vice president. He was also allowed to sit in the dugout during games, making him managerBill McKechnie's bench coach in all but name. The Pirates won theWorld Series the following year.[8][3]
During the 1926 season, several players felt that Clarke was trying to undermine McKechnie and become manager once again. When slumping veteran (and eventual Hall of Famer)Max Carey got word that Clarke tried to pressure McKechnie into benching him, Carey demanded that Clarke be removed from the bench. He was supported byBabe Adams, the only player on the 1909 world champions still on the team, as well as another veteran,Carson Bigbee. McKechnie initially appeared to side with Carey, Adams and Bigbee, but was forced to recant rather than risk appearing to criticize the front office. A resolution calling for Clarke's removal from the bench only garnered the support of three other players. Ownership struck fast and hard; on August 13, the Pirates released Adams and Bigbee, and waived Carey. They finished 84–69, third in the league behind theSt. Louis Cardinals and theCincinnati Reds, and McKechnie lost his job.[8]
Fred Clarke was selected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in1945 as one of the first to be elected by the Old-Timers Committee. He was one of 24 original inductees into theIowa Sports Hall of Fame in 1951.[9] Clarke remained active and seemingly indestructible into his 70s. In 1947, while fishing in northernMinnesota, he and his wife were thrown into icy northernMinnesota waters by a storm, but he was back out fishing the next day. Soon after, he was nearly shot accidentally whilequail hunting. He then survived agas furnace explosion in his basement.[2] While in Winfield he started the Winfield Country Club that is still in operation to this day. Fred Clarke died in Winfield at age 87.
| Year | Votes | Percent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | BBWAA | 1 | 0.4% |
| Veterans | 9 | ||
| 1937 | 22 | 10.9% | |
| 1938 | 63 | 24.0% | |
| 1939 | 59 | 21.5% | |
| 1942 | 58 | 24.9% | |
| 1945 | BBWAA | 53 | 21.5% |
| Old-Timers | Unanimous | ||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| LOU | 1897 | 92 | 35 | 54 | .393 | 11th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LOU | 1898 | 154 | 70 | 81 | .464 | 9th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LOU | 1899 | 156 | 75 | 77 | .493 | 9th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| LOU total | 402 | 180 | 212 | .459 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| PIT | 1900 | 140 | 79 | 60 | .568 | 2nd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1901 | 140 | 90 | 49 | .647 | 1st in NL | 0 | 0 | .000 | National League Champions |
| PIT | 1902 | 142 | 103 | 36 | .741 | 1st in NL | 0 | 0 | .000 | National League Champions |
| PIT | 1903 | 141 | 91 | 49 | .650 | 1st in NL | 3 | 5 | .375 | LostWorld Series (BOS) |
| PIT | 1904 | 156 | 87 | 66 | .569 | 4th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1905 | 155 | 96 | 57 | .627 | 2nd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1906 | 154 | 93 | 60 | .608 | 3rd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1907 | 157 | 91 | 63 | .591 | 2nd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1908 | 155 | 98 | 56 | .636 | 2nd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1909 | 154 | 110 | 42 | .724 | 1st in NL | 4 | 3 | .571 | WonWorld Series (DET) |
| PIT | 1910 | 154 | 86 | 67 | .562 | 3rd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1911 | 155 | 85 | 69 | .552 | 3rd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1912 | 152 | 93 | 68 | .578 | 2nd in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1913 | 155 | 78 | 71 | .523 | 4th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1914 | 158 | 69 | 85 | .448 | 7th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT | 1915 | 156 | 73 | 81 | .474 | 5th in NL | – | – | – | – |
| PIT total | 2,424 | 1,422 | 969 | .595 | 7 | 8 | .467 | |||
| Total[10] | 2,826 | 1,602 | 1,181 | .576 | 7 | 8 | .467 | |||
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|---|---|
| National | |
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