John Clarkson vs Amos Rusie: Career Stats Comparison
John Clarkson (1882–1894) and Amos Rusie (1889–1901) — both came up during the 1880s, so the matchup is a direct one. John Clarkson compiled 328 wins and 1,978 strikeouts; Amos Rusie put up 246 wins and 1,950 strikeouts. The numbers below run them through identical career and rate-stat lenses.
John Clarkson
Amos Rusie
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate. Cells highlighted in green mark the player who leads that line. For pitchers, lower ERA, WHIP, and BB/9 lead; higher K/9 leads.
| Statistic | John Clarkson | Amos Rusie |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | 328 | 246 |
| Losses | 178 | 174 |
| Games | 531 | 463 |
| Games Started | 518 | 427 |
| Complete Games | 485 | 393 |
| Shutouts | 37 | 30 |
| Saves | 5 | 5 |
| Strikeouts | 1,978 | 1,950 |
| Walks | 1,191 | 1,707 |
| Hits Allowed | 4,295 | 3,389 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 159 | 75 |
| Innings Pitched | 4,536 | 3,778 |
| ERA | 2.81 | 3.07 |
| WHIP | 1.21 | 1.35 |
| K/9 | 3.92 | 4.64 |
| BB/9 | 2.36 | 4.07 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Amos Rusie leads John Clarkson 43,707 to 36,438 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (4,371 vs 2,803 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by ERA among qualified workloads (120+ innings).
John Clarkson — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)
Amos Rusie — top 3 seasons by ERA (lower is better)
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, John Clarkson leads in wins, strikeouts, ERA, and WHIP, while Amos Rusie owns K/9. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to John Clarkson. Note that PIV actually grades Amos Rusie ahead, which means John Clarkson's edge is partly volume. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.