Watson Clark

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1924-1937)

Watson Clark was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1924 to 1937 for the Cleveland Guardians, the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the New York Giants, a span of 14 seasons. Across 355 career appearances, he went 111-97 with a 3.66 ERA and 643 strikeouts. He also batted .196 with 1 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 23337.8.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 111–97
ERA 3.66
WHIP 1.30
SO 643
Pitcher PIV 23337.8
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
6'0" / 175 lb
Born
5/16/1902 in St. Joseph, LA, USA
Died
3/4/1972 in Clearwater, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1924-05-28
Last Game
1937-05-09

Full name: William Watson Clark

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Career Pitching Statistics

Watson Clark — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
111 97 355 206 91 14 16 1747.1 1,897 711 86 383 643 3.66 23337.8

Career ERA 3.66 vs. league average 4.28 across their career seasons — 14.5% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Watson Clark Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1924 CLE AL 1 3 12 1 0 0 0 25.2 38 20 14 6 7.01 4.13 (-70%) -309.0
1927 BRO NL 7 2 27 3 1 0 2 73.2 74 19 19 32 2.32 4.08 (+43%) 1374.2
1928 BRO NL 12 9 40 19 10 2 3 194.2 193 58 50 85 2.68 4.13 (+35%) 4361.5
1929 BRO NL 16 19 41 36 19 3 1 279.0 295 116 71 140 3.74 4.60 (+19%) 6003.2
1930 BRO NL 13 13 44 24 9 1 6 200.0 209 93 38 81 4.18 4.80 (+13%) 692.0
1931 BRO NL 14 10 34 28 16 3 1 233.1 243 83 52 96 3.20 4.10 (+22%) 5389.0
1932 BRO NL 20 12 40 36 19 2 0 273.0 282 106 49 99 3.49 4.13 (+15%) 4816.1
1933 BRO NL 2 4 11 8 4 1 1 50.2 61 27 6 14 4.80 3.86 (-24%) 578.2
1933 NY1 NL 3 4 16 5 0 0 0 44.0 58 23 11 11 4.70 3.86 (-22%) -285.6
1934 NY1 NL 1 2 5 4 1 0 0 18.2 23 14 5 6 6.75 4.29 (-57%) -1200.3
1934 BRO NL 2 0 17 1 0 0 0 25.1 40 15 9 10 5.33 4.29 (-24%) 430.6
1935 BRO NL 13 8 33 25 11 1 0 207.0 215 76 28 35 3.30 4.35 (+24%) 2075.5
1936 BRO NL 7 11 33 16 1 1 2 120.0 162 59 28 28 4.42 4.59 (+4%) -587.6
1937 BRO NL 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2.1 4 2 3 0 7.71 — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 111 97 355 206 91 14 16 1,747.1 1,897 711 383 643 3.66 — 23,338

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Watson Clark — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
357 598 49 117 11 3 1 38 0 33 81 .196 .238 .229 .467 -3,035

Career AVG .196 vs. league average .281 across their career seasons — 30.4% below league average.

Career OBP .238 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — 30.8% below league average.

Career SLG .229 vs. league average .398 across their career seasons — 42.5% below league average.

Career OPS .467 vs. league average .742 across their career seasons — 37.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Watson Clark Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1924 CLE AL 12 9 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 .222 — — — — 0.0
1927 BRO NL 27 21 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 .143 — — — — 0.0
1928 BRO NL 40 66 4 10 1 2 0 3 0 0 10 .152 .280 (-46%) .342 (-56%) .395 (-43%) .737 (-49%) -542.8
1929 BRO NL 42 97 10 16 0 0 0 4 0 5 14 .165 .289 (-43%) .353 (-42%) .415 (-60%) .769 (-52%) -840.4
1930 BRO NL 44 68 5 14 2 1 1 9 0 3 7 .206 .293 (-30%) .354 (-32%) .429 (-28%) .784 (-30%) -363.8
1931 BRO NL 34 84 8 21 2 0 0 5 0 7 7 .250 .276 (-9%) .338 (-9%) .388 (-29%) .726 (-20%) -251.1
1932 BRO NL 40 97 9 21 1 0 0 5 0 6 13 .216 .275 (-21%) .335 (-22%) .391 (-42%) .726 (-33%) -493.3
1933 BRO NL 11 13 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .154 — — — — 0.0
1933 NY1 NL 16 11 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .273 — — — — 0.0
1934 NY1 NL 5 6 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .167 — — — — 0.0
1934 BRO NL 17 8 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .125 — — — — 0.0
1935 BRO NL 34 79 5 14 2 0 0 8 0 5 10 .177 .279 (-37%) .342 (-34%) .399 (-49%) .742 (-42%) -543.6
1936 BRO NL 33 39 2 9 1 0 0 2 0 1 6 .231 — — — — 0.0
1937 BRO NL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 14 seasons 357 598 49 117 11 3 1 38 0 33 81 .196 — — — — -3,035

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (712 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Watson Clark — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1782792357117.204
Away1793192660023.188

Pitching — Home / Away

Watson Clark — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home178894.19423561913713.58
Away177852.09523561902753.76

Last 10 Games — Batting

Watson Clark — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1937-05-09 BROSTLL 000000000
1937-04-29 BRONY1L 000000000
1936-09-05 BROPHIW 000000000
1936-08-28 BROCINL 000000000
1936-08-23 BROPHIW 000000000
1936-08-18 BRONY1L 200000000
1936-08-11 BRONY1L 000000000
1936-08-10 BRONY1W 000000000
1936-08-04 BROPHIW 302000100
1936-08-02 BROCINL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Watson Clark — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1937-05-09 BROSTL — 1.1332200
1937-04-29 BRONY1 — 1.0100000
1936-09-05 BROPHI — 1.1100000
1936-08-28 BROCIN — 0.2000000
1936-08-23 BROPHI SV 1.0100000
1936-08-18 BRONY1 — 6.01152301
1936-08-11 BRONY1 — 2.0533110
1936-08-10 BRONY1 — 2.0321200
1936-08-04 BROPHI W 5.2711210
1936-08-02 BROCIN — 1.0000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Watson Clark — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 355 0 54 384 11 12

Season-by-Season Fielding

Watson Clark — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1924 CLE P 12 0 1 5 0 0
1927 BRO P 27 0 3 17 1 0
1928 BRO P 40 0 1 49 1 1
1929 BRO P 41 0 8 57 2 3
1930 BRO P 44 0 4 43 1 2
1931 BRO P 34 0 3 37 0 1
1932 BRO P 40 0 9 63 3 1
1933 BRO P 11 0 1 10 0 0
1933 NY1 P 16 0 1 14 0 0
1934 NY1 P 5 0 3 4 0 0
1934 BRO P 17 0 2 3 0 0
1935 BRO P 33 0 11 54 2 3
1936 BRO P 33 0 6 27 1 1
1937 BRO P 2 0 1 1 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Watson Clark Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 355

Awards & Honors

Watson Clark — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1932 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

College History

Watson Clark — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Mississippi College Clinton MS 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924

Award Voting History

Watson Clark — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1931 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 3.0 80 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Watson Clark (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bill Swift
    95-82, 3.58 ERA
  2. 97
    Jim Barr
    101-112, 3.56 ERA
  3. 96
    Jack Scott
    103-109, 3.85 ERA
  4. 93
    Bill Lee
    119-90, 3.62 ERA
  5. 92
    Vern Ruhle
    67-88, 3.73 ERA
  6. 91
    Hal Brown
    85-92, 3.81 ERA

Watson Clark: the record in brief

Between the debut on May 28, 1924 and the final game on May 9, 1937, Watson Clark built the record summarized on this page. By club, Clark's seasons break down as the Cleveland Indians (1924), the Brooklyn Robins (1927 to 1931), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1932 to 1937), and the New York Giants (1933 through 1934). Born on May 16, 1902, in St. Joseph, LA, USA, Clark is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw left-handed. The bio gives 6-foot-0 and 175 pounds. Clark's death is recorded on March 4, 1972, in Clearwater, FL, USA. The bio lists the given name William Watson.

Clark went 111-97 with a 3.66 ERA in 355 games, 206 of them starts. The same table counts 643 strikeouts, 91 complete games, 14 shutouts, and 16 saves. The leagues Clark pitched in allowed 4.28 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 14.5% better than average. Clark won 20 games in 1932, the most of any season listed.

Frequently Asked Questions about Watson Clark

What years did Watson Clark play?
Watson Clark played in Major League Baseball from 1924 to 1937.
Was Watson Clark a pitcher?
Yes. Watson Clark pitched in the major leagues, recording 111 wins and 643 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Watson Clark hit?
Watson Clark hit 1 career home run with 117 hits.
What teams did Watson Clark play for?
Watson Clark played for 3 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1924), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1927–1937), and the New York Giants (1933–1934).
What were Watson Clark's career stats?
In 355 games, Watson Clark went 111-97 with a 3.66 ERA, 643 strikeouts, 1,747.1 innings pitched, and 16 saves. At the plate he had 117 hits and 1 home runs.
What position did Watson Clark play?
Watson Clark played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Watson Clark and how much did he weigh?
Watson Clark was listed at 6 feet and 175 pounds.
What was Watson Clark's career ERA?
Watson Clark finished with a 3.66 career ERA, going 111-97 with 643 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Watson Clark have?
Watson Clark recorded 643 career strikeouts.
Is Watson Clark in the Hall of Fame?
No. Watson Clark has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.