Tommy Clarke

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1909-1918)

Tommy Clarke was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1909 to 1918 for the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs, a span of 10 seasons. In 700 career games, he hit .265 with 453 hits, 6 home runs, and 191 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,458.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .265
HR 6
RBI 191
H 453
OPS .709
PIV 2,458
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 175 lb
Born
5/9/1888 in New York, NY, USA
Died
8/14/1945 in Corona, NY, USA
MLB Debut
1909-08-26
Last Game
1918-08-21

Full name: Thomas Aloysius Clarke

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Career Batting Statistics

Tommy Clarke — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
700 1,708 169 453 66 37 6 191 42 216 183 .265 .351 .358 .709 2,458

Career AVG .265 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .351 vs. league average .321 across their career seasons — +9.6% above league average.

Career SLG .358 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — +6.8% above league average.

Career OPS .709 vs. league average .656 across their career seasons — +8.1% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Tommy Clarke 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
1909 CIN NL 18 52 8 13 3 2 0 10 3 6 6 .250 .244 (+2%) .306 (+7%) .312 (+23%) .618 (+15%) 102.2
1910 CIN NL 64 151 19 42 6 5 1 20 1 19 17 .278 .249 (+11%) .317 (+16%) .326 (+24%) .644 (+20%) 522.8
1911 CIN NL 86 203 20 49 6 7 1 25 4 25 22 .241 .266 (-9%) .336 (-3%) .356 (-1%) .693 (-2%) -61.6
1912 CIN NL 72 146 19 41 7 2 0 22 9 28 14 .281 .268 (+4%) .335 (+19%) .358 (-1%) .694 (+9%) 355.3
1913 CIN NL 114 330 29 87 11 8 1 38 2 39 40 .264 .259 (+1%) .325 (+6%) .345 (+3%) .670 (+4%) 310.4
1914 CIN NL 113 313 30 82 13 7 2 25 6 31 30 .262 .255 (+3%) .322 (+3%) .339 (+8%) .661 (+6%) 309.4
1915 CIN NL 96 226 23 65 7 2 0 21 7 33 22 .288 .250 (+15%) .318 (+20%) .332 (+1%) .651 (+10%) 549.5
1916 CIN NL 78 177 10 42 10 1 0 17 8 24 20 .237 .248 (-5%) .314 (+5%) .326 (-7%) .640 (-1%) 21.9
1917 CIN NL 58 110 11 32 3 3 1 13 2 11 12 .291 .248 (+17%) .312 (+15%) .323 (+24%) .635 (+20%) 348.2
1918 CHN NL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 10 seasons 700 1,708 169 453 66 37 6 191 42 216 183 .265 — — — — 2,458

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 (705 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Tommy Clarke — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home36081289222099.273
Away34589580233699.260

Last 10 Games — Batting

Tommy Clarke — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1918-08-21 CHCNY1W 000000000
1917-09-11 CINCHCL 100000001
1917-09-11 CINCHCL 100000000
1917-09-09 CINSTLL 100000100
1917-09-03 CINPITL 100000000
1917-09-02 CINPITL 100000000
1917-08-31 CINCHCL 000000010
1917-08-29 CINBSNW 101000100
1917-08-25 CINPHIL 100000000
1917-08-24 CINPHIL 000000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Tommy Clarke — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 1 0 5 0 1 1
C 576 53 2254 625 73 50

Season-by-Season Fielding

Tommy Clarke — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1909 CIN C 17 16 85 26 4 1
1910 CIN C 56 37 217 52 8 3
1911 CIN 1B 1 0 5 0 1 1
1911 CIN C 81 0 313 74 12 10
1912 CIN C 63 0 239 58 5 7
1913 CIN C 100 0 378 131 11 5
1914 CIN C 106 0 448 132 16 12
1915 CIN C 72 0 294 71 7 7
1916 CIN C 51 0 187 58 9 3
1917 CIN C 29 0 93 23 1 2
1918 CHN C 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Tommy Clarke Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 576
First Base 1

Award Voting History

Tommy Clarke — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1914 Most Valuable Player NL 22th 1.0 64 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Tommy Clarke (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Art Wilson
    .261 avg, 24 HR
  2. 95
    Jack Lapp
    .263 avg, 5 HR
  3. 93
    Patsy Gharrity
    .262 avg, 20 HR
  4. 90
    Larry Brown
    .261 avg, 14 HR
  5. 90
    Les Nunamaker
    .268 avg, 2 HR
  6. 88
    Frankie Pytlak
    .282 avg, 7 HR

Tommy Clarke: the record in brief

Between the debut on August 26, 1909 and the final game on August 21, 1918, Tommy Clarke built the record summarized on this page. The season rows list, in order, the Cincinnati Reds (1909 to 1917) and the Chicago Cubs (1918). Born on May 9, 1888, in New York, NY, USA, Clarke is listed as a catcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 175 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. Clarke's death is recorded on August 14, 1945, in Corona, NY, USA. Tommy Clarke was the playing name; the full given name is Thomas Aloysius.

Clarke's career batting table shows 700 games, 1,708 at bats and 453 hits, a .265 average; the totals also include 6 home runs, 191 RBI, and 42 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .351 and .358 give Clarke a career OPS of .709. Clarke hit .265 while the league hit .255 over the same span, a figure close to average. 1913 produced Clarke's most hits, 87 of them for the Cincinnati Reds. The RBI column peaks at 38 in 1913.

Frequently Asked Questions about Tommy Clarke

What years did Tommy Clarke play?
Tommy Clarke played in Major League Baseball from 1909 to 1918.
Was Tommy Clarke a pitcher?
No. Tommy Clarke was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Tommy Clarke hit?
Tommy Clarke hit 6 career home runs with 453 hits.
What teams did Tommy Clarke play for?
Tommy Clarke played for 2 teams: the Cincinnati Reds (1909–1917) and the Chicago Cubs (1918).
What were Tommy Clarke's career stats?
In 700 games, Tommy Clarke had 453 hits, 6 home runs, 191 RBI, 169 runs, and 42 stolen bases, with a .265 batting average.
What position did Tommy Clarke play?
Tommy Clarke played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Tommy Clarke and how much did he weigh?
Tommy Clarke was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Tommy Clarke hit each season?
Tommy Clarke's home runs by season: 0 in 1909, 1 in 1910, 1 in 1911, 0 in 1912, 1 in 1913, 2 in 1914, 0 in 1915, 0 in 1916, and 1 in 1917. His most in one season was 2, in 1914.
What was Tommy Clarke's career batting average?
Tommy Clarke batted .265 over his career, with 453 hits in 1,708 at bats.
How many RBI did Tommy Clarke have?
Tommy Clarke drove in 191 runs in his career.
Is Tommy Clarke in the Hall of Fame?
No. Tommy Clarke has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.